Grace Phipps, professionally known as Gracie Gillam, is an American actress, singer, and dancer born on May 4, 1992, in Austin, Texas.
She rose to prominence for her roles in Disney Channel’s Teen Beach Movie (2013) and its sequel Teen Beach 2 (2015), where she portrayed the spirited biker chick Lela.
Beyond her Disney fame, Grace has built a versatile career in television and film, appearing in popular series like The Vampire Diaries, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, and Z Nation.
Known for her talents in acting, singing, and dancing, she has captivated audiences with her dynamic performances and continues to be a notable figure in the entertainment industry.
Siblings
Grace was born to parents Kate and Gil Phipps and grew up alongside her younger brother, Liam Phipps.
The family moved from Austin to Boerne and later settled in San Antonio, Texas, where Grace and Liam spent much of their childhood.
While Liam has largely stayed out of the public eye, Grace has occasionally referenced her family in interviews and social media posts.
Career
Phipps’ career kicked off shortly after her 2010 graduation from the North East School of the Arts in San Antonio, where she majored in musical theater.
Within seven days of moving to Los Angeles, she landed her debut role as Bee in the 2011 remake of the horror-comedy Fright Night, starring alongside Colin Farrell.
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That same year, she played Amy in the short-lived ABC Family series The Nine Lives of Chloe King.
Her breakthrough came in 2012 with a recurring role as April Young in The Vampire Diaries, appearing in ten episodes of the fourth season and earning a fan base for her portrayal of the edgy, natural beauty.
In 2013, Grace’s career soared with her starring role in Teen Beach Movie, a Disney Channel original that became the second-highest-rated cable movie in television history at the time.
She showcased her singing and dancing skills in songs like “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’” and “Falling for Ya,” cementing her status as a triple threat.
She reprised her role as Lela in Teen Beach 2 in 2015, which topped the charts as the most-watched cable movie of that year.
Beyond Disney, Grace expanded her portfolio with roles in Supernatural (2013), Baby Daddy (2013-2015), Austin & Ally (2014), Hawaii Five-0 (2015), CSI: Cyber (2015), and Scream Queens (2015).
From 2017 to 2018, she portrayed Sgt. Lilly in 16 episodes of Syfy’s Z Nation. Her most recent credited role was in the 2020 TV movie Stolen in Plain Sight.
Accolades
In 2010, before her professional career took off, Grace won the Las Casas Performing Arts Scholarship Competition, a testament to her early promise in musical theater.
Her standout performance in Teen Beach 2 led to a nomination for a Teen Choice Award in 2015 for Choice Music: Song from a Movie or TV Show for “Gotta Be Me,” which she performed alongside co-stars Ross Lynch, Maia Mitchell, Garrett Clayton, and John DeLuca.
While she hasn’t amassed a long list of major awards, her contributions to the Teen Beach franchise—whose soundtracks charted on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100—highlight her impact on pop culture.
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