Lilla Crawford (born February 20, 2001) is an American actress best known for portraying the title role in the 2012 Broadway revival of Annie. She made her Major Studio feature-film debut playing Little Red Riding Hood in the 2014 Disney film adaptation of Into the Woods. From 2017 to 2020, Crawford had voiced Sunny, the title character, in the Nickelodeon series Sunny Day and has starred in the Netflix series The Who Was? Show starting in 2018.
Career Crawford began her career at the age of six appearing in commercials, and since then has appeared in several more. She states that she begged her mother to find her an agent because it was her dream to be an animated voice.
She moved from Los Angeles to New York City, where she made her Broadway debut in 2011 as Debbie in the closing cast of the musical Billy Elliot.
After a nationwide search, she won the title role in James Lapine’s 2012 revival of the Tony Award-winning musical Annie at the age of 11, after having previously been in a community theatre production of the same show, where she played Bert Healy. She competed against over 5,000 other girls auditioning to play Annie over a span of nine months. After her initial audition in New York she had five or six callbacks, the final one with a dozen girls. While performing in Annie, she filmed the Broadway.com video blog "Simply Red" for the show, which earned her a broadway.com title of "most clicked stars of 2013".
She played "The Little Girl" in Ragtime at Avery Fisher Hall, alongside Lea Salonga, Norm Lewis, and many others. Crawford played Little Katie in a workshop production of Home the Musical by Scott Alan in New York City. She also appeared in a workshop of Melissa Arctic.
Crawford played Little Red Riding Hood in the Disney film adaptation of the musical Into the Woods. The film was released on December 25, 2014.
As of 2017, Crawford voices the leading character on the Nickelodeon animated series Sunny Day. She also starred in the Netflix series The Who Was? Show, based on the book series Who Was.
Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleNotes2014Into the WoodsRed Riding Hood2016Little Miss PerfectOlivia
Television Year Title Role Notes 2015 Blue Bloods Lily Episode: "Flags of Our Fathers" 2015 Forever Zoe Dornis Episode: "Punk is Dead" 2017-2018 Sunny Day Sunny Voice role; 13 episodes 2018 The Who Was? Show Various roles Series regular 2022-2024 Pretty Little Liars Sandy Recurring role; 7 episodes 2023 Raven's Home Greta Gardunkian Episode: "A.I., A.I., Oh... Snap!"
Theater Year Production Role LocationVenueDates2011Billy ElliotDebbie (replacement)BroadwayMarch 7, 2011 - January 8, 2012 2012-2013 Annie Annie Bennett Palace TheatreOctober 3, 2012 - July 30, 20132013RagtimeThe Little GirlAvery Fisher HallFebruary 3, 2013 (one-night-only)
Awards and nominations AwardYearCategoryWorkResultBroadcast Film Critics Association2014Best Acting EnsembleInto the WoodsDetroit Film Critics Society Award2014Best EnsembleGolden Derby Award2014Best EnsemblePhoenix Film Critics Society Award2014Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role - FemaleBest CastOuter Critics Circle Awards2013Outstanding Actress in a MusicalAnnieSatellite Awards2015Best Ensemble – Motion PictureInto the WoodsWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards2014Best EnsembleYoung Artist Awards2015Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress
References
External links
Star File: Lilla Crawford