Marie-Sophie Nélisse (born March 27, 2000) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

–winning performance in ''

Monsieur Lazhar ''Monsieur Lazhar'' is a 2011 Canadian French-language drama film directed by Philippe Falardeau and starring Mohamed Fellag, Mohamed Saïd Fellag, Sophie Nélisse and Danielle Proulx. Based on ''Bashir Lazhar'', a one-character play by Évelyn ...

'' (2011). She also played Liesel Meminger in the

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the best-selling novel ''

The Book Thief ''The Book Thief'' is a historical fiction novel by the Australian author Markus Zusak, set in Nazi Germany during World War II. Published in 2005, ''The Book Thief'' became an international bestseller and was translated into 63 languages and s ...

'' (2013), Caroline in '' The Kid Detective'' (2020), and Irena Gut in ''

Irena's Vow ''Irena's Vow'' is a Broadway play recounting the story of Irena Gut, a Polish nurse who, at the risk of her life, saved twelve Jews during World War II in German-occupied Poland. Production history The play opened at Broadway's Walter Kerr Thea ...

'' (2023). Since 2021, she has starred as young Shauna in Showtime's series ''Yellowjackets''.

Early life

Marie-Sophie Nélisse was born in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, on March 27, 2000. She is of French descent. Her mother left her job as a schoolteacher in 2013 to act as a

talent manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of Entertainer, artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to ove ...

for both Sophie and her younger sister

Isabelle Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

, who is also an actress. Nélisse is fluent in both French and English. The family moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

when she was four.

Career

She spent her early years training in gymnastics and signed to a talent agency to make money to pay for the training, but after getting the part in ''

'' (and subsequent accolades) she shifted her focus to acting. Besides her Genie Award for ''

'', she won a

Jutra Award Jutras may have several meanings : * Claude Jutra: an award-winning French Canadian filmmaker **Jutra Award: Film awards formerly given in the Canadian province of Quebec, named after the filmmaker and now known as Prix Iris **The Claude Jutra Awa ...

for her performance and 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 as Best Leading Young Actress in an International Feature Film. She held a recurring role the Québec

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

' and she also starred in the title role of the 2015 film ''

The Great Gilly Hopkins ''The Great Gilly Hopkins'' is a 1978 realistic children's novel by American author Katherine Paterson. It won the U.S. National Book Award in 1979.Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

for the first time to present Canadian thriller movie ''

Mean Dreams ''Mean Dreams'' is a 2016 Canadian coming-of-age thriller film directed by Nathan Morlando and written by Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby. The film stars Sophie Nélisse, Josh Wiggins, and Bill Paxton. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight ...

''. In 2016, Nélisse was one of four actors selected by the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

, alongside

Grace Glowicki Grace Glowicki is a Canadian actress and filmmaker from Edmonton, Alberta.Fish Griwkowsky"Edmonton-born actress wins at Sundance" ''Edmonton Journal'', February 2, 2016. Glowicki directed and starred in the feature film ''Tito (2019 film), Tito'' ...

Jared Abrahamson Jared Abrahamson is a Canadian actor. He is known for his performance in the 2016 film '' Hello Destroyer'', for which he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor and won the award for Best Actor in a Canadian Film at the Vancouve ...

, and

Mylène Mackay Mylène Mackay (born 7 July 1987) is a Canadian actress. She received a Canadian Screen Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards for her performance in '' Endorphine''. In 2016, she appeared as Nelly Arcan in ...

for its "Rising Stars" programme, described as an "intensive professional development programme

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

immerses participants in a series of public events and industry meetings during the Festival." In June 2018, it was announced that she would be the face of Caroline Néron's Fall 2018 jewelry line. After graduating high school in June 2017, Nélisse confirmed she wouldn't be enrolling in

post-secondary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational school ...

for the time being due to commitments shooting ''Close'' in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. In a ''

L'actualité ''L'actualité'' is a Canadian French-language news and general interest magazine published in Montreal by Rogers Communications until 2016, then by Mishmash (XPND Capital). The magazine has over a million readers, according to Canada's Print Meas ...

'' series about "Being 18 years old in 2018", Nélisse spoke about entering adulthood in the era of the

Weinstein effect The Weinstein effect is a scandal in which famous or powerful figures – previously thought to be immune from most consequences due to their fame – are later accused of sexual abuse, harassment, or misconduct. The term ''Weinstein effect'' ...

, and deplored that when she announced she was looking for "more mature roles", she was quickly offered multiple roles where her characters would be

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person w ...

and that scenarios she receives almost always include sexual elements. One of these instances was when she turned down the sexually-charged lead role in '' Fugueuse'', in which Ludivine Reding was eventually cast as Fanny, the titular teenage runaway who ends up a sex trafficking victim. On April 18th, 2025, the author of the book "Girl In Pieces," Kathleen Glasgow, confirmed that Courtney Eaton and Sophie Nélisse bought the film rights to the book.

Personal life

Her sister

Isabelle Nélisse Isabelle Nélisse (born December 3, 2003) is a Canadian actress. The younger sister of actress Sophie Nélisse, she is most noted for her roles in the films ''Mama'', '' Wait Till Helen Comes'' and ''The Tale''.Emily Buder"The Tale Is a Powerful, ...

is also an actress, best known for her roles in ''

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Maternal uncle, in some parts of South Asia Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement in the Mam ...

'' and HBO's film ''

The Tale ''The Tale'' is a 2018 American drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Jennifer Fox (documentary filmmaker), Jennifer Fox and starring Laura Dern, Ellen Burstyn, Jason Ritter, Elizabeth Debicki, Isabelle Nélisse, Common ...

''; the sisters also acted together in ', ''

Wait Till Helen Comes ''Wait Till Helen Comes'' is a 1986 novel by American author Mary Downing Hahn. It was first published on January 1, 1986, through HarperCollins and has since gone through several reprints. The book won a 1989 Young Reader's Choice Award and f ...

'' and '' Worst Case, We Get Married''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelisse, Sophie 2000 births Actresses from Montreal Canadian child actresses Canadian film actresses Best Supporting Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Living people Canadian television actresses Actresses from Windsor, Ontario Franco-Ontarian people 21st-century Canadian actresses Best Supporting Actress Jutra and Iris Award winners Canadian people of French descent