Sadie Sink

Sadie Elizabeth Sink (born April 16, 2002) is an American actress. She began acting at age seven in local theater productions and played the title role in Annie (2012–14) and young Elizabeth II in The Audience (2015) on Broadway. In 2016, she made her film debut in the biographical sports drama Chuck.

Sink had her breakthrough portraying Max Mayfield in the Netflix science fiction series Stranger Things (2017–present) and received critical acclaim for her performance in its fourth season. In 2021, she appeared in the horror film trilogy Fear Street and played the lead role in Taylor Swift's short film All Too Well. Sink has since starred in Darren Aronofsky's psychological drama The Whale (2022), for which she received a Critics' Choice Movie Award nomination.

Early life
Sadie Elizabeth Sink was born in Brenham, Texas, on April 16, 2002. Her mother is a math teacher, and her father is a football coach. She has three older brothers and a younger sister. While her family was sports-oriented, she and her brother Mitchell were interested in performing arts, especially musical theater. They would often recreate scenes from High School Musical (2006) and watch Broadway plays and Tony Award performances. Sink said they were "so annoying and loud and constantly demanding attention" while growing up. When Sink was seven, her mother put her and Mitchell in acting classes in Houston. Sink began acting in community theater with a production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in Brenham at age seven. When she was eight years old, she had a leading role in a local production of The Secret Garden, which involved "more learning lines and real practice". Her experience encouraged her to pursue a professional acting career. In 2012, Sink's family supported her and Mitchell's careers by moving to New Jersey. Sink began homeschooling while in second grade and returned to regular school after performing in The Audience (2015).

2011–2016: Broadway and early onscreen roles
Sink was regularly performing in plays at Theater Under the Stars by the age of nine; she appeared in musical productions of White Christmas (2011) and portrayed the title role in Annie (2012). At age 10, Sink was cast in the 2012 Broadway revival of Annie. She appeared in the show for 18 months, performing eight times a week. From October 2012 to July 2013, she was a standby for the characters of Annie, Tessie, Duffy, July, and Pepper. Following the departure of Lilla Crawford at the end of July, Sink and Taylor Richardson began alternating between the roles of Annie and Duffy. On their casting as Annie, director James Lapine said: "As we were preparing to cast the next Annie, I realized we had two wonderful candidates already in the orphanage. Both Taylor and Sadie are such unique young actresses, that I decided to let them share the role". Sink continued appearing in the production until its final performance in January 2014. She said she gained discipline from performing in Annie and subsequently decided to pursue her acting career permanently, having loved "every second" of the show.

During her Annie Broadway run, Sink made her television debut in 2013 in a guest role on the spy drama series The Americans. The part prompted her to seek a career in film acting. She also made an appearance in a 2014 episode of the police procedural show Blue Bloods. In 2015, Sink starred as Suzanne Ballard in the NBC action thriller series American Odyssey, which was canceled after one season. That year, Sink appeared in the Broadway production of The Audience as young Queen Elizabeth II, who is portrayed by Helen Mirren as an adult. Sink's relationship with acting "really shifted" after observing Mirren's approach towards it. She said working with "some of the greatest minds in the industry" showed her the true meaning of acting. Reviews in USA Today and The New York Times deemed Sink's performance as Elizabeth "touching" and "very good". Sink made her film debut in the biographical sports drama Chuck (2016).

2016–2021: Breakthrough with Stranger Things
In September 2016, Sink auditioned to play Maxine "Max" Mayfield in the second season of Netflix's science fiction drama series Stranger Things. The casting directors deemed the 14-year-old Sink too old for the role, but she "begged and pleaded" for more material to perform for them. She attended four callbacks, including a chemistry read with Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin. During the audition process, Sink lied about having rollerblading experience. According to director and writer Matt Duffer, casting Sink was "a bit of a no-brainer" due to her "innocent, child chemistry" with Matarazzo and McLaughlin. After she booked the role, Sink had to learn how to skateboard, an activity she disliked due to falling on her first day of practice. She attended three-hour lessons daily for two months. The role became Sink's breakthrough. Critics described her as "spirited",  with IGN commenting that she acts "beyond her years and makes a welcomed addition to the cast". Sink, along with her Stranger Things cast members, was nominated for the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

