Sadie Sink facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Sadie Sink
Sink in 2018
Born	Sadie Elizabeth Sink (2002-04-16) April 16, 2002 (age 23) Brenham, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2011–present

Sadie Elizabeth Sink, born on April 16, 2002, is an American actress. She began her acting journey in theater. She played the main role in the musical Annie from 2012 to 2014. Later, she played a young Elizabeth II in the play The Audience on Broadway in 2015. In 2016, she appeared in her first movie, Chuck.

Sadie became very well known for playing Max Mayfield in the Netflix science fiction show Stranger Things. She joined the show in 2017 and has been praised for her acting, especially in its fourth season. In 2021, she was in the horror movie series Fear Street. She also starred in Taylor Swift's short film All Too Well. In 2022, Sadie starred in the movie The Whale. For this role, she was nominated for a Critics' Choice Movie Award. In 2025, Sadie returned to Broadway in the play John Proctor Is the Villain. She received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, becoming one of the youngest to do so.

Growing Up in Texas
Sadie's Acting Journey
Personal Life and Beliefs
Images for kids
See also

Growing Up in Texas

Sadie Elizabeth Sink was born in Brenham, Texas. Her birthday is April 16, 2002. Her mom is a math teacher, and her dad coaches football. Sadie has three older brothers and a younger sister. Even though her family loved sports, Sadie and her brother Mitchell were interested in performing. They especially loved musical theater. They would often act out scenes from High School Musical. They also watched Broadway plays and Tony Award shows. Sadie has said they were "annoying and loud" because they always wanted attention. She has English, German, and Irish family roots.

When Sadie was seven, her mom enrolled her and Mitchell in acting classes. This was in Houston. Sadie started acting in local plays in Brenham. Her first play was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at age seven. When she was eight, she had a main role in a local play called The Secret Garden. This play involved learning many lines and practicing a lot. This experience made her want to become a professional actress. In 2012, Sadie's family moved to New Jersey to support her and Mitchell's acting careers. Sadie started learning at home in second grade. She went back to a regular school after performing in The Audience in 2015.

Sadie's Acting Journey

Early Roles on Stage and Screen

By age nine, Sadie was regularly performing in plays at Theater Under the Stars. She was in White Christmas in 2011. In 2012, she played the main character in Annie. When she was 10, Sadie was chosen for the 2012 Broadway show of Annie. She performed in the show for 18 months, doing eight shows every week.

From October 2012 to July 2013, she was a backup for several roles in Annie. After the main actress left, Sadie and Taylor Richardson shared the role of Annie. The director, James Lapine, said they were "wonderful candidates". Sadie continued in Annie until its last show in January 2014. She said performing in Annie taught her a lot of discipline. She loved "every second" of the show and decided to keep acting forever.

While in Annie, Sadie also started acting on TV. Her first TV role was in 2013 in the show The Americans. This made her want to act in movies too. She also appeared in an episode of Blue Bloods in 2014. In 2015, Sadie starred as Suzanne Ballard in the show American Odyssey. That same year, Sadie played a young Queen Elizabeth II in the Broadway play The Audience. The adult Queen was played by Helen Mirren. Sadie said watching Helen Mirren changed how she thought about acting. She learned a lot from working with "greatest minds in the industry". Reviews from USA Today and The New York Times said Sadie's performance as Elizabeth was "touching" and "very good". Sadie's first movie role was in Chuck in 2016.

Becoming a Star with Stranger Things

Sadie Sink at a fan event in 2017

In September 2016, Sadie tried out for the role of Maxine "Max" Mayfield in Stranger Things. This is a science fiction show on Netflix. The people casting the show thought Sadie, who was 14, was too old. But she "begged and pleaded" for more chances to show her acting. She had four more auditions. One was with Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin to see if they had good chemistry. Sadie even said she knew how to rollerblade, which wasn't true.

The director, Matt Duffer, said choosing Sadie was "a bit of a no-brainer". He liked her "innocent, child chemistry" with Gaten and Caleb. After getting the role, Sadie had to learn to skateboard. She didn't like it at first because she fell on her first day. She took three-hour lessons every day for two months. This role made Sadie very famous. Critics said she was "spirited" and acted "beyond her years". They said she was a great addition to the cast. Sadie and her Stranger Things castmates were nominated for a SAG Award.

