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Who is Danielle Macdonald?
Australian actress Danielle Macdonald was born under the zodiac sign Taurus in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on 19 May 1991. She has 30 acting credits and is probably known best for portraying the lead character Patti in the 2017 musical movie “Patti Cake$”, which also starred Bridget Everett and Sahr Ngaujah, and was written and directed by Geremy Jasper. It follows the life of aspiring rapper Patricia Dombrowski – aka Patti Cake$ – and the movie won nine of its 24 award nominations.
Danielle’s currently shooting for the upcoming movie “Untitled Bo Burnham Project”.
Education and early life
Danielle was raised in Sydney alongside her older sister Tania Gabrielle Macdonald, by their parents of British and Italian descent Franca and Bill Macdonald; Danielle rarely speaks about her family in public, because she respects their privacy.
She studied at Australian Institute for Performing Arts, and was 16 when she began taking dance lessons; aged 17, Danielle matriculated in 2009 and then moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles; she hasn’t attended college. She was then persuaded by her mentor to launch a career in the film industry.
Roles in movies
Danielle’s debut film role was playing Cashier in the 2010 short drama “The Thief”, and the year 2013 saw her play Tess in the popular crime thriller “The East”, which starred Brit Marling and Alexander Skarsgard, and was written and directed by Zal Batmanglij. It follows a member of an elite private intelligence company who’s been tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group; the movie won one of its eight award nominations.
Some of Danielle’s following roles were in the 2013 comedy “Trust Me”, the 2014 crime mystery “Every Secret Thing”, and the 2014 comedy “The Valley”. In 2015, she starred as Terry in the short family drama “Tortoise”, which also starred David Arquette and Autumn Rae Shannon, and follows a man who’s embarked on a trip to Hollywood with his estranged daughter.
In 2017, Danielle portrayed Ashley in the drama “The Rachels”, which starred Madison Iseman and Rachael Carpani, and follows the mysterious death of a popular teenage girl. Danielle could then have been seen appearing in the critically acclaimed 2017 comedy “Lady Bird”, which won 122 of its 348 award nominations, including five Oscar nominations, and in 2018 the short thriller “Skin” and the biographical crime drama “Skin”.
The year 2018 also saw her play Olympia in the science fiction mystery horror “Bird Box”, which starred John Malkovich, Trevante Rhodes and Sandra Bullock, and was directed by Susanne Bier. It follows an ominous presence as it’s making people commit suicide, and the movie won five of its 14 award nominations.
Danielle’s three most recent film roles have been in the 2019 biographical musical “I Am Woman”, and in 2020 the romantic comedy “Falling for Figaro” and the comedy “French Exit”.
Roles in TV series
Danielle’s debut TV series role was playing Girl in the 2011 episode “Born This Way” of the popular musical comedy “Glee”, which starred Jane Lynch and Lea Michele, and was created by Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. It follows a group of friends as they’re attending high school, the series aired from 2009 through 2015, and won 88 of its 301 award nominations.
The year 2013 saw her play Pam Bell in the episode “Fit Town, Fat Town” of the news comedy “Newsreaders”, and the following year she portrayed Cathy in the episode “Whirly Girly” of the romantic mystery “Pretty Little Liars”. Danielle next played Sarah Craig in five episodes of the 2014 comedy “Toolies”, which starred Will Howarth and Andrew Ryan, and follows the lives of several best friends. She could then have been seen appearing in an episode of the family comedy “The Middle”, the science fiction “American Horror Story”, and the comedy “Easy”.
In 2019, she played Amber Stevenson in five episodes of the crime mini-series “Unbelievable”, which starred Toni Collette and Kaitlyn Dever, and was created by Michael Chabon and Susannah Grant. It follows a teenager who’s been charged with lying about being raped – the series won six of its 46 award nominations.
Danielle’s two most recent roles in TV series have been playing Mandy Boyle in the 2023 episode “The Stall” of the crime comedy “Poker Face” and Helen Chambers in eight episodes of the 2023 action mystery “The Tourist”.
Natasha Lyonne, Rian Johnson Peacock Series ‘Poker Face’ Casts ‘The Tourist’ Star Danielle Macdonald (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/sbrmvTmhVU
— Variety (@Variety) May 31, 2022
Other credits
Danielle sang various songs in the 2017 movie “Patti Cake$”, as well as the song “Push and Pull” in the 2018 film “Dumplin’”.
Some of her most recent talk-show appearances have been in “The Hollywood Moment at Home Edition”, “Hollywood First Look” and “Made in Hollywood”.
Awards and nominations
Danielle won a 2017 Australians in Film Screen Australia Breakthrough Award, and the same year saw her named Variety 10 Actors to Watch at Hamptons International Film Festival.
She was nominated for a 2017 Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actress, for her performance in “Patti Cake$” and a 2020 Women’s Image Network Award for Actress Feature Film, for “I Am Woman”.
Love life and relationships
Danielle’s yet to speak about her love life in public, but we still know about one man whom she’s been with. Back in 2016, she was in relationship with Rich Barnes, an actor with 10 credits to his name; Rich is perhaps known best for portraying Zane in the 2018 family comedy movie “A Snow White Christmas”, which starred Carolyn Hennessy and Michelle Randolph, and was directed by Kristin Fairweather; it follows Blanca Snow who’s been forced to spend Christmas with her stepmother Victoria, as it was her dying father’s final wish.
Danielle and Rich met on a movie set and were together for around a year prior to splitting.
Some of Danielle’s fans believe that she’s bisexual, while a fan has claimed to have recently seen her spending time in public with her girlfriend; this hasn’t been addressed by Danielle.
There are no other men (or women) whom Danielle’s been with, that we know about; she seems to be unattached as of September 2023, hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Animal welfare is important to Danielle, and she’s volunteered at a number of animal shelters, as well as donated money to these; she’s been vegan since 2020, and had previously been pescetarian for five years.
She was affected by the 2019-2020 bushfires in Australia which saw her cousin’s house burnt down. Danielle and her family had to drive to safety in their car; the journey would’ve normally taken three hours but it took them 13 because of the fire had ravaged the region.
More than 110,000 people are following Danielle on Instagram today, on which she’s posted over 200 pictures and videos, with most showing her spending time with her family and friends.
One of her favorite actresses is Rose Byrne, and some of her favorite movies include “Insidious: The Red Door”, “Neighbors” and “Instant Family”.
Appearance and net worth
Danielle’s age is 32. She has blue eyes and brown hair, weighs around 140lbs (64kgs) and is 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall.
Danielle’s net worth’s been estimated at over $1.5 million, as of September 2023.
