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 eyes on:

Stella Baker

Stella Breeze Baker was born in Australia in 1993 to actress Rebecca Rigg and The Mentalist and The Devil Wears Prada star Simon Baker.

In 2014, at the age of 21, Stella made a guest appearance in her dad’s popular show – The Mentalist – as an angry inmate. After that, the Yale Drama School graduate appeared in several shorts in 2018 and 2020. Stella was not only the actress but also the writer and producer in one of those shorts, entitled Candace.

She then landed her first major role of Theresa Barlow in the Amazon thriller drama Tell Me Your Secrets, which starred Amy Brennaman, Lily Rabe and Enrique Murciano, that debuted in February. Stella also appeared in the independent film Highway One which was released this year in the U.K. and was featured at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this past April.

Her big break came last night with the debut of the new drama The Republic of Sarah, in which she plays the lead character Sarah Cooper. The series focuses on her character, a rebellious high school teacher who utilizes an obscure cartographical loophole to declare independence for her small New England hometown that is faced with destruction at the hands of a greedy mining company.

Stella freely admits that “it took a while for me to come around (to) the idea of doing what my parents did.”

It should be noted that Stella’s godmother is Australian actress Naomi Watts, who is a closer friend of her parents; and it should also be noted that a previous iteration of The Republic of Sarah – that was to star Grey’s Anatomy and Everwood actress Sarah Drew – was set up at CBS last year with a pilot order but was ultimately passed over.

Stella can be followed on Instagram @stellabaker.

The Republic of Sarah debuted on The CW last night, and will air weekly on Monday nights at 9 PM.

Jordan Alexander

Jordan Alexander grew up on the west coast of Canada before her family moved to the Toronto area when she was 12 years old. She has had a love for the arts since she played baby Jesus in a church play. So, at the age of 18 she moved to the city to pursue acting, but she found at every audition that all the other would-be thespians looked exactly like her. She landed a one episode appearance in the Canadian cop show Rookie Blue; and an appearance in a TV short and a “blink-and-you-will-miss her” role in a romantic comedy film.

It was then that Jordan decided to shave her head; and eventually she gave up the pursuit of acting (albeit briefly) to focus on playing the guitar and writing her own songs. In 2018, she performed as an opener for Kehlani and in 2019 she collaborated with Carly Rae Jepsen.

But, thanks to her sister, who kept hounding her about acting, Jordan booked a role on the Facebook Watch series Sacred Lies that starred Juliette Lewis. It was while filming this show that she met actress Emily Alyn Lind.

It was because of Emily that Jordan auditioned for her latest role: that of Julien Calloway in the upcoming HBO Max reboot of the long-running series Gossip Girl, that will, much like its predecessor, center on a new generation of New York private school teens using social media to spread gossip. [Emily is also part of the cast of the new Gossip Girl.]

[Source: W Magazine]

Jordan can be followed on Instagram @thejordanalexander and you can check out her music at her own site here.

The reboot of Gossip Girl will debut on HBO Max on July 8.