Isabella Pappas

Isabella Noemi Pappas (born 21 August 2002) is an actress and singer based in London. She began her career on the London stage, earning nominations for the Laurence Olivier Award and WhatsOnStage Award. On television, she is known for her roles in the ITV series Finding Alice and the Disney Channel series The Villains of Valley View (2022–23).

Early life and education Pappas was born in northern Italy and spent her early childhood on a farm. Her father is a pilot, and her mother is an American autism specialist. She also has French and Greek heritage. Pappas attended an international school and lived in Japan for two years for her mother's work.

The family settled in Chiswick, West London when Pappas was 11. She attended Sylvia Young Theatre School and later Arts Educational School (ArtsEd) for sixth form, studying Drama and English Literature. She also took classes at the British Theatre Academy and participated in Michael Xavier's MX Masterclass.

Career Upon moving to the city at 11 years old, Pappas made her London stage debut in the 2014 production of The Nether at the Royal Court Theatre in the role of Iris, which she shared with Zoe Brough. The production moved to the Duke of York's Theatre on the West End in 2015. Pappas, Brough, Jaime Adler, and Perdita Hibbins were jointly nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards for their performances.

Pappas then starred as the titular Annie! on the show's 2015 tour around the UK. She made her television debut as Sarah Waingrow in the 2016 ITV crime drama miniseries Paranoid. She played Nina in the Stockwell Playhouse production of In the Heights in 2017. This was followed in 2018 by roles in 13 at Porthcurno's Minack Theatre, the Theatre Royal Stratford East's Terror at The Sweetshop, and Bring It On: The Musical at Southwark Playhouse.

For her performance as Cassidy Kramer-Lafayette in the 2019 run of the play Appropriate at the Donmar Warehouse, Pappas was nominated for the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Play. She returned to television with guest appearances in the CBBC musical Almost Never in 2019 and the Channel 4 comedy-drama Home in 2020.

Pappas landed her first main television role as Charlotte Walsh, the daughter of Keeley Hawes' titular character, in the 2021 ITV comedy-drama Finding Alice.

She was then cast in a Disney pilot (working titles included Amy from Amarillo and Meet the Mayhems), which became The Villains of Valley View and premiered in 2022 on Disney Channel and Disney+.

In 2023, Pappas was cast as Joyce Maldonado (later Byers) in the Stranger Things prequel stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which premiered on 17 November 2023 at the Phoenix Theatre in London. Pappas also played the first victim of Jimmy Savile in an episode of the BBC One miniseries The Reckoning. She has a role in the upcoming film Beach Boys.

Personal life Pappas became a British citizen in 2023.

Acting credits Film and television Year Title Role Notes 2016 Paranoid Sarah Waingrow Miniseries; 2 episodes 2017 Horizon Zero Dawn Young Nora Video game; voice role 2019 Almost Never Rosie Episode: "The Single" 2020 Home Gemma 1 episode 2021 Finding Alice Charlotte Walsh Main role 2022–23 The Villains of Valley View Amy Madden/ Havoc Main role 2023 The Reckoning Girl 1 episode 2027 Neuromancer Mitchell Post-production Beach Boys Film

Theatre Year Title Role Notes 2012 Le Nozze di Figaro Ensemble 2014–2015 The Nether Iris Duke of York's Theatre and Royal Court Theatre, London 2015 Annie! Annie UK tour 2017 In the Heights Nina Stockwell Playhouse, London 2018 13 Lucy Minack Theatre, Porthcurno 2018 Terror at The Sweetshop Emma Theatre Royal Stratford East, London 2018 Bring It On: The Musical Skylar Southwark Playhouse, London 2019 Appropriate Cassidy Kramer-Lafayette Donmar Warehouse, London 2022 Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon Ella Southwark Playhouse, London 2023 Stranger Things: The First Shadow Joyce Maldonado Phoenix Theatre, London

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role The Nether (with Jamie Adler, Zoe Brough, Perdita Hibbins) 2020 WhatsOnStage Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Play Appropriate