Jenna Kanell

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Jenna Kanell
Occupation
  • Actress
  • director
  • writer
  • stunt performer

Jenna Kanell is an American actress, director, writer, and stunt performer. She[lower-alpha 1] gained recognition for her portrayals of Tara Heyes in Terrifier (2016) and Kim Hansen in The Bye Bye Man (2017)—both horror films. Her film career has since expanded to a variety of genres such as the political drama The Front Runner (2018) and the horror-comedy Renfield (2023).

On television, Kanell has made appearances on shows such as the Disney+ miniseries WandaVision (2021) and the Showtime anthology series The First Lady (2022).

Career

Jenna Kanell delivered a TEDx Talk on the experience of writing, directing, and producing the short film “Bumblebees” alongside her disabled younger brother Vance Kanell.[1] The project went on to screen at over forty film festivals and events around the world, winning numerous awards and bringing the siblings to speak at institutions such as Harvard Medical School.[2][3][4][5][6]

Kanell gained recognition for her portrayal of Tara Heyes in Damien Leone's slasher film Terrifier (2016)—which obtained a cult following after its Netflix debut. Kanell later had a supporting role as Kim Hansen in Stacy Title's horror film The Bye Bye Man (2017), which received negative reviews. However, her performance was well-received; Variety wrote, "...the one who, all too briefly, steals the movie: Jenna Kanell."[7] Both performances garnered comparisons to Neve Campbell's portrayals in The Craft (1996) and Scream (1996).[8][9]

She has since starred in several significant short films, including "Max & the Monster", a dark comedy short film she wrote, directed, and produced which premiered on the opening night of the 2018 Austin Film Festival,[10][11] and Ben Joyner’s sci-fi short film “Abducted”, which premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.[12]A Voice for the Innocent, a resource for survivors of abuse, incorporated the former film into their training at the time of release.[13]

After her appearance in Marvel’s WandaVision in 2021, Looper spotlighted her in an article titled “Why The Med Tech In WandaVision Looks So Familiar”, calling her an “up-and-coming triple-threat...and general cinematic jack of all trades.”[14]

Personal life

Jenna Kanell is a third generation American of Ashkenazi descent, with roots tracing back through Eastern Europe to the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

She openly identifies as a queer, gender non-conforming female,[15] and uses she/her and they/them pronouns. [16] She has expressed socialist political views and has said that her moral compass is guided by ecofeminism. She’s practiced strict veganism for years, citing environmental racism, animal welfare, and bodily health as the prime motivators.[17][18][19][20]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2012 Sassy Pants Anna
2016 Terrifier Tara Heyes, stunt performer
2017 The Bye Bye Man Kim, stunt performer
2018 The Front Runner Ginny Terzano
2022 Faceless After Dark Bowie, writer, producer
2022 Terrifier 2 Tara Heyes[lower-alpha 2] Cameo
2023 Renfield Carol, stunt performer
2023 OK, Boomer! Self
Television
Year Title Role Episode(s)
2011 Drop Dead Diva Nina Dunn season 3, episode 5
2014 The Vampire Diaries Jessie season 6, episode 1
2017 Shots Fired Cara season 1, episode 3
2017 NCIS: New Orleans Laura Dawson season 4, episode 5
2019 Step Up: High Water Director season 2, episode 3
2019 Hot Date Erin season 2, episode 3
2020 The Resident Safety Coordinator season 3, episode 11
2020 Your Worst Nightmare Joi Partain season 6, episode 2
2021 WandaVision Med Tech season 1, episode 5
2022 Queens Patti season 1, episode 3
2022 The First Lady Activist season 1, episode 6
2022 Young Rock Jamie season 2, episodes 4 and 11
2022 Tales Rebecca, stunt performer season 3, episode 9

Music videos

Works cited

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Notes

  1. ↑ Kanell uses she/her and they/them pronouns. This article uses feminine pronouns for consistency.
  2. ↑ Kanell is credited in this film as "Tara" although she only makes a cameo appearance through a photograph.

References

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