Hannah Gross is a Canadian actress born on September 25, 1990, in Toronto, Ontario, to parents who are both established figures in the entertainment industry.
The daughter of actors Martha Burns and Paul Gross, she grew up immersed in the world of film and theater, which shaped her path toward a career in acting.
Despite her early shyness and initial hesitation about following in her parents’ footsteps, Gross has carved out a distinct place in the industry, known for her nuanced performances in independent films and television series.
She graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre, minoring in Religious Studies, which provided her with a strong foundation for her craft.
Siblings
Hannah has one sibling, a younger brother named Jack Gross, born in 1994 in Toronto, Canada.
Like his sister and parents, Jack has also pursued a career in acting, though his presence in the industry is less prominent compared to Hannah’s.
Jack appeared in films such as Men with Brooms (2002) and Wilby Wonderful (2004), both of which also involved his father, Paul Gross, either as an actor or director.
Career
Gross’s acting career began in her childhood with an uncredited role in her father’s film Men with Brooms (2002) at the age of 12, but she began pursuing acting seriously in her late teens.
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After graduating from Tisch, she honed her skills in experimental theater, directing Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire for the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in 2012 and performing in Williams’ one-act play Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen the same year.
Her film career gained momentum with her first significant role in Matthew Porterfield’s I Used to Be Darker (2013), which she landed after meeting the director at a screening event.
That same year, she played the title character in Dustin Guy Defa’s short film Lydia Hoffman Lydia Hoffman.
Gross continued to build her resume with roles in indie films such as Christmas, Again (2014), Uncertain Terms (2014), Stinking Heaven (2015), and Unless (2016), showcasing her ability to portray emotionally complex characters.
Her breakthrough came in 2017 with the Netflix series Mindhunter, where she played Debbie Mitford, a graduate student and romantic partner to one of the lead characters.
The role earned her critical recognition for her naturalistic performance.
In 2018, she appeared in The Sinner as Marin Calhoun and in Deadwax as Etta Pryce, further establishing her presence in television.
Gross’s film roles expanded with appearances in high-profile projects like Joker (2019), where she played a supporting role, and The Mountain (2018), directed by Rick Alverson.
In 2023, she starred alongside Michael Cera and Sophia Lillis in The Adults, a drama exploring sibling dynamics and psychological trauma, which resonated with her own experiences growing up with a sibling.
Her work is characterized by a preference for independent and art-house projects, though her roles in mainstream productions like Joker demonstrate her range.
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