Kiernan Shipka

Kiernan Brennan Shipka (born November 10, 1999) is an American actress. She is known for playing Sally Draper on the AMC series Mad Men and voicing Jinora in the Nickelodeon series The Legend of Korra.

Early life

Shipka was born in Chicago, Illinois, to John Young Shipka, a real estate developer, and his wife, Erin Ann (née Brennan). She has been taking ballroom dancing classes since the age of five. Her family relocated to Los Angeles, California when she was six to support her acting career.

Career

Shipka began doing commercial print modeling when she was a baby. As part of Mad Men's ensemble cast, she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2008 and 2009.

Shipka has received praise for her performance on Mad Men. In naming her as his dream nominee for the "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series" Emmy Award, Austin American-Statesman critic Dale Roe remarked, "This 10-year-old actress was so affecting as troubled Sally Draper last season that it seems odd that she's only just been upgraded to series regular. If Shipka's upcoming Mad Men work—struggling with the broken marriage of her parents and entering preteendom in the tumultuous 1960s—remains as amazing as it was in season three, this is a ballot wish that could come true next year." Initially a recurring guest star, Shipka was upgraded to a series regular with the start of season four. She got the part after two auditions.