For most high schoolers, the summer between sophomore and junior years means looking ahead to the ACT and, reflecting on the halfway point, starting to more seriously contemplate what the future has in store.
Few get to celebrate making their feature film debut as classes wind down for the summer. But for Stella Grace Fitzgerald, it’s the latest milestone toward what she hopes will be a promising career.
“I would consider myself lucky if I were to be able to be an actor the rest of my life,” said Stella, a student at Lyons Township High School in La Grange.
In “The Breadwinner,” which opened in theaters nationwide May 29, Stella portrays Gracie, the eldest of three daughters to parents played by stars Nate Bargatze and Mandy Moore. The movie follows what happens to a family when a disorganized dad takes over as primary parent when mom launches a new career following success on “Shark Tank” and, as the saying goes, chaos ensues.
Stella, 15, spent most of last summer in Atlanta filming the family comedy, learning to strike a balance between her on- and off-screen lives.
“It can be tricky at times,” she admitted. “I’m a good student so I’ve managed to keep my grades up so far. I only missed the last two weeks of school, so I juggled the beginning of my sophomore year with finals from my freshman year, which was challenging.”
Social media kept her connected with friends while she absorbed all she could from her screen family.
“(Bargatze) is very kind and very funny. Meeting and working with Mandy Moore for a couple of months was so awesome. She is super sweet, gorgeous and so talented. Will Forte was super funny and so good at improv – it was neat to watch,” Stella said. “All of them always made us feel important, supported and part of the process. I learned that there are so many talented actors and everyone’s process on set is different.”
For Stella, the process began at age 2 as a child model for various clothing brands, then a handful of community theater musical productions and singing “My Favorite Things” in her third-grade school variety show.
“I could tell right away this kid was special,” said Micki Doherty, who met Stella while running the theater program for Music Makers music school in Western Springs. “She was so young, but she already had great timing and was so funny.”
Now the owner and artistic director of Ghostlight Educational Theater Collective in Downers Grove, Doherty said she told Stella what she tells all her students: believe in yourself and have fun. “As I’ve watched Stella’s career progression, I feel so much pride, and frankly, I’m not surprised at all by her success,” she said. “For her, I think this is just the beginning.”
Work-life balance
Stella’s modeling led to TV roles, starting with an episode of NBC’s “Chicago PD” in 2021, playing a young girl from a troubled family. In summer 2022, she portrayed a factory worker’s daughter in “The Dancing Monkey,” a film adaptation of the Eugene O’Neill play “The Hairy Ape.”
In 2023, Stella had a recurring guest role on Peacock’s “Mrs. Davis,” a sci-fi dramedy exploring faith and technology, portraying the protagonist as a child, opposite eccentric parents played by David Arquette and Elizabeth Marvel. The following year, she took on the role of Princess Issa in the Netflix two-part space opera “Rebel Moon,” playing the daughter of the king and queen portrayed by Cary Elwes and Rhian Rees. And just prior to “The Breadwinner,” Stella played a young Courtney Stodden in the Lifetime movie “I Was a Child Bride: The Courtney Stodden Story.”
Stella’s big-screen debut is her biggest role to date, cast from among hundreds of girls nationwide vying for the part. After her agent submitted her audition tape, “I was invited to do a Zoom callback a week or two later,” she explained, “then Sony flew me and one other ‘Gracie’ out to do a mix-and-match chemistry read with Nate and two girls for each of the two younger sibling roles.”
The process was a new experience for Stella. “It lasted about four hours. I would go in with one of the middle sisters and one of the younger sisters and do scenes … It was actually very fun and friendly; it didn’t seem super competitive.” The next day, she was invited for a follow-up call during which she learned she won the part.
Her parents, Lisa and Tom Fitzgerald, are justifiably proud.
“She works hard on every audition and often sacrifices social activities to pursue her craft,” Lisa Fitzgerald said. “It has been thrilling to watch her grow as an actor. While we have loved all of her projects, this film was especially meaningful; it is her largest role to date and the cast and crew truly felt like family.”
When she’s working during the school year, Stella is required to do a certain amount of schoolwork on set with a studio teacher, “but I do miss instruction,” she said. “Teachers are usually pretty good about giving me time to get in missing assignments. I sometimes have to go in late or leave early because I have an audition, but I still managed to get all A’s this year.”
While missing social activities with friends (and her older sister, Evelyn), she still had time to play on her school’s flag football team last fall and participate in the Best Buddies Club, along with working part-time on weekends at a nature center, “so my life is still pretty normal and balanced.”
She also finds time to play and sing in a pop-rock cover band organized by her guitar teacher, playing tunes by Taylor Swift, Coldplay and Fleetwood Mac at local events.
Working at it
Finding success as an actor in her teens has presented a range of emotions for Stella. She’s worked with famous co-stars like Cary Elwes: “My favorite movie of all time is ‘The Princess Bride,’ so it was surreal to finally meet Cary, and he played my dad.” She’s had to adapt to a dynamic work schedule: “Filming was a mix of early morning shoots and a few night shoots. Because I’m 15 years old, I can only work for nine hours a day.” And she’s learned the realities of the business: “You’ve got to have thick skin because the number of nos vs. yeses is huge.”
What advice have her parents offered her? “We encourage her to stay humble, keep an open mind and never take the industry’s challenges or setbacks personally,” Tom Fitzgerald said. “We view every audition and callback as a learning opportunity.”
In the wake of the release of “The Breadwinner,” Stella has been auditioning for various TV and film roles. Meanwhile, as her junior year approaches this fall, she’s already looking beyond.
“I’d like to go to a performing arts college and continue acting as well as working in music,” she said. “I’m also interested in learning more about TV and film production, and directing or writing, so I see myself in the industry in some capacity.”
Building on a solid foundation, Stella offers her own advice to peers who may have similar aspirations: “Get into a good theater or find a good agent to help get those great auditions. You can have natural talent, but you also have to work at it … Be patient, as there really aren’t many overnight success stories.”
Jim Dudlicek is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
