Molly Belle Wright is a British actress. She is known for playing Ella in Cole Webley's drama Omaha (2025), which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and for taking the title role in Flavia (2026). Her other film credits include The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024), Deep Water (2026), and Black Box: Flight 298 (2026). At the age of seven, Wright delivered the TED Talk “How Every Child Can Thrive by Five”. ABC News described her as the youngest person to deliver a TED Talk, and TED listed it as one of the most-watched talks of 2021.
Early life Wright was born in Manchester, England, and spent part of her childhood in Queensland, Australia. Wright became interested in acting after watching her mother, a former drama teacher, coach actors.
In addition to her acting and public speaking work, Wright is a wildlife advocate and has devoted time to raising awareness and money for organisations such as the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Queensland.
Acting career Wright began acting in Queensland, Australia, first appearing on screen at the age of six in the feature film Kidnapped (2021). The film was directed by Vic Sarin.
Wright was then cast in the Australian crime drama Troppo, where Wright had the recurring role of Lilly alongside Thomas Jane and Radha Mitchell.
Roles followed in TV series Darby & Joan, Upright; and in feature films Christmas on the Farm, Mistletoe Ranch and True Spirit.
In 2024, Wright was cast as the lead Beth Bradley in Kingdom Story Company/Lionsgate's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024), based on Barbara Robinson's best-selling book of the same name. The film was directed by The Chosen director Dallas Jenkins. The film was a commercial success, achieving box office revenue internationally of $40.7 million.
She followed it with the role of Ella in Omaha, opposite John Magaro. The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it featured in U.S. Dramatic Competition. Reviewing the film for The Guardian, Adrian Horton called Wright "a remarkable newcomer", while Entertainment Weekly included Wright and Magaro in its selection of ten favourite performances from the festival. For Omaha, Wright received the Hamptons International Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Acting Performance and the Richmond International Film Festival's Rising Star Actress award. Wright was also named as a breakout performer in IndieWire's list of 12 breakout performances of Sundance 2025.
Her later work includes season two of Nine Perfect Strangers. She starred alongside Ben Kingsley and Aaron Eckhart in Renny Harlin's survival thriller Deep Water (2026), playing Cora. She then appeared in the supernatural thriller Black Box: Flight 298. The film was directed by Final Destination 5 director Steven Quale.
In 2026, Molly starred in the title role as Flavia de Luce in the film Flavia, alongside Martin Freeman, Toby Jones and Jonathan Pryce. The film follows Flavia de Luce as a keen detective and amateur chemist, and is based on Alan Bradley's mystery novels.
Public speaking Wright delivered "How Every Child Can Thrive by Five" for TED and Minderoo Foundation's Thrive by Five initiative. The talk argues for the importance of play and responsive interaction in early childhood development. It became TED's most popular talk of 2021 and has been translated into multiple languages.
In 2023, she spoke at El Festival de Las Ideas in Puebla, Mexico. The presentation, to a live audience of conference attendees, explored reading and the power of books and stories.
In 2023, Wright won the Outstanding Influencer: Youth Actress category at the 44th Young Artist Awards in Los Angeles.
Filmography
Film +YearTitleRole2021KidnappedAria2021Christmas on the FarmYoung Emmy2022Mistletoe RanchJuniper Hunt2023True SpiritYoung Hannah2024The Best Christmas Pageant EverBeth Bradley2025OmahaElla2026Deep WaterCora2026FlaviaFlavia de Luce2026Black Box: Flight 298Chloe
Television +YearTitleRole2022TroppoLilly2022Darby and JoanBella2022UprightYoung Meg2025Nine Perfect StrangersYoung Imogen
Awards +YearAssociationCategoryWorkResultRef2023Young Artist AwardsOutstanding Influencer: Youth ActressWon2025Richmond International Film FestivalRising Star Actress AwardOmahaWon2025Hamptons International Film FestivalSpecial Jury Prize for Acting PerformanceOmahaWon
References