# Isabel May
**Isabel May** is an American actress and producer, born in 2000 in [Santa Monica, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-monica-california), best known for playing Elsa Dutton, the narrator and lead of the [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) western *1883* and its sequel series *1923*, and for playing [Sidney Prescott](https://www.edgepedia.org/sidney-prescott)'s daughter in *Scream 7* (2026).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8908475/?mode=desktop) • [2](https://www.fandango.com/people/isabel-may-882145/film-credits)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2000, Santa Monica, California, USA[2](https://www.fandango.com/people/isabel-may-882145/film-credits) |
| Television debut | Katie Cooper on the Netflix sitcom *Alexa & Katie* (2018-2020, 39 episodes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8908475/?mode=desktop) |
| Breakout role | Elsa Dutton, lead and narrator of *1883* (2021-2022, 10 episodes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8908475/?mode=desktop) |
| Yellowstone franchise voice | Narrator of *1923* (2022-2025, 15 episodes) and uncredited voice of Elsa Dutton in *Yellowstone* (2024)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8908475/?mode=desktop) • [3](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/paramount-plus/yellowstone-universe-guide) |
| Award | Outstanding Actress in a Made for Television Movie/Limited Series, 24th Women's Image Network Awards, for *1883*[4](https://rcourihay.com/isabel-may/) |
| Recent films | *I Want You Back* (2022, her highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes at 87%); *Scream 7* (2026)[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/isabel_may) |
| Producing | Executive producer credits on *Menace* (2026) and *Love Love* (2027)[6](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-807594/filmographie/) |
## Early life and start in acting
May grew up in Los Angeles in an environment where art and creativity had a place, and it was at the suggestion of her English teacher that she became interested in acting as a profession.[7](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-807594/biographie/) She has recalled being asked as a preschooler what she wanted to be when she grew up and answering, "I want to make movies."[8](https://www.glamour.com/story/isabel-may-scream-7-interview)
**The path to a first role ran through three years of rejections.** After three years of unsuccessful auditions, she and her parents decided she would continue school online from the tenth grade so she could concentrate on acting.[7](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-807594/biographie/) At 16 she booked the lead role of Katie Cooper on the Netflix multi-camera sitcom *Alexa & Katie*, acting opposite Paris Berelc as the best friend of a teenage girl diagnosed with cancer; the role was her introduction to show business.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/isabel_may) • [8](https://www.glamour.com/story/isabel-may-scream-7-interview) That same year she made the first of several appearances as Veronica Duncan on the CBS series *Young Sheldon*.[8](https://www.glamour.com/story/isabel-may-scream-7-interview)
## 1883 and the Yellowstone universe
The turning point in her career came through writer-director [Taylor Sheridan](https://www.edgepedia.org/taylor-sheridan). May read for a role in *Mayor of Kingstown*; although she did not land it, Sheridan was impressed enough to keep her in mind and wrote the role of Elsa Dutton in *1883* for her.[9](https://tvovermind.com/isabel-mays-top-career-roles/) In her own account, he called two weeks after her audition and said, "I'm gonna write a role for you. You're not doing that one."[10](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/isabel-may-scream-7)
*1883* is the origin story of the Dutton family at the center of Sheridan's *Yellowstone*, depicting life on the [Oregon Trail](https://www.edgepedia.org/oregon-trail) in the 1880s.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/02/23/transcript-1883-with-sam-elliott-tim-mcgraw-isabel-may/) May played Elsa, the teenage daughter of James and Margaret Dutton ([Tim McGraw](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-mcgraw) and [Faith Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/faith-hill)), ancestors of the *Yellowstone* family, and also served as the series' narrator.[7](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-807594/biographie/) • [12](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/the-dutton-family-tree-from-1883-to-yellowstone) The series premiered to 4.9 million viewers and was reported at the time to be the most-watched title on Paramount+ globally.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/02/23/transcript-1883-with-sam-elliott-tim-mcgraw-isabel-may/) Her performance as a strong-willed young woman traveling westward drew widespread acclaim, and in 2022 she won the Outstanding Actress in a Made for Television Movie/Limited Series award at the 24th Women's Image Network Awards for the role.[13](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/isabel-may/) • [4](https://rcourihay.com/isabel-may/)
**Her connection to the franchise outlasted the character.** Elsa dies at the end of *1883*, but May returned as the narrator of the sequel series *1923*, set 40 years later and starring [Helen Mirren](https://www.edgepedia.org/helen-mirren) and [Harrison Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/harrison-ford), and voiced Elsa, uncredited, in one 2024 episode of *Yellowstone* itself.[3](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/paramount-plus/yellowstone-universe-guide) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8908475/?mode=desktop) Sheridan told her before writing *1883* that she would be the voiceover for everything in the franchise; she learned she would close out *Yellowstone* only when the script arrived without explanation.[14](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/isabel-may-interview-scream-7-yellowstone/)
Preparing for the physical demands of the western, she trained with Deidre Rodriguez, wife of the show's stunt coordinator, followed by an intensive three-week "cowboy camp" organized by the production for the entire cast.[15](https://www.townsandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a38504297/isabel-may-1883-interview/)
