Salute to Rising Stars

It’s that time again to salute those actresses who are on the move, actresses who deserve a little extra attention for their latest work, those actresses who are rising stars. Landing that crucial role in a TV movie or guest appearance in a successful show or film makes all the difference for aspiring actors.

Let’s take a look at the next group of actresses who viewers should keep their eye on:

This Friday, December 11, the new series The Wilds will debut on Amazon Prime. The drama is a survival adventure combined with an angsty teen drama. You can think of it as part Lord of the Flies and part Lost.

The Wilds focuses on a group of high school students, each dealing with their respective growing pains. Some are harboring secret crushes, some are being weighed down by the pressure of excellence, and others are shouldering the burden of family issues. However, the girls’ unique paths converge during a trip gone wrong when the private plane they’re traveling on crashes. They are left stranded on an exotic island in the middle of nowhere where the girls realize they have to put their differences aside for one common goal: survival. [Source: Refinery 29]

The eight main actresses who appear in the show are as follows:

Left: Sophia Ali
Right: Sophia as Fatin

Sophia Ali – The San Diego native appeared in 5 episodes of the gymnastic drama Faking It in 2016, 4 episodes of the 2018 Freeform drama Famous in Love and is probably best known for her recurring role from 2017 to 2019 as Dr. Dahlia Qadri in Grey’s Anatomy. She also appeared in the horror flick Truth or Dare. She plays Fatin Jadmani in The Wilds.

Sophia can be followed on Instagram here and on Twitter @sophiatali.

Left: Shannon Berry
Right: Shannon as Dot

Shannon Berry – The Australia born actress appeared in nearly all of the episode of the short-lived, one season Syfy science fiction crime drama Hunters and she had a recurring role in the long-running Aussie TV dramedy Offspring. She plays Dot Campbell in The Wilds.

Shannon can be followed on Instagram here and on Twitter @shangraceberry.

Left to Right: Jenna Clause and Erana James

Jenna Clause – The New York native had a few small roles before landing her first big part in The Wilds, playing Martha Blackburn.

Jenna can be followed on Instagram here.

Left to Right: Erana as Toni and Jenna as Martha

Erana James – The New Zealand native appeared in children’s comedy web series Lucy Lewis Can’t Lose as well as a recurring role in the New Zealand comedy Golden Boy. She also had the lead role in the New Zealand horror flick The Changeover. She plays Toni Shalifoe in The Wilds.

Erana can be followed on Instagram here and on Twitter @erana_james.

Left: Reign Edwards
Right: Reign as Rachel

Reign Edwards – Reign is the most experienced out of the group having portrayed Maya Avant in well over 250 episodes of the daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful as well as a recurring role in the reboot of MacGyver and a recurring role in the FX drama Snowfall. She plays Rachel Reid in The Wilds.

Reign can be followed on Instagram here and on Twitter @reignedwards.

Left: Mia Healey
Right: Mia as Shelby

Mia Healey – Sydney-born newcomer makes her big screen debut in The Wilds playing Shelby Goodkind.

Mia can be followed on Instagram here and on Twitter @miahealey2.

Left: Helena Howard Right: Helena as Nora

Helena Howard – The New York-born but New Jersey-bred actress appeared in the lead role appeared in the Quibi (the now-defunct streaming service) sci-fi drama Don’t Look Deeper before landing her big break in The Wilds, playing Nora Reid, the sister of Rachel Reid.

Helena can be followed on Instagram here.

Left: Sarah Pidgeon
Right: Sarah as Leah

Sarah Pidgeon – The American newcomer appeared in one episode of Gotham before getting her big break in The Wilds, playing Leah Rilke.

Sarah can be followed on Instagram here.

NOTE: Among the adults in the show are Rachel Griffiths (from Brothers & Sisters and Six Feet Under), David Sullivan (from Sharp Objects) and Troy Winbush (from The Goldbergs).

Here is to Sophia, Shannon, Jenna, Erana, Reign, Mia, Helena and Sarah as rising stars!

Make sure to check our previous salute to rising stars here.

Please be on the look-out for more salutes to rising stars in the future.

[Featured Image Photo Credit: Matt Klitscher/Amazon Studios]