Leah McKendrick

Leah McKendrick is an American film director, screenwriter, and actress. She is the writer-director of Scrambled and Voicemails for Isabelle (2026).

Early life McKendrick was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She grew up in the Richmond District and graduated from Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory.

While studying at Chapman University she wrote, produced, directed, and acted in a number of short films and stage plays and graduated in 2008 with a BFA in theatre performance.

Career In 2014, McKendrick wrote, produced and starred in the pop musical web series Destroy the Alpha Gammas. The series was critically acclaimed, and she was made a Webby Award honoree and received a Streamy Award nomination.

In 2017, McKendrick made her feature film debut as a writer, producer, and actress with M.F.A. at its world premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW). She began writing the film in 2014.

In 2019, she was hired to write Paramount’s Grease prequel, Summer Lovin', which was later cancelled. In 2020, she wrote, directed and starred in the short film Pamela & Ivy, a feminist origin story for the supervillain Poison Ivy. The film premiered on Collider. The film was a Webby Award honoree for best writing.

In 2022, McKendrick wrote, directed and starred in the feature film Scrambled, about a broke, single 34-year-old woman that decides to freeze her eggs following a breakup. The film was based on her own experience with egg-retrieval in 2021. The film premiered at South by Southwest in March 2023 and was released theatrically by Lionsgate in 2024.

She was named one of IndieWire 's "28 Rising Female Filmmakers to Watch" in 2023.

In February 2023, it was announced that McKendrick was writing a legacy sequel to the 1997 slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer for Sony Pictures. McKendrick received story credits for her initial script for the 2025 film.

Upcoming projects In April 2024, McKendrick was writing a holiday-comedy film, Mrs. Claus, for Netflix; the film has Jennifer Garner attached to star, and will be produced by Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter for Hello Sunshine.

In August 2024, McKendrick was attached to write and direct an untitled monster project for Atomic Monster and Universal Pictures, with James Wan and Michael Clear attached to produce.

In June 2026, McKendrick was announced to write and direct Shania, a biopic about Shania Twain for Sony Pictures.

Select filmography Year Film Director Writer Producer 2017 M.F.A. 2023 Scrambled 2025 I Know What You Did Last Summer 2026 Voicemails for Isabelle

Actress Year Title Role Notes 2016 Misconduct Amy Bad Moms Sharon 2017 M.F.A. Skye 2019 The Turkey Bowl Brandy Best 2020 A Nice Girl Like You Honey Parker 2023 Scrambled Nellie Robinson 2025 I Know What You Did Last Summer Newscaster 2026 Voicemails for Isabelle Breeda