# Rose McIver
**Rose McIver** (Frances Rose McIver; born 1988 in Auckland) is a New Zealand actress best known for starring as Olivia "Liv" Moore on [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s supernatural procedural *iZombie* (2015–2019) and as Samantha Arondekar on the CBS comedy *Ghosts*, which premiered in 2021[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver) • [2](https://easeofbiz.com/%40rosemciver). She began performing as a child in New Zealand, appeared in [Jane Campion](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-campion)'s *The Piano* at age three, and later built an international career across television and film[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / origin | Frances Rose McIver, born 1988 in Auckland, New Zealand, to artist Ann "Annie" Coney and photographer John George Whitfield "Mac" McIver[2](https://easeofbiz.com/%40rosemciver) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570860/bio/) |
| Breakout lead | Liv Moore on The CW's *iZombie*, five seasons (2015–2019); she signed on for the role in 2014[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver) • [4](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/izombie-alums-rahul-kohli-rose-mciver-pay-tribute-carrie-anne-fleming-after-her-death) |
| Current lead role | Samantha on CBS's *Ghosts* (2021– ), opposite Utkarsh Ambudkar as her husband Jay[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver) |
| Early start | Appeared in Jane Campion's *The Piano* at age three; grew up in Titirangi, New Zealand[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver) |
| Directing | Short film *To the Death* (2023, LA Shorts Festival); episodic TV debut directing the *Ghosts* episode "Ghostfellas," aired February 20, 2025[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver) • [5](https://johnsonlaird.com/our-writers-directors/Rose-McIver) |
| Notable nominations | Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Television Series (2024) and Critics Choice Super Award for Best Actress in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-for-TV Movie (2024), both for *Ghosts*[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570860/awards/) |
## New Zealand beginnings
McIver grew up in Titirangi, near Auckland, and started working at a young age, booking commercials and appearing in *The Piano* at age three; she spent much of her youth studying dance[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver). In her own telling, acting was part of growing up rather than a deliberate career plan: "Some kids played hockey in their school holidays and I just worked. Acting was always more of a hobby than a serious pursuit"[7](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/rose-mciver). Her New Zealand television work included the series *Maddigan's Quest*, for which she was nominated for Best Actress, Television at the 2007 Air New Zealand Screen Awards[7](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/rose-mciver).
Her first prominent international film role came in [Peter Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-jackson)'s *[The Lovely Bones](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-lovely-bones-film)* (Paramount, 2009), in which she played Lindsey Salmon, the younger sister of Susie Salmon ([Saoirse Ronan](https://www.edgepedia.org/saoirse-ronan)), who helps investigate her sister's murder[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570860/bio/). Jackson praised her in the *New Zealand Herald* in 2010: "Rosie is surprising as an actress... she can summon real depth and strength to a performance as an actor"[7](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/rose-mciver).
## iZombie and American television
In March 2014 McIver was announced as the lead of The CW's *iZombie*, adapted from the DC comic by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred[8](https://izombie.fandom.com/wiki/Rose_McIver) • [9](https://www.tvline.com/2107398/why-izombie-revival-unlikely-star-rose-mciver/). She played Liv Moore, a Seattle medical resident turned zombie who works in a morgue and eats the brains of dead bodies she encounters through her work[9](https://www.tvline.com/2107398/why-izombie-revival-unlikely-star-rose-mciver/). The series ran for five seasons from 2015 to 2019[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver). She received Teen Choice Award nominations for the show in 2017, 2018, and 2019[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570860/awards/), and in a 2026 interview said she would love to revisit the role but considered a revival unlikely[9](https://www.tvline.com/2107398/why-izombie-revival-unlikely-star-rose-mciver/).
Between and after series leads, her television work included a recurring role as Vivian Scully on Showtime's *Masters of Sex* (2013–2014) and appearances on ABC's *Once Upon a Time*, plus the lead in the Netflix romantic comedy *A Christmas Prince* (2017) and its sequels *The Royal Wedding* (2018) and *The Royal Baby* (2019)[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver) • [10](https://www.geffenplayhouse.org/people/rose-mciver/). On film she appeared in *Next Exit*, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2022[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver), played Queen Amber in *The Princess Switch: Switched Again* (2020)[7](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/rose-mciver), and played Adrienne in the series *Woke* (2020–2022)[7](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/rose-mciver).
An earlier genre role remains part of her résumé: she played Summer, the Yellow Ranger, in *[Power Rangers RPM](https://www.edgepedia.org/power-rangers-rpm)*[11](https://johnsonlaird.com/our-actors/Rose-McIver).
## Ghosts
*Ghosts*, the CBS adaptation of the British comedy of the same name, premiered in 2021 and was the most-watched freshman broadcast comedy of that year; McIver stars as Sam Arondekar, who inherits a country estate with her husband Jay ([Utkarsh Ambudkar](https://www.edgepedia.org/utkarsh-ambudkar)) and, after a near-death experience, becomes the only living person who can see and hear the spirits of its former residents[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver). The series received a 2023 Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Comedy Series and Television Critics Association Awards nominations in 2022[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver).
