Sadie Sink, the actress best known for her role as “Max Mayfield” on Netflix’s hit series “Stranger Things,” and recently featured on Forbes’ 2023 ‘30 Under 30′ spotlight of young talents, kicked off her performance career at the age of 7 in Houston.
Born in Brenham, Texas, Sink got her start in a local production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” According to the actress’s IMDB page, by age 9, she was performing in Houston theater productions. Sink attended the Houston Family Arts Center (now known as Stageworks Houston), where she performed as the titular role in the musical “Annie” in 2011. She also performed in “White Christmas.”
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“Sadie and (her brother) have always enjoyed music, singing and performing,” said her mother, Lori Sink in a 2013 interview with the Houston Chronicle, preceding her daughter’s Broadway debut. “They would put on plays at our home in Brenham.”
Sink reprised her role as “Annie” in a regional production in 2012, at the Theatre Under the Stars in Houston. It was after this role that her career began to take off, when she successfully secured the role “Annie” again, this time on Broadway. The actress was reportedly featured in this role, as well as the orphan “Duffy,” from 2012 to 2014. Her landing of the Broadway role prompted her family to make the move from Brenham to New York.
“My family has always been so supportive of me and my career,” the actress said in a Glamour Magazine interview. “Theatre was such a big part of my life growing up.”
Sink’s acting accolades reflect a number of guest-starring television roles interspersed with her Broadway performances. Such roles include appearances on “The Americans,” “Blue Bloods,” “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “American Odyssey.”
In 2016, Sink landed her breakout role in season two of the popular Netflix show “Stranger Things” and was launched into celebrity status through her portrayal of Max Mayfield, a tomboyish skater girl who is reluctantly inducted into the close-knit circle of main characters. Sink’s character grew to be integral to the show’s plot and adored by fans in both seasons three and four.
The actress received several nominations and awards for her “Stranger Things” performances, as well as starring roles in other major film productions following this role, according to her IMDB credits. She went on to notably star in the Fear Street horror trilogy, as well as Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” short film. Sink most recently received critical acclaim for her role as the protagonist’s daughter in the 2022 award-winning drama ”The Whale.”
Did you see Sink when she performed in Houston theater? What did you think of her then and her career path now? Let us know in the comments.
Despite her monumental success and rapid launch into stardom, Sink still cites her positive experiences with childhood acting in Houston as integral to her outlook today.
“Being on set is when I feel the most empowered,” the actress said to Glamour Magazine. “Doing what I have loved since I was 6 years old is where I feel my best.”