Jenna Boyd

Actress Jenna Boyd played resilient young girls and teenagers in several well-received features and television series, including "The Missing" (2003), "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (2005) and the comedy series "Atypical" (Netflix, 2017-). Born Jenna Michelle Boyd in Bedford, Texas, she was in front of cameras from an early age, appearing in print ads and television commercials as well as a background player on "Barney & Friends" (PBS, 1992-2009). Her family eventually moved west to Los Angeles with the intent of supporting an acting career for Boyd and her younger brother, Cayden, who would appear on "Awkward" (MTV, 2011-2016), among several other television series. Jenna Boyd would soon find regular work in bit and guest roles on episodic television, including "Six Feet Under" (HBO, 2001-2005), before working her way up to supporting turns in projects like the holiday TV-movie "Mary Christmas" (Pax TV, 2002), playing a girl who writes to Santa Claus for a new mother. In 2003, Boyd made her feature film debut as Benicio Del Toro's daughter in William Friedkin's thriller "The Hunted," which was followed by a turn as the daughter of a family that "adopts" David Spade's washed-up actor in "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" (2003). However, her breakout film was the Ron Howard western "The Missing," which cast her as the youngest daughter of a 19th century mother (Cate Blanchett) tracking a Native American cult leader (Eric Schweig) with the help of her estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones). Boyd won a Young Artist Award for her performance in the film, and earned a nomination - her fourth - as well as a Teen Choice Award nomination for her role as a leukemia patient befriended by Amber Tamblyn in the popular youth drama "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." Her subsequent work was steady: guest roles on episodic television (a girl in a foster home on "The Ghost Whisperer," CBS, 2005-2010) and made-for-TV fare, as well as a slew of independent movies like the Christian drama "Last Ounce of Courage" (2012). In 2017, she was cast in a recurring role on the Netflix comedy series "Atypical," playing the overachieving girlfriend of an autistic teen (Keir Gilchrist).