In 2018, Sadie walked the runway at Paris Fashion Week. This was her first time modeling, at age 15. She later modeled for brands like Miu Miu and Kate Spade New York. In movies, Sadie appeared in The Glass Castle (2017) and Eli (2019). She also played Max again in the third season of Stranger Things. She received more praise for her acting. The BBC called her performance "wonderfully loose and natural". Variety praised her and Millie Bobby Brown's energy.

In 2021, she starred in Fear Street Part Two: 1978. This was the second movie in The Fear Street Trilogy. Sadie played Ziggy Berman, a tough and tomboyish teenager. She said she liked the character because she had a lot of depth. The director suggested Sadie watch slasher movies like Friday the 13th to get ready. She did most of her own stunts in the movie. Sadie's acting was highly praised. The Los Angeles Times liked how she showed Ziggy's feelings. RogerEbert.com said her "intense performance" made the character stand out. In the third movie, Fear Street Part Three: 1666 (2021), she played both Ziggy and Constance.

Sadie had a main role with Dylan O'Brien in All Too Well: The Short Film (2021). This short film was written and directed by Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift was impressed by Sadie's acting in Stranger Things. Swift said she wouldn't have made the film if Sadie had said no. Sadie saw the role as a chance to "step out of being a kid on screen". She wanted to play a "more rounded and mature" character. The short film was very well received. Collider said Sadie and O'Brien gave "vividly emotional performances". They told "an incredibly moving tale of love, power, gaslighting, and heartache".

Sadie appeared in the fourth season of Stranger Things. It was released in two parts in May and July 2022. She kept a journal and thought deeply to prepare for her character's journey. Critics gave the season good reviews, and Sadie received much praise. Rolling Stone said her acting was "poignant and emotionally raw". They said she brought "a degree of emotional heft" that balanced the funny parts of the season. For her performance, Sadie won the Hollywood Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama. She was also nominated for a Saturn Award. Many people were disappointed she didn't get a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series nomination.

Recent Projects and Broadway Return

Sadie Sink promoting The Whale in September 2022

Sadie was cast in the movie The Whale in February 2021. This happened after a video call with director Darren Aronofsky and actor Brendan Fraser. She played Ellie, the daughter of Fraser's character. Sadie said that sometimes she wondered if Ellie was "actually evil". Other days, she felt Ellie was "good" but "in so much pain". Sadie said filming could be "draining" because of the dark topics. It required her to "fully shed every layer and be really vulnerable". She felt the role made her more confident. She said it helped her "stepping out of the child actor role and into... your adulthood".

The Whale first showed on September 4, 2022, at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. Owen Gleiberman from Variety said Sadie acted with "fire and directness". The Los Angeles Times found her emotional acting "impressive". However, Sandra Hall from The Sydney Morning Herald felt her acting was "unrelenting obnoxiousness". At the 28th Critics' Choice Awards, Sadie was nominated for Best Young Actor/Actress. She also starred in the movie Dear Zoe (2022).

In July 2023, Sadie became a global ambassador for Armani Beauty. Sadie starred in the thriller movie A Sacrifice (2024). This movie was based on a book called Tokyo. IndieWire praised her and co-star Eric Bana's acting. Sadie also starred as the main character in the rock opera movie O'Dessa. While the movie had mixed reviews, Sadie's performance was praised. Sadie returned to Broadway in April 2025, starring in the play John Proctor Is the Villain. Her performance was highly praised. Christian Lewis of Variety wrote that Sadie "gives a spellbinding performance". The role earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. In March 2025, Sadie was cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026). The same month, she was part of a recycled nylon campaign for Prada with Benedict Cumberbatch.

Personal Life and Beliefs

Sadie Sink likes to keep her private life secret. She believes that the more private she is, the more believable her characters can be. She told Teen Vogue that she doesn't want people to know too much about her personal life. She feels that if her private life is too public, it can make her characters less impactful.

Sadie believes in feminism. She sees it as something important for women. She became vegetarian in 2015 after watching a movie called Food, Inc.. A year later, she became vegan. Her co-star from Glass Castle, Woody Harrelson, and his family inspired her to try it. Sadie uses her social media to support local animal shelters. She also encourages her fans to become vegetarians or vegans.