**Possession episodes** give McIver a direct outlet for character switching. The show's annual holiday episode tradition has her impersonate whichever ghost takes over Sam's body: she first possessed the Viking Thorfinn ([Devan Chandler Long](https://www.edgepedia.org/devan-chandler-long)), then the basement ghost Nancy ([Betsy Sodaro](https://www.edgepedia.org/betsy-sodaro)) in Season 4, and Flower (Sheila Carrasco) in the 2025 holiday episode[12](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/ghosts-how-rose-mciver-prepares-holiday-possession-episode). Long described her preparation as collaborative: she sits down with the actor she is impersonating, exchanges recordings of line readings, and works the voice and mannerisms until they feel authentic[12](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/ghosts-how-rose-mciver-prepares-holiday-possession-episode).
In September 2026 she announced that Sam would be partly absent from the start of Season 6 because she had recently had a baby; the show was expected to return for holiday specials in 2026 and resume officially midseason[13](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/ghosts-rose-mciver-reveals-why-she-is-absent-in-season-6/).
## Directing
McIver's move behind the camera proceeded in steps. In 2018 she took part in the Warner Bros Director's Workshop, and in 2019 she wrote and directed the short film *Nice Ride*[5](https://johnsonlaird.com/our-writers-directors/Rose-McIver). Paramount's biography describes her directorial debut as the short *To the Death*, which premiered at the LA Shorts Festival in 2023; it is a dark comedy about two South Asian actors competing for the same role, and it was nominated for Best Dark Comedy at Atlanta ShortsFest[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver).
Her episodic TV directorial debut came with the *Ghosts* Season 4 episode "Ghostfellas," aired February 20, 2025, in which Jay's restaurant acquires a recipe with mafia connections; McIver cited *Goodfellas* as an inspiration and directed a large portion of the episode in which she herself appears on camera[5](https://johnsonlaird.com/our-writers-directors/Rose-McIver) • [14](https://www.tvline.com/interviews/ghosts-recap-season-4-episode-13-rose-mciver-interview-1235411284/). She has said she was originally slated to direct an *iZombie* episode and began that path by auditing the Warner Bros workshop[15](https://thecontending.com/rose-mciver-interview/).
## Recognition
McIver was nominated for the 2024 Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Television Series and the 2024 Critics Choice Super Award for Best Actress in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-for-TV Movie, both for *Ghosts*[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570860/awards/). Earlier nominations include a Golden Nymph for Best Performance by an Actress at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Television Festival for the television film *Tangiwai: A Love Story*[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570860/awards/) • [7](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/rose-mciver). In 2025 she shared an Astra TV Award with the *Ghosts* cast for Best Ensemble in a Broadcast Network Comedy Series[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570860/awards/). She resides in Los Angeles[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver).
## References
1. [Rose McIver bio, Paramount Press Express (CBS Entertainment)](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=rose-mciver)
2. [Rose McIver, EaseOfBiz profile](https://easeofbiz.com/%40rosemciver)
3. [Rose McIver biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570860/bio/)
4. [iZombie Alums Rahul Kohli And Rose McIver Pay Tribute To Former Co-Star Carrie Anne Fleming After Her Death At 51, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/izombie-alums-rahul-kohli-rose-mciver-pay-tribute-carrie-anne-fleming-after-her-death)
5. [Rose McIver Writer/Director Profile, Johnson & Laird](https://johnsonlaird.com/our-writers-directors/Rose-McIver)
6. [Rose McIver Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570860/awards/)
7. [Rose McIver, NZ On Screen](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/rose-mciver)
8. [Rose McIver, iZombie Wiki](https://izombie.fandom.com/wiki/Rose_McIver)
9. [Why An iZombie Revival Is Unlikely, According To Star Rose McIver, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/2107398/why-izombie-revival-unlikely-star-rose-mciver/)
10. [Rose McIver, Geffen Playhouse](https://www.geffenplayhouse.org/people/rose-mciver/)
11. [Rose McIver Profile, Johnson & Laird](https://johnsonlaird.com/our-actors/Rose-McIver)
12. [A Ghosts Cast Member Told Me How Rose McIver Prepares For The Annual Holiday Possession Episode, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/ghosts-how-rose-mciver-prepares-holiday-possession-episode)
13. [Ghosts' Rose McIver Reveals Why She Is 'Absent' in Season 6, Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/ghosts-rose-mciver-reveals-why-she-is-absent-in-season-6/)
14. [Ghosts Rose McIver Talks Her Pete-Centric Directorial Debut, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/interviews/ghosts-recap-season-4-episode-13-rose-mciver-interview-1235411284/)
15. [Rose McIver On Stepping Behind the Camera, The Contending](https://thecontending.com/rose-mciver-interview/)
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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 › New Zealand actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 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