entertainment
MEET RISING STAR
DANIELLE ROSE RUSSELL Local actress takes on TV and movie roles WRITTEN BY IAN SPELLING
Danielle Rose Russell was born in Pequannock, raised in West Milford, and is fast taking Hollywood by storm, in TV shows such as The Last Tycoon and The Originals, and the feature film Wonder. Her latest movie, Measure of aMan, opened in theaters onMay 11. Here are seven things we’ ve learned about this star on the rise.
1SHE WAS BORN ON HALLOWEEN. Russell’ sparents got quite the treat onOct. 31 in 1999, asDanielle arrived that day. That makes the blue-eyed actress 18years old.
2HER PARENTSWERE PERFORMERS. Her mom is Rosemary Rado, aformer dancer. Rado performed with both the Radio City Rockettes and on Broadway inCan-Can and The Music Man. Her dad, Ricky Russell, is an ex-singer.
3SHEBEGAN HER CAREER IN PRINT ADS. Russell initially pursued modeling and appeared in numerous print ads and commercials before pursuing regional theater opportunities, and then film and television roles. She made her big-screen debut in the Liam Neeson crime tale, A Walk Among the Tombstones.
MAKING ANAME FOR HERSELF( Top) Danielle Rose Russell with Jedidiah Goodacre on the set of The Originals;( above) with the cast and crew of Wonder at the film’ s premiere in 2017.
4RUSSELL OFTEN ACTED IN SCHOOL PLAYS. She performed in several plays at Holy Spirit School in Pequannock, where she enrolled in pre-kindergarten. She is currently finishing high school via online courses, and plans to take college classes online as well.
5HER FILM WONDER GROSSED $ 300 MILLION WORLDWIDE. The feel-good drama starred Jacob Tremblay as Auggie, aboy living with arare facial deformity called mandibulofacial dysostosis. Russell played Miranda, the best friend of Auggie’ ssister( Izabela Vidovic). The film also starred Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Mandy Patinkin.
6PLANS ARE IN THE WORKS FOR A FILM VERSION OF HER TV SHOW, THE ORIGINALS. Russell currently co-stars as the teenaged version of Hope— a powerful vampire-werewolf hybrid and witch— on The Originals, the CW’ s spinoff of The Vampire Diaries. She joined the cast for the show’ s fifth and final season, which premiered in April. If all goes according to plan, she will star with Matt Davis in aHopecentric The Originals spinoff to debut next year.
7RUSSELL OFFERS WISE WORDSTO TWITTER FOLLOWERS. Her handle is @ itsdanielleruss; on her Twitter page, she advises people to“ live gracefully, laugh hysterically, love infinitely.” ■
THIS PAGE: RICH FURY / GETTY IMAGES; OPPOSITE PAGE: FREDERICK M. BROWN / GETTY IMAGES; THE ORIGINALS: BOB MAHONEY / THE CW
22 MAY 2018 WAYNE MAGAZINE