Date of Birth
13 December 2002, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Height
5' (1.52 m)
Mini Biography
Sophia Lillis was born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. She started her acting career at the age of seven, when her stepfather encouraged her to take acting classes at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Manhattan. While studying there, a teacher recommended her for a role in an NYU student film. She then signed a deal with an agent and started auditioning for roles. She started out in short films but later landed her breakthrough role in the horror film It (2017). She has also starred in the films It Chapter Two (2019), Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019), and Gretel & Hansel (2020).
Trivia
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Born in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, New York.
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Parents are Juliana and David Lillis. Has a fraternal twin brother Jake Lillis. Her stepfather is photographer and filmmaker Christopher Mellevold.
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She is a fan of Cartoon Network's Steven Universe.
Trademarks:
Quotes
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I really never was interested in social media until recently. After this project, it became a much bigger part of my life.
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A lot of people around me influenced my music. I've listened to music that our mom had on our phone 'cause I didn't really have money to buy my own music. So I listened to her's which kind of grew on me.
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All the roles I've gotten were really depressing background characters-either [my character has] a dead mother, or an abusive father, or abusive mother and dead father. It was kind of the same role I've been playing forever.
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I asked for my stepfather's camera and started taking pictures, and I really enjoyed it.
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I love Bill Murray. I've seen almost every single Bill Murray film there is, and I've watched old, old movies, like old Italian movies which is really weird! Like the Bicycle Thief and La Strada.
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Fear of failure [inspires me]. When you work on a film, there's a lot at stake. The director's vision, the other actors, a lot of money. I just want to do a good job and not let everyone down.
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When I was seven I started to get really into it [acting] because my stepfather was working on this film for a film class and he forced me to be in it but I enjoyed it.
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I liked Andy Muschietti, the [IT] director. He's one of the nicest directors that I've met - amazing guy and really funny.
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I learned about her [Beverly Marsh in IT] and how strong she is and how desperate she is. It was kind of like someone I wanted to be: how brave she is, and how she went head-on to defeat this clown that could have killed her at any second.
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I really like reading fantasy. Actually, I'm starting to read a little more nonfiction. I used to love reading those "Something for Dummies" books because I've always wanted to learn things and have a useless hobby that I'm really good at so I can just brag about it to other people. I want to have one thing I'm really good at that no one else is.
