# Kyliegh Curran
**Kyliegh Curran** (born 2005) is an American actress best known for playing Abra Stone in Mike Flanagan's 2019 supernatural thriller *Doctor Sleep*, the film adaptation of [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king)'s sequel to *The Shining*, and for starring as Harper Dunn in the [Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel) series *[Secrets of Sulphur Springs](https://www.edgepedia.org/secrets-of-sulphur-springs)*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2005, Miami, Florida, to Traci-Liegh Johnson and Shannon Curran[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/) |
| First major role | Abra Stone in *Doctor Sleep* (2019), chosen after the filmmakers saw about 900 girls for the part[2](https://kuwaittimes.com/uploads/imported_images/pdf/2019/jun/16/kt.pdf) |
| Broadway | Young Nala in Disney's *The Lion King*, a replacement in the role from March 22 to September 18, 2016[3](https://playbill.com/person/kyliegh-curran) |
| Television lead | Harper Dunn (and Daisy Tremont) in *Secrets of Sulphur Springs*, 27 episodes, 2021 to 2023[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/297247/kyliegh-curran) |
| Awards | Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor (2021) for *Doctor Sleep*; also a Music City Film Critics' Association Award winner and Fangoria Chainsaw Award and Seattle Film Critics Society nominee[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/awards/) |
| Voice work | Taylor in Pixar's *Win or Lose* (2025), Sidero in *LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation* (2022), and Ayva Ackler in *Young Jedi Adventures* (2023–2024)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/) |
## Early life and theater
Curran was born in Miami, Florida. She is the granddaughter of the writer and Professor Emeritus Dr. Whittington B. Johnson.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/) She began performing at the age of seven in regional theater in Florida, in productions for the Miracle Theatre and Actors' Playhouse in Coral Gables.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/)
She has described how she got into acting: "I had a lot of energy as a kid and I did not really have a place to put it. So my grandma put me in the theater." After two or three plays she auditioned for *The Lion King* on Broadway.[6](https://blackgirlnerds.com/kyliegh-curran-becomes-part-of-disney-history/) In 2016 she joined the Broadway company of the Tony-winning musical as Young Nala, a replacement role.[3](https://playbill.com/person/kyliegh-curran)
## Doctor Sleep
Her first on-screen credit came in 2017, when she played Lily, a supporting role opposite [Mike Faist](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-faist) and [Selenis Leyva](https://www.edgepedia.org/selenis-leyva), in the independent film *I Can I Will I Did*, which won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Asian American International Film Festival.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kyliegh_curran)
In 2018 it was announced that she had been cast as Abra Stone in *Doctor Sleep*, directed by Mike Flanagan from his own screenplay based on King's 2013 novel. Abra is a teenager with the extrasensory gift known as the "shine," which the villain Rose the Hat ([Rebecca Ferguson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rebecca-ferguson)) and her followers, the True Knot, hunt. Flanagan reported that more than 900 girls were seen for the part; Curran sent in her audition tape on her own and, at 13 years old, this became her first major role.[2](https://kuwaittimes.com/uploads/imported_images/pdf/2019/jun/16/kt.pdf) • [8](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1075407-director-mike-flanagan-breaks-down-the-doctor-sleep-trailer) Flanagan described her as "the discovery of the movie," and producer Trevor Macy echoed that her chemistry with [Ewan McGregor](https://www.edgepedia.org/ewan-mcgregor), who played the adult [Danny Torrance](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-torrance), "was remarkable from the get-go."[9](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/doctor-sleep-interview-producer-trevor-macy-shining-sequel/)
**The audition process** was long. Curran's first audition was a script of at least ten pages; she taped it immediately after returning from summer camp and was not confident in the tape. A month later she received a callback, spent two days with her acting coach working on the character and the connection between Abra and Dan, and was then invited to read in person with McGregor.[10](https://www.comicsbeat.com/kyliegh-curran-doctor-sleep-interview/) During the process, the script used changed character names, with Abra listed as Luna and Dan as Ben, to limit exposure of the project.[11](https://iol.co.za/entertainment/movies/2019-11-29-kyliegh-curran-gets-hollywood-talking-for-role-in-doctor-sleep/)
The film was released on November 8, 2019.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/) In preparation, Curran had not seen *The Shining* before her callback but watched it with her father beforehand, and read part of King's novel to learn more about Abra.[10](https://www.comicsbeat.com/kyliegh-curran-doctor-sleep-interview/) The film was shot in Atlanta, where she was living; her first scene shot was the meeting of Abra and Dan in Covington.[10](https://www.comicsbeat.com/kyliegh-curran-doctor-sleep-interview/)
For the performance she won the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in 2021 and the Music City Film Critics' Association Award for Best Young Actress in 2020, and was nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Seattle Film Critics Society Award for Best Youth Performance.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/awards/)
## Television work
From 2021 to 2023 Curran starred on the Disney Channel mystery series *Secrets of Sulphur Springs* as Harper Dunn, a thrill-seeking classmate who, with Griffin Campbell, investigates a haunted hotel and a decades-old disappearance through a time-travel portal; she also played Daisy Tremont in seven episodes. The series ran three seasons and 27 episodes for her.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/297247/kyliegh-curran) • [12](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-ph/browse/entity-52529180-e599-452a-aba1-bee488f0c173)
She then appeared as Lenore Usher in Mike Flanagan's Netflix miniseries *The Fall of the House of Usher* (2023), in all eight episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/) Her voice credits include Sidero in the Disney+ TV movie *LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation* (2022), Ayva Ackler in *Young Jedi Adventures* (2023–2024), and Taylor in Pixar's *[Win or Lose](https://www.edgepedia.org/win-or-lose-tv-series)* (2025), a series following a middle school softball team told from a different character's perspective each episode.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/)
## References
1. [Kyliegh Curran, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/)
2. [Kuwait Times (AFP), 16 June 2019: Doctor Sleep casting](https://kuwaittimes.com/uploads/imported_images/pdf/2019/jun/16/kt.pdf)
3. [Kyliegh Curran, Playbill](https://playbill.com/person/kyliegh-curran)
4. [Kyliegh Curran, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/297247/kyliegh-curran)
5. [Kyliegh Curran – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7738797/awards/)
6. [Kyliegh Curran Becomes Part of Disney History, Black Girl Nerds](https://blackgirlnerds.com/kyliegh-curran-becomes-part-of-disney-history/)
7. [Kyliegh Curran Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kyliegh_curran)
8. [Director Mike Flanagan Breaks Down the Doctor Sleep Trailer, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1075407-director-mike-flanagan-breaks-down-the-doctor-sleep-trailer)
9. [Doctor Sleep producer interview, Den of Geek](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/doctor-sleep-interview-producer-trevor-macy-shining-sequel/)
10. [INTERVIEW: DOCTOR SLEEP's Kyliegh Curran, The Beat / ComicsBeat](https://www.comicsbeat.com/kyliegh-curran-doctor-sleep-interview/)
11. [Kyliegh Curran gets Hollywood talking for role in 'Doctor Sleep', IOL](https://iol.co.za/entertainment/movies/2019-11-29-kyliegh-curran-gets-hollywood-talking-for-role-in-doctor-sleep/)
12. [Secrets of Sulphur Springs, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-ph/browse/entity-52529180-e599-452a-aba1-bee488f0c173)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Child and youth screen performers › Child performers born 2001 to 2010 › Performers born 2001 to 2005*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; 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