Jade Pettyjohn is a 19-year-old girl who made her breakthrough in the film industry through the movie “An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for The Stars.” The film did so well and even launched a McKenna doll that is still the highest-selling annual doll of the year. The actress has managed to balance her acting and school work while exploring her other talents. Just like any other teenager, Jade has a few weird habits that include eating lemon and salt as a snack. Here are other facts about her that might interest you.
1. Her parents did not want her to be an actress
Jade always wanted to play make-believe, but when she learned that actors do it and get paid, that became the career path she wanted to take. At the time she was only four; thus, she kept pestering her parents to get her an agent so she could be an actress. However, her parents could not see how their daughter, a shy girl, could ever be comfortable in front of the cameras. Fortunately, Jade exercised, thereby eventually convincing her parents that she was ready for the entertainment industry.
2. She began as a model
Just like most actors, Jade’s journey towards becoming an actress started with modeling. Her mother used her photography skills to get Jade’s headshots which she passed on to a family friend that owned an agency. That resulted in Jade booking some commercials, but since her heart was not in it, she still looked for an agent to help facilitate her acting career. Luckily, she met Karen Renna, whom she has retained to date.
3. Her first time being on-set
For a girl who desperately wanted to be an actress, her first time could have meant either giving up on her dream or pursuing it depending on how the process was. After only a month of getting Karen to be her agent, Jade was fortunate enough to have landed a co-star role with Simon Baker on “The Mentalist.” She recalls the first time being a pleasant experience because not only was Simon kind but he also treated her as a professional actor, not as a kid.
4. Her dream collaborations
If ever there was a filmmaker that Jade would love to work with, it would have to be Wes Anderson. The screenwriter has won several awards for his unique narrative and visual techniques. As for acting, Jade hopes to one day be able to act alongside Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman and Tom Hanks as she told Taylor Magazine. The teenager knows how to pick the best, considering that Meryl has won three Oscars after being nominated 21 times. Her choice of Gary must also be because of his competence as an actor; he has been awarded multiple awards including an Academy Award, Golden Globe award among many more.
5. She enjoys having breakfast for dinner
Understanding the mind of a teenager can take a toll even on the most-experienced psychologists. Transitioning into adulthood from childhood has the teenagers doing things that perhaps even they cannot comprehend. For instance, Jade reveals that breakfast for dinner is the iconic teenage food. Therefore whenever she and her friends get together, they wait until it is very late to go to a particular diner. While there, they order breakfast that comprises eggs, waffles, pancakes and coffee. You would think that they would avoid the coffee to have enough energy for the next day, but she says they do not mind staying awake all night because it is all worth it.
6. How she prepares for roles
Everyone has their way of doing things and for Jade, getting ready for a part demands that she takes it as seriously as detective work. Therefore whenever she is handed a script, she will keep reading it searching for anything she might have missed about what the scriptwriter wanted to pass along about the character. Besides reading, Jade memorizes the script by saying it in various accents, speeds and pitches so that she can engrave the lines on her mind.
7. She uses music as a form of self-expression
Jade comes from an artistic family; her mother was a photographer, her grandmother was a Broadway dancer, and her father was a musician. Consequently, the teenager found herself gravitating towards the industry, and her chosen craft is acting and music. Although acting remains her main hustle, she still is passionate about music and has found it challenging to balance the two. Her interest in music has also seen her learn a few instruments; she can play the guitar, bass and tambourine. At the time she talked to Musing in Music she was learning to play the drums.
8. Her musical inspirations
Jade is in the generation Z category so you would expect her to be inspired by artists like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez. Instead, the teenager cites her lyrical inspirations as Lorde, Beck and Death Can for Cutie. She admits that there is a lot of musicians who can inspire anyone, but of course, it all depends on what one is drawn to; therefore regarding music composition, the actress-cum musician likes listening to Etta James, Florence and the Machine and White Stripes.
9. She is dating
If you have your eyes set on Jade, sorry to inform you that she is in a steady relationship with Finn Daytona. The two have been together since August 2018 and Jade is not afraid of showing off how cute they look together. The couple attended the premiere of Mile 22 at Westwood Village Theatre on the night of August 9, 2018, making it their first red carpet occasion together.
10. Her social media
Jade is already a celebrity in her own right, and her Instagram profile is only proof. She has 1.4 million followers on the platform with each post she makes getting tens of thousands of likes. Her YouTube channel, on the other hand, has 66.5k subscribers. However, the number would have been higher if only she remained active; the last video she uploaded was three years ago, and it had 173k views.
