Australian actress Odessa Young is a fast-rising star in Hollywood. The actress was born in Sydney, Australia, on March 6, 1998. Young’s mother, Rachel Young, is a writer, and her father, Adam Young, is an Australian musician. At age 11, her parents enrolled her in an after-school acting class.
Odessa Young began her professional acting career in 2009 at age 11. To help fine-tune her talent, she attended a performing arts high school but dropped out in her final year to fully focus on her acting career. Two days after she turned 18, Odessa Young moved to Hollywood, determined to have a successful career. Here’s a look at Odessa Young’s journey so far in Hollywood through her most notable roles.
Assassination Nation
Odessa Young made her Hollywood feature debut in 2017 as a supporting cast member in the neo-noir thriller Sweet Virginia led by Jon Bernthal. The following year, Young landed her first lead role as Lily in the satirical black comedy horror Assassination Nation (2018). In the movie, Young’s Lily is a high school student whose life, along with those of her three best friends, is thrown into chaos after a massive data hack exposed the personal secrets of half the population of their small town. As tensions escalate, the town descends into paranoia and violence. As such, suspected as the hacker, Lily, and her friends become a target for the town’s rage. Assassination Nation critiques social media, privacy, and mob mentality.
A Million Little Pieces
Cast in a supporting role, Odessa Young joined the cast of Sam Taylor-Johnson’s 2018 feature directorial debut, A Million Little Pieces. She’s again cast as a character named Lilly. Her character is a young woman who’s a fellow patient in the rehabilitation center where the film’s protagonist, James Frey (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), is undergoing treatment. Lilly becomes a significant figure in James’s journey, forming a close and emotionally complex relationship with him. A Million Little Pieces centered around themes of addiction and rehabilitation. The film also starred Billy Bob Thornton, Giovanni Ribisi, Charlie Hunnam, and Juliette Lewis.
Shirley
In the 2020 indie biographical drama Shirley, Odessa Young played Rose Nemser. Rose and her husband, Fred (Logan Lerman), relocated to Bennington, Vermont, for her husband’s new job as a lecturer at Bennington College. With Fred working under Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg) at the college, the Nemsers grow closer to Stanley and his bestselling writer wife, Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss).
The Nemsers eventually move into Stanley and Shirley’s home. Soon enough, they become entangled in Shirley and Stanley’s intense, often manipulative relationship. Rose and Shirley later develop a complicated and psychologically charged bond. Odessa Young delivered a spellbinding performance as the young, pregnant Rose Nemser.
The Stand
The 2020 post-apocalyptic fantasy miniseries The Stand was Odessa Young’s first major television project in Hollywood. The miniseries was based on Stephen King’s 1978 novel. In The Stand, Young co-starred alongside James Marsden, Owen Teague, Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, Amber Heard, and Jovan Adepo. Young portrayed Frannie Goldsmith, a young, pregnant woman who becomes a key figure in the community of survivors. She joins the others in navigating the aftermath of a deadly pandemic and the struggle between good and evil. The 9-episode miniseries aired originally from December 17, 2020, to February 11, 2021.
Mothering Sunday
The 2021 Eva Husson-directed British romantic drama Mothering Sunday is one of Odessa Young’s greatest performances of her career. The film was adapted from Graham Swift’s 2016 novel of the same name. Young portrayed its protagonist, Jane Fairchild, an orphaned maidservant of the Niven family. The film’s storyline is told from her perspective, beginning with her secret relationship with Paul Sheringham (Josh O’Connor) and how they spent the 1924 Mothering Sunday together. With the film also starring Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, and Emma D’Arcy, Odessa Young’s performance shone brightly as she steered the narration.
The Staircase
Odessa Young’s second Hollywood miniseries was The Staircase (2022). In the HBO Max miniseries, Young was cast in a supporting role as Martha Ratliff. The character was one of Micheal Peterson’s (Colin Firth) and Margaret Ratliff’s (Sophie Turner) sister. The Staircase centered around the mysterious death of Kathleen Peterson (Toni Collette) and the subsequent investigation and trial that followed. The miniseries, as well as Young’s performance, generally received positive reviews from critics and audiences.
The Damned
2024 was another exceptionally busy year in Odessa Young’s Hollywood career. A year earlier, she had played the pregnant girlfriend of Jesse Eisenberg’s character in the 2023 Manodrome. The 2024 horror film The Damned was one of three films she starred in 2024. In the psychological horror, Young leads the cast as Eva, a 19th-century widow living in a remote coastal fishing village.
The Damned’s plot centers on Eva’s harrowing decision when a shipwreck occurs near her isolated community during a severe winter. She must choose between rescuing the stranded survivors or ensuring her own survival, and that of her loved one through the harsh season. The film flew under the radar as it didn’t have a theatrical release in the United States. However, Odessa Young’s performance in the movie proves her talent and acting range. If you enjoyed reading about Odessa Young’s career journey, also read about Ruby Rose’s film and television career.
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