Cailee Spaeny

Early work (2018–2021)

Spaeny made her film debut in March 2018 in Pacific Rim: Uprising, the sequel to Pacific Rim (2013), directed by Steven S. DeKnight.^[10][11] She played Amara Namani, one of the protagonists,^[12] an orphan who becomes a self‑taught engineer. Her performance was generally well-received, especially given that it was her first major film role.^[13]

Spaeny appeared in three more films in 2018. In September, she joined the cast of Bad Times at the El Royale, a thriller directed by Drew Goddard, in which she played Rose Summerspring, the younger sister of Emily Summerspring, played by Dakota Johnson.^[14] The character is a fragile and impressionable teenager, manipulated by the cult led by Billy Lee, played by Chris Hemsworth. The role highlighted Spaeny's versatility; after playing the determined Amara in Pacific Rim: Uprising, she took on a character marked by vulnerability.^[15]

In November, Spaeny appeared in On the Basis of Sex, a biographical legal drama directed by Mimi Leder based on the life and early cases of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. In the film, Spaeny played Jane C. Ginsburg, the elder daughter of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, portrayed by Felicity Jones.^[16][17] In December, she appeared in Vice, a biographical comedy-drama written and directed by Adam McKay about the life of Dick Cheney, played by Christian Bale. In the film, Spaeny played Lynne Vincent, a teenage version of Lynne Cheney, with the adult version portrayed by Amy Adams.^[17]

In March 2020, Spaeny made her television debut in the miniseries Devs, created by Alex Garland.^[17] She played Lyndon, a central member of the team working on the secret Devs project developed by the technology company Amaya.^[18] In October, she starred in The Craft: Legacy, a supernatural horror film written and directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, conceived as a sequel to The Craft (1996).^[19] This was Spaeny's first leading role in a film, as well as her first time going through a casting process. The film follows a group of young women who develop supernatural abilities.^[20]

In January 2021, Spaeny appeared in How It Ends, an independent apocalyptic comedy also directed by Lister-Jones. She played Young Liza (also called "Little Liza" or "Younger Self"), a teenage version of the protagonist Liza, played as an adult by the director.^[21] In April, she joined the cast of the HBO miniseries Mare of Easttown, created by Brad Ingelsby and starring Kate Winslet.^[22] Spaeny played Erin McMenamin, a 17-year-old single mother living in Easttown, a small working‑class town in Pennsylvania. Her character faces financial difficulties while caring for her son, who needs an expensive hearing surgery.^[23]

Breakthrough (2022–present)

In April 2022, Spaeny joined the cast of the series The First Lady, which depicts the personal and family lives of three First Ladies of the United States: Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama. Spaeny played Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (also known as Anna Roosevelt Halsted), the only daughter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.^[24][17]

In September, Spaeny was cast as Priscilla Beaulieu Presley in the film Priscilla, directed by Sofia Coppola, alongside Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley. Based on Priscilla Presley's 1985 memoir Elvis and Me,^[25] the film premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. Spaeny was widely acclaimed for her performance, which earned her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.^[26][27] At the premiere, she watched the film alongside Priscilla Presley herself, who was moved by the work and by Spaeny's performance.^[28] Of her preparation for playing the character, Spaeny said: "It was very daunting, but I was very lucky to spend some time with Priscilla, and she was very generous. When you're playing someone so well-known, that support makes all the difference. She was very kind to me and supported me, and that was my main source, besides the book."^[28]

In 2024, Spaeny starred in the dystopian war drama and action film Civil War, directed by Alex Garland, with whom she had worked on Devs. She played Jessie Collin, an aspiring war photographer.^[17][29] Also in 2024, she starred in Alien: Romulus, a film directed by Fede Álvarez and produced by Ridley Scott, part of the Alien franchise. She played the space colonist Rain Carradine.^[30][31] Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly called Spaeny "the finest weapon in the arsenal... differentiating herself quite a bit from the doe-eyed characters she played in Civil War and Priscilla."^[32]

In 2025, Spaeny appeared in Wake Up Dead Man, a film in the Knives Out franchise, written and directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig.^[33] She played Simone Vivane, a former cellist of international renown whose career was interrupted by chronic neuropathic pain.^[34]

In 2026, Spaeny starred in the second season of the anthology series Beef, alongside Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, and Charles Melton.^[35][36] She was also cast in Elden Ring, a live-action film adaptation of the eponymous game^[37] set for a March 2028 release.^[38]

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

• "Send Her to Heaven" (2019), by The All-American Rejects^[39]