Mikaela Madison Rosberg, born in 1998 to Jewish parents in Los Angeles, grew up in the San Fernando Valley. Both her parents are psychologists, and she has two brothers (one is her twin) and two sisters.
Acting at age 14
Madison initially trained as a competitive horseback rider before switching to acting at age 14. She was homeschooled after the seventh grade.
Madison made her acting debut in 2013, appearing in the short films Retirement and Pani’s Box.
In 2014, after appearing in the short film Bound for Greatness, she filmed her first feature film, Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey, which was not released until 2017.
In 2016, Madison began a starring role as Max Fox in the FX comedy-drama series Better Things created by Louis C.K. and Pamela Adlon, which ran until 2022.
From 2017 to 2018, she guest starred in the Bravo dark comedy series Imposters.
In 2018, she appeared in the drama films Monster and Nostalgia.
Madison earned recognition for her role as the Manson Family member Susan “Sadie” Atkins in Quentin Tarantino’s period drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Fest and was a commercial success with a worldwide gross of $374.3 million.
Also in 2019, she had a voice role in the animated black comedy film The Addams Family.
The following year, Madison was cast as Amber Freeman in Scream, the fifth film of the Scream franchise, which was directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The film was released in 2022 to critical and commercial success.
In 2024, Madison had a supporting role in the miniseries “Lady in the Lake.”
She was cast by Sean Baker in the romantic drama film Anora as the titular stripper and sex worker. The character was written for Madison after Baker watched her work in Scream and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The film premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim, winning the Palme d’Or.
It became a commercial success upon its theatrical release, grossing $21 million worldwide against its $6 million budget.
For the role, she studied Russian and performed her own stunts, including fight scenes. Madison was praised for her authentic Brooklyn accent and for vivid, sometimes brash but always charming performance, winning, among other awards, Best Actress from the L.A. Film Critics Association.
Filmography
2017 Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey, Liza
2018 Monster Alexandra Floyd; Nostalgia Kathleen
2019 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Susan “Sadie” Atkins
The Addams Family Candi the Barista Voice role
2021 It Takes Three Kat Walker
2022 Scream Amber Freeman
2023 All Souls River
2024 Anora, Anora “Ani” Mikheeva
Television
2016–2022 Better Things Maxine “Max” Fox Main role
2017–2018 Imposters Young Maddie 2 episodes
2024 Lady in the Lake Judith Weinstein Main role; miniseries
