Isabelle Fuhrman

Isabelle Fuhrman (born February 25, 1997^[1]) is an American actress. She is known for her breakthrough role as Esther in the horror film Orphan (2009) and its prequel Orphan: First Kill (2022). She played Clove in the dystopian adventure film The Hunger Games (2012), Alex in the independent film The Novice (2021), and Diamond in the Western film series Horizon: An American Saga (2024–present).

Isabelle Fuhrman
Fuhrman in 2024
Born	(1997-02-25) February 25, 1997 (age 28) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education	Stanford Online High School
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2005–present
Mother	Elina Fuhrman

Early life

Fuhrman was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Elina Fuhrman (née Kozmits), a journalist, author, wellness activist, and founder of the vegan soup company Soupelina, and Nick Fuhrman, a one-time Wisconsin political primary candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, and business consultant.^[2][3] Her father, who is of Irish descent, was adopted by a Jewish family. Her mother is a Russian Jewish immigrant from Soviet Moldova.^[4] Fuhrman has an older sister who was born in 1993. She and her family moved to Atlanta in 1999 when her mother joined CNN.^[5] She attended the Buckley School, a private school in Sherman Oaks for high school. Fuhrman also briefly attended the RADA, and briefly was a student at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta.^[6] She graduated from Stanford Online High School in 2015.^[7][8]

Career

Fuhrman's acting career began at age seven, when a casting director from Cartoon Network spotted her while she was waiting for her older sister Madeline and cast her for one of the shows, Cartoon Fridays.^[9] Her early credits include Grace O'Neil in the pilot episode of the 2006 television series Justice, and a number of national commercials for such brands as Pizza Hut and K-Mart. In 2007, she made her film debut in the controversial drama feature Hounddog.^[10]

Fuhrman in 2010.

Fuhrman's performance as Gretchen Dennis (also known as Girl Ghost) opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt in a 2008 episode of Ghost Whisperer earned her a Young Artist Award nomination.^[11] Also in 2008, Fuhrman was cast in the movie Orphan alongside Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard following an exhaustive nationwide search of young actresses to portray the lead in the three-way collaboration between Warner Bros., Appian Way Productions, and Dark Castle Entertainment.^{[12][13][14][15]} It was released in 2009 to commercial success and Fuhrman's acting was praised.^[16] She also appeared in comedy skits on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.^[13]

In 2011, Fuhrman played Angie Vanderveer in the dark comedy Salvation Boulevard (based on the novel by Larry Beinhart), with an ensemble cast that included Pierce Brosnan and Marisa Tomei. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.^[17]

In 2012, Fuhrman voiced the genetically enhanced assassin Victoria in Hitman: Absolution.^[18] In the same year she played Clove, a career tribute who tries to kill the main character, Katniss, in the film The Hunger Games.^[19] She originally auditioned to play Katniss, but was too young to play the part; she was 14 at the time. She received a call-back to audition for Clove and got the part.^[20] On May 15, 2012, it was announced that Fuhrman would star in the remake of the 1977 horror classic Suspiria;^[21] however, it was later announced that the production was stuck in legal woes and that the film would not be made.^[22]

On May 24, 2013, Fuhrman was cast as Max in Dear Eleanor (2016),^[23] directed by Kevin Connolly. In 2014, Fuhrman was cast in the film Cell, an adaptation by Stephen King.^[24] In 2015, she was cast in a "major recurring role" on the Showtime drama series Masters of Sex, playing Tessa, the daughter of Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan).^[25] Fuhrman was also cast as the lead in the independent drama Hellbent.^[26]

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".^[27] For The Novice, she won the Tribeca Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.^[28][29] It was announced in 2020 that Fuhrman would reprise her role as Esther in an Orphan prequel;^[30] the film, titled Orphan: First Kill, was released in August 2022, with Fuhrman's performance again being lauded.^[31][32]

In September 2022, Fuhrman joined the cast of the Kevin Costner-directed western film Horizon: An American Saga and Face, a film directed by Justine Bateman.^[33][34]

Fuhrman is set to star as Charlotte in the leading role opposite Mena Massoud in Julia Stiles' upcoming romance drama film Wish You Were Here set to be released January 17, 2025. ^[35]

Philanthropy

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 have helped knit hundreds of baby caps in an effort to reduce the death rate of newborns in developing countries.^[36] Fuhrman is on the advisory board of the Love & Art Kids Foundation, a Los Angeles based non-profit organization.^[37]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Hounddog	Grasshopper
2009	Orphan	Leena Klammer / Esther Coleman
2010	Sammy's Adventures: The Secret Passage	Hatchling Shelly	Voice role
2011	Salvation Boulevard	Angie
	From Up on Poppy Hill	Sora Matsuzaki	Voice role
2012	The Hunger Games	Clove
2013	Don't Let Me Go	Michelle
	After Earth	Rayna	Uncredited[38]
2014	All the Wilderness	Val
	The Snow Queen 2	Alfida	Voice role (English version)
2016	Cell	Alice Maxwell
	Dear Eleanor	Max the Wax
	1 Night	Bea
2018	Down a Dark Hall	Izzy
	Good Girls Get High	Morgan
	Hellbent	Danni Frost
2020	Tape	Pearl
2021	The Novice	Alex
	The Last Thing Mary Saw	Eleanor
	Escape Room: Tournament of Champions	Claire	Extended edition version[39]
2022	Orphan: First Kill	Leena Klammer / Esther Albright
2023	Sheroes	Ezra
2024	Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1	Diamond Kittredge
	Unit 234: The Lock Up	Laurie Saltair	[40]
	Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2	Diamond Kittredge
2025	Wish You Were Here	Charlotte	Also executive producer
TBA	Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 3	Diamond Kittredge	Filming
TBA	Street Smart[41]		Post-production; also executive producer[42]
TBA	Untitled sequel to Orphan: First Kill	Leena Klammer / Esther

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Justice	Grace O'Neil	Episode: Pilot
2008	Ghost Whisperer	Gretchen Dennis	Episode: "Pieces of You"
2010	Pleading Guilty	Carrie	Television film
2011	The Whole Truth	Lyric Byrne	Episode: "Perfect Witness"
2013, 2020	Adventure Time	Shoko	Voice role; episodes: "The Vault", "Together Again"
2015	Masters of Sex	Tessa Johnson	Recurring role, 8 episodes

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey	Heroine	Voice role
2012	Hitman: Absolution	Victoria
2016	Let It Die	Mushroom Magistrate
2016	Sid Meier's Civilization VI	Quote	Technology quote[citation needed]
2022	Splatoon 3	Shiver Hohojiro	Quote

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Stage	Notes
2017	All the Fine Boys	Emily	Pershing Square Signature Center
2019	Mac Beth	Macbeth	Lucille Lortel Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Refs
2009	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actress	Ghost Whisperer	Nominated	[11]
2009	Dublin Film Critics' Circle Awards	Best Actress – 4th place	Orphan	Won
2009	Fright Meter Awards	Best Actress	Orphan	Won	[43]
2010	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Orphan	Nominated
2014	Behind the Voice Actors Awards	Best Vocal Ensemble in an Anime Feature Film/Special	From Up on Poppy Hill	Nominated
2016	Madrid International Film Festival	Best Lead Actress	Don't Let Me Go	Nominated
2021	Tribeca Film Festival	Best Actress in a Leading Role	The Novice	Won	[29]
2022	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Female Lead	The Novice	Nominated	[28]