Isabelle Fuhrman (born February 25, 1997) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Esther in the horror film ''
Orphan
An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died.
In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...
'' (2009) and its prequel ''
Orphan: First Kill'' (2022). She also portrayed
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...
in the dystopian adventure film ''
The Hunger Games
''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set ...
'' (2012), and Alex in the independent film ''
The Novice'' (2021).
Early life
Isabelle Fuhrman was born in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, the daughter of
Elina Fuhrman
Elina Fuhrman is a Russian–American journalist, author, and wellness activist. She is the founder and CEO of Soupelina, a vegan soup company and a chef with the company.
Early and personal life
Fuhrman, originally Elina Kozmits, was born in th ...
( Kozmits), a journalist, author, wellness activist, and founder of the vegan soup company ''Soupelina'', and Nick Fuhrman, a one-time Wisconsin political primary candidate (U.S. House of Representatives) and business consultant. Her father, who is of Irish descent, was adopted by a Jewish family. Her mother is a
Russian Jewish
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
immigrant, from Soviet
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
. She has an older sister who was born in 1993. She and her family moved to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
in 1999 when her mother joined
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
. For high school, she attended the
Buckley School, a private school in
Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...
. Fuhrman also briefly attended
RADA
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
, and briefly attended
The Westminster Schools
The Westminster Schools is a Kindergarten –12 private school in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, founded in 1951.
History
Westminster originated in 1951 as a reorganization of Atlanta's North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS), a girls' school a ...
in Atlanta,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. Fuhrman graduated from
Stanford University Online High School in 2015.
Career
Fuhrman's acting career began at the age of seven, when a casting director from
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
spotted her waiting for her older sister Madeline and cast her for one of the shows, ''Cartoon Fridays''. Her early credits include Grace O'Neil in the pilot episode of the 2006 television series ''
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
,'' and a number of national commercials for such brands as
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...
and
K-Mart
Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States.
The company was inco ...
. In 2007, she made her film debut in the controversial drama feature ''
Hounddog''.
Fuhrman's performance as Gretchen Dennis (also known as Girl Ghost) opposite
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series ''Kids I ...
in a 2008 episode of ''
Ghost Whisperer
''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010.
The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate with ...
'' earned her a
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
nomination.
Also in 2008, Fuhrman was cast in the movie ''
Orphan
An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died.
In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...
'' alongside
Vera Farmiga
Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress who is best known for portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films '' The Conjuring'' (2013), '' The Conjuring 2'' (2016), '' Annabelle Co ...
and
Peter Sarsgaard
John Peter Sarsgaard (; born March 7, 1971) is an American actor. His first feature role was in '' Dead Man Walking'' in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films ''Another Day in Paradise'' and ''Desert Blue''. That same year, Sarsga ...
following an exhaustive nationwide search of young actresses to portray the lead in the three-way collaboration between
Warner Bros
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
., Appian Way and Dark Castle Entertainment.
It was released in 2009 to commercial success, and Fuhrman's acting was praised. She also appeared in comedy skits on ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
The fourth incarnation of the ...
''.
In 2011, Fuhrman played Angie Vanderveer in the dark comedy ''
Salvation Boulevard
''Salvation Boulevard'' is a 2011 comedy thriller film with religious satire undertones directed by George Ratliff and starring Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei, and Jim Gaffigan. It is based on the novel of ...
'' (based on the novel by
Larry Beinhart
Larry Beinhart is an American author. He is best known as the author of the political and detective novel '' American Hero'', which was adapted into the political-parody film ''Wag the Dog''.
Biography
An early inspiration was the works of Geor ...
), with an ensemble cast that included
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...
and
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attention ...
, and which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
.
In 2012, Fuhrman voiced genetically enhanced assassin Victoria in ''
Hitman: Absolution''. That same year, she played
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...
, a career tribute who tries to kill the main character,
Katniss, in the film ''
The Hunger Games
''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set ...
''. She originally auditioned to play Katniss, but was too young to play the part as she was 14 at the time. She was called back to audition for Clove, and successfully got the part. On May 15, 2012, it was announced that Fuhrman would be starring in the remake of the 1977 horror classic ''
Suspiria
''Suspiria'' () is a 1977 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento, who co-wrote the screenplay with Daria Nicolodi, partially based on Thomas De Quincey's 1845 essay ''Suspiria de Profundis''. The film stars Jessica Harper as ...
'', however it was later announced that the production was stuck in legal woes and that the film would be delayed or cancelled.
On May 24, 2013, Fuhrman was cast as Max in
Kevin Connolly's next movie, ''
Dear Eleanor
''Dear Eleanor'' is a 2016 American film, directed by Kevin Connolly, and starring Isabelle Fuhrman, Josh Lucas, Liana Liberato, and Jessica Alba. Written by Cecilia Contreras and Amy Garcia, it is a coming of age story about two best friends tr ...
'', a film scheduled for release in 2015. That following year, Fuhrman was cast in the film ''
Cell
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cell may also refer to:
Locations
* Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...
'', an adaptation by
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
. In 2015, she was cast in a "major recurring role" on the Showtime drama series ''
Masters of Sex
''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography ''Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s through t ...
'', playing Tessa, the daughter of Virginia Johnson (
Lizzy Caplan
Elizabeth Anne Caplan (born June 30, 1982) is an American actress. Her first acting role was on the television series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000). She received wider recognition with roles in the films ''Mean Girls'' (2004) and ''Cloverfi ...
). Fuhrman was also cast as the lead in the independent drama ''Hellbent''.
In 2021, Fuhrman starred as Alex in Lauren Hadaway's directorial debut ''
The Novice''. Her performance gained critical praise, with critics calling Fuhrman's turn "a Daniel Day-Lewis transformation" and "the year's best performance". For ''The Novice'', she won the
Tribeca Film Festival Award for Best Actress
The Tribeca Film Festival Award for Best Actress is one of the annual film award given by the Tribeca Film Festival, since 2003.
Winners
Best Actress in an International Feature Film
* 2020 – Shira Haas in ''Asia''
* 2019 – Park Ji-hoo in ...
, and was nominated for the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
The Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead wass one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding Leading actor, lead performance in an independent film. It was first presented in 1985 with Gera ...
.
It was announced in 2020 that Fuhrman would reprise her role as Esther in an ''Orphan'' prequel; the film, titled ''
Orphan: First Kill'', was released in August 2022, with Fuhrman's performance once more being praised.
In September 2022, Fuhrman joined the cast of the
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
-directed western film ''
Horizon
The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...
'' and the
Justine Bateman
Justine Tanya Bateman (born February 19, 1966) is an American writer, director and producer. Her former acting work includes ''Family Ties'', '' Satisfaction'', ''Men Behaving Badly'', ''The TV Set'', ''Desperate Housewives'', and ''Californic ...
-directed film ''Face''.
Charitable work
Fuhrman was approached by Save the Children, in 2010, to be a celebrity advocate for their "Caps for Good" project. She and several volunteers with
Save the Children
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
have helped knit hundreds of baby caps in an effort to reduce the death rate of newborns in developing countries. Fuhrman is on the advisory board of the Love & Art Kids Foundation, a
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
based non-profit organization.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Stage
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
Isabelle Fuhrmanon
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuhrman, Isabelle
1997 births
Living people
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American Jews
Actresses from Washington, D.C.
American child actresses
American film actresses
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American people of Moldovan-Jewish descent
American television actresses
American video game actresses
American voice actresses
Jewish American actresses
People from Studio City, Los Angeles