Mikey Madison is an American actress who won the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 97th Oscars in March 2025 for her lead role in Sean Baker’s film Anora. Born in Los Angeles on March 25, 1999, she rose through supporting film and television roles before her award-winning performance made her one of Hollywood’s most-discussed young actresses of the decade.
This guide covers her verified background, breakthrough roles, major awards, confirmed filmography, and current public status in 2026 — written for readers who want a clear, source-checked profile rather than speculation. Every detail is drawn from publicly reported, verifiable information.
Who Is Mikey Madison?
Mikey Madison is a Los Angeles–born American film and television actress best known for her lead performance in the 2024 film Anora, which won her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2025. She began her career in independent film and television before transitioning into major studio and award-circuit roles.
Her full name is Mikaela Madison Rosberg. She grew up in Los Angeles, California, and attended The Archer School for Girls. In early interviews, she has spoken about training in horseback riding during her youth, which later informed physical performance work in her acting career.
Before Anora, Madison built her career through consistent appearances in television and smaller film roles throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s. She has publicly maintained a private, press-light image compared with most of her peers at the same career stage.
Why Is Mikey Madison Famous?
Mikey Madison became internationally famous after her lead role in Anora, directed by Sean Baker. The film premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or. Her performance was widely praised and went on to earn major awards across the 2024–2025 awards season, including the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Before Anora, she was already recognized within the film industry for her supporting role as Susan “Sadie” Atkins in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and her lead role as Amber Freeman in Scream (2022). Industry publications such as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter had already highlighted her as an emerging actress to watch before Anora elevated her to a wider audience.
Her 2025 Oscar win placed her among the youngest Best Actress winners in Academy Awards history.
What Are Mikey Madison’s Biggest Career Highlights?
Mikey Madison’s biggest career highlights include her lead role in Anora (2024), her Academy Award win for Best Actress in 2025, her BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress in 2025, and her early breakout work in television’s Better Things on FX from 2016 to 2022, where she played Max Fox for five seasons.
Her verified career milestones include:
- 2016–2022 — Max Fox in FX’s Better Things, created by Pamela Adlon
- 2019 — Susan “Sadie” Atkins in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- 2022 — Amber Freeman in Paramount’s Scream (fifth film in the franchise)
- 2024 — Anora “Ani” Mikheeva in Sean Baker’s Anora
- 2024 — Palme d’Or win for Anora at the Cannes Film Festival
- 2025 — Academy Award for Best Actress at the 97th Oscars
- 2025 — BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
- 2025 — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance
Anora ultimately won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Sean Baker, further elevating Madison’s career profile across the global film industry.
What Is Mikey Madison Working on Now?
As of October 2026, Mikey Madison has not released a major new film since Anora, but industry reporting through 2025 and 2026 confirmed she has been actively evaluating new scripts and offers following her Oscar win. She has intentionally maintained a selective project pace rather than taking on multiple back-to-back roles.
Variety, Deadline, and The Hollywood Reporter have reported throughout 2025 and 2026 that Madison has been attached to multiple projects in development, though specific titles, directors, and release schedules remain subject to studio confirmation. Readers are encouraged to follow her verified IMDb profile for the latest officially confirmed roles.
Her selective approach is widely compared to other recent Best Actress winners who followed similar strategies after breakthrough award wins.
How Does Mikey Madison Compare With Similar Stars?
Mikey Madison compares most closely with young Best Actress Oscar winners of recent years such as Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, and Brie Larson, who each won their first Best Actress Oscar before age 30. Like them, Madison transitioned from supporting roles into a defining award-winning performance within a few years.
| Celebrity | Known For | Key Career Highlight | Latest Confirmed Major Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mikey Madison | Anora | Best Actress Oscar (2025) | Anora (2024) |
| Emma Stone | La La Land, Poor Things | Best Actress Oscars (2017, 2024) | Poor Things (2023) |
| Jennifer Lawrence | Silver Linings Playbook | Best Actress Oscar (2013) | No Hard Feelings (2023) |
| Brie Larson | Room | Best Actress Oscar (2016) | The Marvels (2023) |
Each of these actresses used their Oscar win to shape long-term career direction. Industry trackers consistently cite Mikey Madison as part of this emerging generation of award-winning actresses carefully choosing projects to sustain long careers.
What Are Common Myths About Mikey Madison?
The most common myth about Mikey Madison is that she was an unknown actress before Anora. In reality, she had been working steadily in film and television for nearly a decade, including five seasons on FX’s Better Things and roles in two widely released theatrical films directed by well-known filmmakers.
Myth 1: “Mikey Madison came out of nowhere.” Her career spans back to the mid-2010s with television roles in Better Things.
Myth 2: “Her Oscar win was unexpected.” Industry analysts and critics’ circles had tracked her as a Best Actress frontrunner from the time Anora premiered at Cannes in May 2024.
Myth 3: “Mikey Madison is a stage name.” Her birth name is Mikaela Madison Rosberg, and “Mikey Madison” is her professional screen name adapted from her real first and middle names.
FAQs About Mikey Madison
How old is Mikey Madison in 2026? Mikey Madison was born on March 25, 1999, which makes her 27 years old as of October 2026. She was 25 years old when she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in March 2025, placing her among the youngest Best Actress Oscar winners in recent Academy history.
What is Mikey Madison’s real name? Mikey Madison’s full real name is Mikaela Madison Rosberg. She uses the professional screen name “Mikey Madison,” which is adapted from her first and middle names. She has used this screen name across all of her verified television and film credits since her career began in the mid-2010s.
Where is Mikey Madison from? Mikey Madison was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended The Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles. In interviews with publications such as The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, she has spoken about growing up in LA and training as a horseback rider during her teenage years before focusing fully on acting.
What movies has Mikey Madison been in? Mikey Madison’s verified film roles include Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) directed by Quentin Tarantino, Scream (2022) released by Paramount, and Anora (2024) directed by Sean Baker. She also appeared across five seasons of the FX television series Better Things between 2016 and 2022, created by Pamela Adlon.
Did Mikey Madison really win an Oscar? Yes. Mikey Madison won the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 97th Academy Awards ceremony, held on March 2, 2025, for her lead role in Anora. She was 25 years old at the time of her win. The film itself won five Oscars in total, including Best Picture and Best Director for Sean Baker.
What awards has Mikey Madison won? Mikey Madison has won several major awards for Anora, including the Academy Award for Best Actress (2025), the BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (2025), and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance (2025). Her work has also received recognition from major critics’ circles across the United States.
What is Mikey Madison’s next movie? As of October 2026, no specific new film release featuring Mikey Madison has been officially confirmed by a studio with a public release date. Industry reporting indicates she is attached to multiple projects in development. For the most accurate current information, readers can refer to her verified IMDb profile and official announcements from studios.
Conclusion
Mikey Madison’s career demonstrates how consistent, carefully chosen roles can lead to major industry recognition. Her work on Better Things, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Scream, and Anora reflects a steady career arc built across nearly a decade, culminating in her 2025 Best Actress Oscar win.
Readers who want to follow her upcoming projects should check her verified IMDb profile and reporting from established entertainment publications such as Variety, Deadline, and The Hollywood Reporter.
