# Sara Paxton
**Sara Paxton** is an American actress best known for leading roles in teen and family entertainment of the 2000s, including the title mermaid in *[Aquamarine](https://www.edgepedia.org/aquamarine-film)* (2006), Marnie Piper in *Return to [Halloweentown](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloweentown-film-series)* (2006), and Mari Collingwood in the horror remake *The Last House on the Left* (2009). She began performing professionally at about age six, appeared in television commercials before her first film role, and has since worked across comedy, television drama, and horror.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/) • [2](https://www.horror.com/php/article-2299-1.html)
Two birth records disagree in detail. IMDb places her birth on April 25 in [Woodland Hills, Los Angeles](https://www.edgepedia.org/woodland-hills-los-angeles), California,[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/) while the *Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television* entry on Encyclopedia.com gives her full name as Sara Emyli Paxton and a birth date of 1988, in Weston, Connecticut.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/paxton-sara-1988) She should not be confused with Sara Paxton, an Australian contemporary oil painter based in Victoria known for vibrant landscapes and seascapes.[4](https://sarapaxtonartworks.com/about/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California (IMDb); Encyclopedia.com gives 1988, in Weston, CT[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/paxton-sara-1988) |
| First film role | Child at school and at the party in *Liar Liar* (1997), cast at age 8[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/) |
| First major TV series role | Sarah Tobin on the WB's *Greetings from Tucson* (2002)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/) |
| Series lead | Darcy in Discovery Kids' *Darcy's Wild Life* (2004–2006), earning an Emmy nomination in 2006[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-paxton/) |
| Signature film roles | Aquamarine in *Aquamarine* (2006); Marnie Piper in *Return to Halloweentown* (2006); Mari Collingwood in *The Last House on the Left* (2009)[6](https://movies.radiofree.com/interviews/aquamari_sara_paxton.shtml) • [7](https://www.hollywood.com/general/exclusive-interview-return-to-halloweentown-star-sara-paxton-57172343) • [8](https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/40392) |
| Voice work | Multiple voices on Nickelodeon's *SpongeBob SquarePants* from 1999, including Kid Fish, a witch, and a mummy[9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/sara-paxton/) |
| Output | Metacritic lists 35 TV shows, 22 movies, and 2 games, with an average TV career score of 59[9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/sara-paxton/) |
## Early career
Paxton started acting professionally at age six, going on auditions as an after-school activity, and worked in television commercials before her film debut.[2](https://www.horror.com/php/article-2299-1.html) At age 8 she was cast as a child at school and at the party in the [Jim Carrey](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-carrey) comedy *Liar Liar* (1997).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/) Through the late 1990s and early 2000s she accumulated television and voice credits: voices on *SpongeBob SquarePants*, a role on the soap *Passions* as young Sheridan, guest spots on *Lizzie McGuire*, *CSI*, and *Malcolm in the Middle*, and recurring work on *Greetings from Tucson*.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/sara-paxton/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/) Her first major television series role was Sarah Tobin on the WB's *Greetings from Tucson* in 2002.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/) Her Young Artist Awards in this period included a win for *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* in 2003 and a win for the NBC series *Working* in 2000.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/paxton-sara-1988)
## Teen stardom, 2004–2008
**Discovery Kids and Disney.** Paxton filmed *Sleepover* in fall 2003 (released July 9, 2004), playing the mean girl Stacie opposite Alexa Vega.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/) • [5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-paxton/) While in the middle of filming, she took the lead in Discovery Kids' *Darcy's Wild Life*, about a rich Malibu girl relocated to a rural farm; the role earned her an Emmy nomination in 2006.[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-paxton/) She also had a recurring role as Sarah Borden on the WB's *Summerland* (2004), a troubled teen dating [Jesse McCartney](https://www.edgepedia.org/jesse-mccartney)'s character.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/)
In 2006 she played the title mermaid in *Aquamarine*, filmed in Australia alongside [Emma Roberts](https://www.edgepedia.org/emma-roberts) and Joanna "JoJo" Levesque; the film adapts [Alice Hoffman](https://www.edgepedia.org/alice-hoffman)'s novel about two girls who befriend a mermaid washed into their swimming pool.[6](https://movies.radiofree.com/interviews/aquamari_sara_paxton.shtml) The same October she replaced [Kimberly J. Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/kimberly-j-brown) as Marnie Piper in *Return to Halloweentown*, the fourth Disney Channel *Halloweentown* film.[7](https://www.hollywood.com/general/exclusive-interview-return-to-halloweentown-star-sara-paxton-57172343) Comedies followed with the Snow White-inspired *Sydney White* (2007) and the spoof *Superhero Movie* (2008).[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-paxton/)
