Sophie Nélisse makes the quiet girl worth watching in a crowded ensemble. We value her restraint in Yellowjackets, while hoping for more roles that let a young woman do something besides survive.
Fi1m perspective
In Yellowjackets (2021), Sophie Nélisse’s teenage Shauna Shipman does the homework for her best friend, Jackie, played by Ella Purnell. Shauna is the quiet one; Jackie is the team captain who has never been told no. We felt protective of Shauna because that routine favour makes her seem taken for granted before the larger dangers arrive. Nélisse has a useful place in a cast whose characters remain distinct: she need not compete for attention to make us notice her. The friendship gives us a reason to care before survival becomes the urgent business.
The lead in The Book Thief (2013) followed a supporting debut in Monsieur Lazhar (2011). Supporting parts in Pawn Sacrifice (2015) and Mean Dreams (2016) followed, alongside television work in Quebec. Across English- and French-language productions, the recurring assignment has been a young person facing trauma or trying to survive. That is serious work, but casting her chiefly for how convincingly she suffers would put a needless limit on what she might do.
Yellowjackets gives her the useful complication of other girls with their own demands. Purnell’s Jackie supplies the authority that makes Shauna’s helpfulness telling, while Brian Kane’s production design gives the stranded team a dusty cabin with one bed. Who gets the mattress matters because the programme has kept these girls separate in our minds. Nélisse’s quietness works within that ensemble, leaving us interested in someone who might otherwise be overlooked. Our reservations lie more with the thinner present-day story: the woods half is tense, funny and frightening, and the series is uneven despite its cast.
The historical drama Irena’s Vow (2023) cast her in the title role, Irena Gut; Heated Rivalry (2025–) gives her Rose Landry in a sports romance. The latter offers a welcome change of setting, though a change of genre alone tells us little about a performance. We would start with Yellowjackets, accepting that its two timelines are not equally rewarding. For the next part, we would welcome a character allowed to enjoy herself.
Biography
Sophie Nélisse, also credited as Marie-Sophie Nélisse, is a Canadian actress. She was born on 27 March 2000 in Windsor, Ontario, and moved with her family to Montreal, Quebec, at the age of four. She is of French Canadian descent. Her younger sister, Isabelle Nélisse, is also an actress.
Nélisse began working in commercials at the age of seven. She made her feature film debut at ten in the 2011 French-language drama Monsieur Lazhar, playing Alice L'Écuyer. For this role she won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role and the Jutra Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She is known for portraying Liesel Meminger in The Book Thief (2013) and Teen Shauna Shipman in the series Yellowjackets (2021–). Other credits include Pawn Sacrifice (2015), 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019), The Kid Detective (2020) and the series Heated Rivalry (2025–) as Rose Landry.