In 2018, Sink walked the runway at Paris Fashion Week, making her modeling debut at age 15. She later walked the runway for brands such as Miu Miu and Kate Spade New York. In film, Sink appeared in The Glass Castle (2017) and Eli (2019). She also reprised her role in Stranger Things third season, for which she received critical praise. The BBC considered her performance "wonderfully loose and natural", while Variety praised her and co-star Millie Bobby Brown's energy. In 2021, she starred in Fear Street Part Two: 1978, the second installment of The Fear Street Trilogy. Sink portrays Ziggy Berman, an aggressive and tomboyish teenager who has a difficult home life. She said she was drawn to the character's potential for depth. Director Leigh Janiak suggested that Sink watch slasher films, such as Friday the 13th (1980) and Scream (1996), to prepare for the role. She did most of her own stunts in the film. Sink's acting received critical praise; the Los Angeles Times commended her portrayal of Ziggy's emotions, attractions, and loyalties, and RogerEbert.com said that her "intense performance gets a great deal of volume" from a one-dimensional character. In the trilogy's third film, Fear Street Part Three: 1666 (2021), she played Ziggy and Constance.

2021–present: Transition to mature roles
Sink had a leading role opposite Dylan O'Brien in All Too Well: The Short Film (2021), which was written and directed by American musician Taylor Swift. The singer had been impressed by Sink's onscreen presence and emotivity in Stranger Things. Swift said that had Sink declined her offer, she would not have proceeded with making the film. Sink saw the role as an opportunity to "step out of being a kid on screen" and play a "more rounded and mature" character. The short received critical acclaim. Collider stated that Sink and O'Brien gave "vividly emotional performances" and told "an incredibly moving tale of love, power, gaslighting, and heartache".

Sink appeared in the fourth season of Stranger Things. For the season's more intense scenes, she thought it was crucial to fully understand Max's deepest thoughts. She journaled and did internal reflection to prepare. The season was released in two parts on May 27 and July 1, 2022. Critics gave the season positive reviews, with Sink receiving acclaim. Rolling Stone described her performance as "poignant and emotionally raw", stating that she brings "a degree of emotional heft" that balances out the season's more comedic moments. For her performance, Sink won the Hollywood Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama, and received a Saturn Award nomination for Performance by a Younger Actor.

In February 2021, Sink was cast in the psychological drama The Whale following a Zoom meeting with director Darren Aronofsky and lead actor Brendan Fraser. She starred as Ellie, the estranged daughter of Fraser's character. Commenting on her role, Sink explained that "I'd just have these moments of, 'Is she actually evil?' And then there would be some days where I was like, 'No, she's good. She's just in so much pain. Sink said filming could be "so draining" at times due to the darker subject matter requiring her to "fully shed every layer and be really vulnerable". She stated that the role enhanced her confidence, which she attributed to "stepping out of the child actor role and into ... your adulthood, where you stop seeing yourself as this little puppet that stands on their mark and takes direction". The Whale premiered on September 4, 2022, at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. Variety Owen Gleiberman argued that Sink "acts with a fire and directness that recalls the young Lindsay Lohan", while the Los Angeles Times Justin Chang found her emotional intensity "impressive" but felt her role was poorly written. In a more negative review, Sandra Hall, for The Sydney Morning Herald, wrote that her acting "is dialled up to unrelenting obnoxiousness". At the 28th Critics' Choice Awards, Sink received a nomination for Best Young Actor/Actress. She also led the drama film Dear Zoe (2022).

In July 2023, Sink was announced as a global ambassador for Armani Beauty. Sink starred in the thriller film A Sacrifice (2024), an adaptation of Nicholas Hogg's 2015 novel Tokyo. IndieWire praised her and co-star Eric Bana's performances, stating they "make for a pleasant viewing experience even when the [film's] intellectualism comes up short". Sink is also set to star in Searchlight Pictures's rock opera film O'Dessa.

Public image
In 2022, Sink appeared on the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 list. That same year, she was included on the Time 100 Next; her profile was penned by her Stranger Things co-star Winona Ryder, who described Sink as "this creative acrobat and she's on this balance beam that very few have the courage to walk ... As an actor, she knows that we are ultimately in service to the characters and story".

Media publications have described Sink as a fashion icon, with her wavy, red hair cited as her trademark feature. According to Vogue, Sink's wardrobe "effortlessly achieves both a youthful sensibility and sophisticated style". In 2023, she was featured on Maxim Hot 100.

Personal life
Sink identifies as a feminist, which she describes as an obligation for women. She became vegetarian in 2015 after watching the documentary film Food, Inc. (2008). A year later, she went vegan; her Glass Castle co-star Woody Harrelson's family inspired her to try it. Sink uses her social media to support local shelters and encourage her fans to become vegetarians or vegans.