Jade Pettyjohn - Film & Theater Personalities, Family and Childhood

Jade started her career as an actress in a national commercial following which she received an offer in 2008, to act in a single episode of the CBS TV series ‘The Mentalist.' In 2009, she got the chance of acting in two short films,. She acted in two episodes of ‘United States of Tara,’ but the major breakthrough came when Jade Pettyjohn appeared in the television film ‘An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars’ in 2012, where she received tremendous recognition from the TV industry. She appeared in a recurring role in six episodes of ‘The Last Ship,’in 2014. In 2016, she landed the main role of Summer in Nickelodeon’s ‘School of Rock’, a television series based on the 2003 American musical comedy film of the same name.

Portraying McKenna in the film ‘An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars’ was Jade’s first major role in the TV industry. The film revolves around a young girl who finds it difficult to balance the time schedule for her school and her gymnastics career. To prepare for this role, Jade learnt the routines, traits and behavioral quirks of competitive gymnastics by training with the Canadian junior Olympic team for several weeks. This shows her passion for excelling in her parts and her desire to achieve perfection in what she sets her eyes on. As a part of the MyAG doll collection released by the American Girl Franchise, Jade’s McKenna was launched as the “Doll of the Year” in 2012 and was an instant hit. It is still the highest annual selling Doll of the Year till date! Jade’s specialty is that she is known as an all-rounder. She is equally talented in her acting and gymnastics as well as in her school academics and singing, and dancing. Despite being a successful actress at a young age, she concentrates hard on academics and looks to learn. She is very down to earth even though she has reached great heights in her career. An ambitious girl, she dreams of taking her career to even greater heights and is always ready to go that extra mile!

She had a regular dance background, so it was not that difficult for her to take up gymnastics. Her role model is Cathy Rigby, with whom she acted in the film, and learnt many things from her. She thinks that life is all about maintaining the right balance which McKenna, her character, taught her.

Jade Pettyjohn enjoys playing the guitar, which is one of her many talents. She likes to compose, play, and sing her own songs, which she then posts on her YouTube channel. She also participates in stage shows and fund raisers. Despite all the fame and tight schedules, she maintains very good grades at her school. She loves wearing crop tops along with shorts and sandals. Her favorite snack is lemon and salt. She likes to eat it like an orange, which she claims to be weird, but absolutely loves!