## Shift to horror and adult roles
Paxton's first outright R-rated film was the 2009 remake of [Wes Craven](https://www.edgepedia.org/wes-craven)'s *The Last House on the Left*, in which she played Mari Collingwood, a swimmer terrorized and assaulted by escaped criminals.[8](https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/40392) She has said she took the part to break away from "cute comedies" and to avoid being typecast.[10](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/sara-paxton-checks-in-with-the-innkeepers-298.html) Director David R. Ellis, a fan of her *Last House* performance, cast her directly in *Shark Night 3D* (2011), a lake-set action-horror film that required underwater stunt training.[11](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/matt-barone/interview-sara-paxton-shark-night-3d) In 2011 she also starred as Claire in [Ti West](https://www.edgepedia.org/ti-west)'s slow-burn haunted-hotel film *[The Innkeepers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-innkeepers-film)*, made in three weeks on film stock on which the crew had only a few feet of film left by the final shooting day.[10](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/sara-paxton-checks-in-with-the-innkeepers-298.html) • [12](https://tribecafilm.com/news/sara-paxton-liars-all-the-bounceback-social-media) Further genre work included *Cheap Thrills* (2013), *Liars All* (2013), and *Blue-Eyed Butcher* (2012), in which she played Susan Wright.[13](https://wwe.rfhthjmb.dns-dynamic.net/celebrity/sara_paxton)
## Later television and film
In 2018 she played Donna Rice in *[The Front Runner](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-front-runner-film)*, about [Gary Hart](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-hart)'s 1988 presidential campaign.[13](https://wwe.rfhthjmb.dns-dynamic.net/celebrity/sara_paxton) [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) guest roles in the 2010s included *Twin Peaks: The Return* (2017), *This Is Us*, *How to Get Away With Murder*, and *Good Girls*.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/sara-paxton/) More recent credits listed by IMDb include Erica in *Weapons* (2025) and a two-episode return as Leticia Gregory on *Grey's Anatomy* in 2026, reprising a character she first played in 2005.[14](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/)
## By the numbers
Metacritic's aggregated TV record gives a sense of her career shape: 35 television shows against 22 movies, an average career Metascore of 59 for television, with her highest score (88) coming from a 2000 guest spot on *Malcolm in the Middle* and her lowest (17) from the 2014 series *Stalker*.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/sara-paxton/) The profile skews toward guest and recurring television work, which matches her own account of building a career role by role after stepping away from teen leads.[10](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/sara-paxton-checks-in-with-the-innkeepers-298.html)
## Personal background
Paxton graduated from El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills in 2006 and is fluent in English and Spanish.[14](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/) As a high school senior she wanted to be a veterinarian and planned to attend college; she took a year off to decide and chose acting full time.[10](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/sara-paxton-checks-in-with-the-innkeepers-298.html) IMDb describes her as a seventh cousin of actor [Bill Paxton](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-paxton).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/)
## References
1. [Sara Paxton – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/bio/)
2. [Sara Paxton – Interview, Horror.com](https://www.horror.com/php/article-2299-1.html)
3. [Paxton, Sara 1988–, Encyclopedia.com (Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/paxton-sara-1988)
4. [About Sara Paxton, Sara Paxton Artworks](https://sarapaxtonartworks.com/about/)
5. [Sara Paxton – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-paxton/)
6. [Sara Paxton on 'Aquamarine', RadioFree.com Interviews](https://movies.radiofree.com/interviews/aquamari_sara_paxton.shtml)
7. [Exclusive Interview! 'Return to Halloweentown' Star Sara Paxton, Hollywood.com](https://www.hollywood.com/general/exclusive-interview-return-to-halloweentown-star-sara-paxton-57172343)
8. [Sara Paxton talks trauma in THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, Aint It Cool News](https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/40392)
9. [Sara Paxton – Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/sara-paxton/)
10. [Sara Paxton Checks In with 'The Innkeepers', Front Row Features](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/sara-paxton-checks-in-with-the-innkeepers-298.html)
11. [Interview: Sara Paxton Talks "Shark Night 3D", Complex](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/matt-barone/interview-sara-paxton-shark-night-3d)
12. [Sara Paxton on 'Liars All,' Indie Flicks and Actors on Social Media, Tribeca](https://tribecafilm.com/news/sara-paxton-liars-all-the-bounceback-social-media)
13. [Sara Paxton Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://wwe.rfhthjmb.dns-dynamic.net/celebrity/sara_paxton)
14. [Sara Paxton – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668139/)
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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 P to Ph*
*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