## Film work and Scream 7
Between series roles, May took film parts in a range of genres: the lead of Zoe Hull in the one-shot thriller *Run Hide Fight* (2020), Taylor in *Let's Scare Julie* (2020), Leighton in the [Charlie Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-day) and [Jenny Slate](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenny-slate) romantic comedy *I Want You Back* (2022), and Lydia in *The Moon and Back* (2022).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8908475/?mode=desktop) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/isabel_may) She appeared as Marge in the first season of Apple TV+'s Second World War series *Masters of the Air* (2024), where she met the costume designer [Colleen Atwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/colleen-atwood), with whom she has since developed a friendship and an interest in costume design.[6](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-807594/filmographie/) • [10](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/isabel-may-scream-7)
*Scream 7* (2026) was her first theatrical feature lead in a major franchise. Director Kevin Williamson, the creator of the original *Scream*, asked to meet her after watching her performance in *1883*; although she generally avoids horror films, she consumed all six previous *Scream* films in two days before the meeting.[10](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/isabel-may-scream-7) She plays Tatum, the teenage daughter of [Neve Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/neve-campbell)'s Sidney Prescott, in the installment that brings back Campbell, David Arquette, and [Matthew Lillard](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthew-lillard); film databases list the character as Tatum Evans.[10](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/isabel-may-scream-7) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/isabel_may) The film set a franchise box-office record with a $60 million-plus opening weekend.[14](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/isabel-may-interview-scream-7-yellowstone/)
**A dense 2026 slate followed the *1883* breakthrough.** By her count she had seven films coming out in that year, including *Mr. Irrelevant*, *Love Language*, *Falling*, and *The Last Mrs. Parrish*, with *Karoshi* expected in 2027.[10](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/isabel-may-scream-7) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8908475/?mode=desktop) She has also moved behind the camera, with executive producer credits on *Menace* (2026) and *Love Love* (2027).[6](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-807594/filmographie/)
## Approach and outlook
May describes herself as a storyteller rather than only an actor, saying she wants to explore every aspect of the craft and is drawn to projects that build toward creative control over her own choices.[10](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/isabel-may-scream-7) • [14](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/isabel-may-interview-scream-7-yellowstone/) In interviews she has described *1883* as the experience that reset her standards: it gave her, in her words, a bar that was too high, and she has worked to navigate roles after it while keeping craft as her priority.[10](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/isabel-may-scream-7) • [16](https://a-rabbitsfoot.com/editorial/confessions/craft-is-my-priority-isabel-may-on-scream-7-horror-and-staying-offline/) She maintains no social media presence, a choice interviewers have noted when trying to research her.[16](https://a-rabbitsfoot.com/editorial/confessions/craft-is-my-priority-isabel-may-on-scream-7-horror-and-staying-offline/)
## References
1. [Isabel May, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8908475/?mode=desktop)
2. [Isabel May Filmography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/isabel-may-882145/film-credits)
3. [How to watch every Yellowstone TV show in order, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/paramount-plus/yellowstone-universe-guide)
4. [The Complete Guide to Isabel May's Career, R. Couri Hay](https://rcourihay.com/isabel-may/)
5. [Isabel May, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/isabel_may)
6. [Isabel May : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-807594/filmographie/)
7. [Isabel May : Sa biographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-807594/biographie/)
8. [This Is Isabel May's Year, and Scream 7 Is Just the Start, Glamour](https://www.glamour.com/story/isabel-may-scream-7-interview)
9. [Isabel May's Top Career Roles, TVovermind](https://tvovermind.com/isabel-mays-top-career-roles/)
10. [For Isabel May, Acting Isn't Enough, Who What Wear](https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/celebrity/isabel-may-scream-7)
11. [Transcript: "1883" with Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, and Isabel May, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/02/23/transcript-1883-with-sam-elliott-tim-mcgraw-isabel-may/)
12. [The Dutton family tree: from 1883 to Yellowstone, WhatToWatch](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/the-dutton-family-tree-from-1883-to-yellowstone)
13. [Isabel May, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/isabel-may/)
14. ['Scream 7' Star Isabel May on Conquering Her Fears and Being the Voice of the 'Yellowstone' Franchise, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/isabel-may-interview-scream-7-yellowstone/)
15. [1883's Isabel May Opens Up About the Yellowstone Prequel, Town & Country](https://www.townsandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a38504297/isabel-may-1883-interview/)
16. ["Craft is my priority": Isabel May on Scream 7, horror, and staying offline, A Rabbit's Foot](https://a-rabbitsfoot.com/editorial/confessions/craft-is-my-priority-isabel-may-on-scream-7-horror-and-staying-offline/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames M to Ma*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license