Isla Johnston

Johnston grew up in Suffolk,^[1] England. She lived on a farm which grew wheat, barley, rapeseed and sugar beet. Her mother had previously worked as a model, and her father works in IT. She has a younger brother. Her first acting role was as Lady Macbeth for Shakespeare Schools Theatre Festival, at Gislingham Primary School as a ten year-old. After appearing in acting roles, Johnston returned to school to finish her A-Levels, including art history and history and gaining an A* in drama.^[2][3]

Johnston began acting in 2018, with her first role in the Channel 4 miniseries Kiri. She also made an appearance on the long running BBC One series Doctors.^[4] She played a younger version of the character Beth Harmon, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, in 2020 Netflix series The Queen's Gambit.^[5][6][7]

In 2021, she could be seen the role of Lucy Spencer in the Apple TV+ original series Invasion. In 2022, she appeared in BBC Two series Life After Life playing the younger version of the character Ursula, played by Thomasin McKenzie.^[8][9] In 2023, she was cast in a lead role in the Nicolas Pesce horror film Visitation, alongside Olivia Cooke.^[10][11]

In 2025, she could be seen alongside Nicolas Cage in The Carpenter's Son, her performance described in The Times as "captivating" as a vulnerable female Satan, “one of the great screen Satans…an easy match for Robert De Niro in Angel Heart.^[1] That year, she was cast in the lead role by Baz Luhrman in an upcoming biographical film about Joan of Arc.^[2][12]