Maggie Grace facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maggie Grace
Grace in 2018
Born	Margaret Grace Denig (1983-09-21) September 21, 1983 (age 41) Worthington, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	2001–present
Spouse(s)	Brent Bushnell ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	1

Margaret Grace Denig (born September 21, 1983), known as Maggie Grace, is an American actress and model. She is famous for her roles in popular TV shows and movies. You might know her as Shannon Rutherford from the TV series Lost. She also played Kim Mills in the Taken movie series and Irina in The Twilight Saga. More recently, she was Althea Szewczyk-Przygocki in Fear the Walking Dead.

Maggie Grace was nominated for a Young Artist Award in 2002. This was for her role as Martha Moxley in the TV movie Murder in Greenwich. In 2004, she joined the cast of Lost. She was a main character for the first two seasons. She even won a Screen Actors Guild Award with the other actors from the show. After Lost, Maggie wanted to act more in movies. She appeared in The Jane Austen Book Club in 2007. Then, she starred with Liam Neeson as Kim Mills in Taken in 2008. She played Kim again in Taken 2 (2012) and Taken 3 (2014).

She also played Alice in Malice in Wonderland. This movie was a modern version of Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Maggie Grace returned to Lost for two more episodes, including the very last one. In 2013, she was a guest star in the TV series Californication. She played Faith, a character who inspires artists. In 2018, she joined the cast of Fear the Walking Dead as a journalist named Althea.

Maggie Grace's Early Life

Margaret Grace Denig was born in Worthington, Ohio. Her parents, Valinn and Fred Denig, owned a family jewelry business. Maggie went to Worthington Christian Schools from kindergarten through ninth grade. She also briefly attended Thomas Worthington High School. During these years, she started acting in school plays and community theater. One of her early roles was in a play called The Crucible in 2000.

As a child, Maggie loved to read. She described herself as a "Shakespeare nerd." She told the Los Angeles Times that when she was 13, she was very interested in Jane Austen. She said it was "kind of like how some kids are into Star Trek."

Her Acting Career Begins

Maggie Grace moved to Los Angeles and quickly found an agent. She also started taking acting classes. Her first acting job was in 2001 in a web series called Rachel's Room. This series was about a teenage girl's life. Her next role was in a TV series called Septuplets in 2002. However, this show was canceled before it even aired.

First Big Role

Maggie's first important role was in the 2002 TV movie Murder in Greenwich. This movie was based on the true story of a 15-year-old girl named Martha Moxley who was murdered. Maggie was nominated for a Young Artist Award for playing Martha. She was recognized in the category for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a TV Movie.

After this, she had smaller roles in several TV shows. These included CSI: Miami, Cold Case, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She also appeared in films like Twelve Mile Road.

Grace at the New York premiere of Won't Back Down in September 2012

Starring in Lost

In 2004, Maggie Grace's agent sent her the script for the first episode of Lost. She got the role of Shannon Rutherford after a successful audition. She lived in Hawaii while filming the show's first season. In 2005, she was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for her role on Lost.

While filming Lost, she also starred in The Fog. This was a 2005 remake of a horror movie. The filming schedules for both projects overlapped. Maggie had to fly between Hawaii and British Columbia to work on both sets.

After Lost

Maggie's character was written off Lost during the second season. The show's writers felt her character's story had reached its end. One of the show's producers, Carlton Cuse, said that Maggie was eager to work full-time in movies. Even after leaving the show, she joined the other actors from Lost at the 12th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Lost won an award for best acting by a group in a drama series.

In 2007, Maggie starred in the independent film Suburban Girl. She also appeared in The Jane Austen Book Club. This movie was based on a book she had already read and loved. She played Allegra, a 20-year-old character.

After finishing The Jane Austen Book Club, Maggie returned to Hawaii for a guest appearance on Lost. She then starred in the 2008 thriller movie Taken with Liam Neeson. She had always wanted to work with Liam Neeson. In 2009, she played the main role in Malice in Wonderland. This was a modern version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

In 2010, Maggie Grace was very busy. She starred in the drama Flying Lessons. She also appeared with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in the movie Knight and Day. And she was in Faster with Dwayne Johnson. Even with her busy schedule, she returned for the final episode of Lost. In September 2010, it was announced that Maggie would play Irina in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2.

In December 2012, Maggie Grace made her first appearance on Broadway. She starred in a play called Picnic. The play opened in New York City.

In 2018, she joined the cast of Fear the Walking Dead. She plays a journalist named Althea. She was a main character for seasons 4-6 and a guest in season 7.

Other Projects

Maggie Grace has been on the covers of many fashion magazines around the world. These include Saturday Night, Femme Fatales, Vanidades, 7x7, Organic Spa Magazine, Glow, Viva, CosmoGirl, Caras, Télé 7 Jours, Solitaire, and Cosmopolitan Beauty.

Her Personal Life

While working on Lost, Maggie Grace and her co-star Ian Somerhalder adopted a stray cat. They found the cat "literally dying" in the jungle on the set. Maggie said the cat is now her "travel buddy." In February 2017, Maggie got engaged to Brent Bushnell. He is the CEO of an entertainment company. They got married on May 28, 2017. Their first child, a son, was born in 2020.

Maggie often says her mother is her biggest inspiration. She feels very lucky to have such a "cool mom." Maggie also loves England. She had a pen pal in the Lake District from when she was eight years old. She admires many English poets, including William Shakespeare. She first visited England when she was thirteen. She jokes that she is very clumsy and often trips over her own feet. One of her former co-stars even playfully called her "Maggie Graceless."

Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

See also

In Spanish: Maggie Grace para niños