All About The Actress Danielle MacDonald from Netflix’s ‘Dumplin’
Dumplin‘ is an American coming of age film that recently hit Netflix, taking fans by storm. The movie is directed by Anne Fletcher and is written by Kristin Hahn — and is based on the young adult novel of the same name, which was penned by Julie Murphy. Danielle MacDonald stars as the lovable character Willowdean “Dumplin” Dickson alongside her mother Rosie Dickson, played by Jennifer Aniston. Dumplin’s best friend, Ellen Dryver, is played by Odeya Rush. Dumplin’ currently has an 83 percent score on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, and an audience score of 78 percent. Dolly Parton’s music fills the film, which was produced by Echo Films and COTA Films.
In Dumplin’, MacDonald plays the overweight daughter of a former teen beauty queen. As her mother was busy running local pageants in the small Texas town where the two characters reside, MacDonald’s character of Willowdean was predominantly raised by her aunt Lucy, who instilled a love of Dolly Parton in her. After her aunt’s death, Willowdean is, as her mother tells her, “lost and floundering.” But as viewers find out throughout the film, thanks to Willowdean’s best friend, Dolly Parton — and a slew of drag queens — the young woman finds her way.
Your Tango recently ran an article providing much needed details into the life of actress Danielle MacDonald, who many see as an up-and-coming name in Hollywood. Fans may be surprised to learn that she is originally from Australia. Her accent is invisible in Dumplin’ — as she replaces it perfectly with a Texan accent. She is 27 years old, and moved with her family to the U.K. when she was 18. Prior to the move, MacDonald attended the Australia Institute for Performing Arts.
Many may not be aware that Willowdean is not MacDonald’s breakout role. In fact, in 2017, she played the lead character in Patti Cake$, which was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival. In fact, she was so extraordinary in this role that she did not even need to audition for Dumplin‘ — and was an instant casting choice.
The actress is also a vegetarian, and only eats meatless burgers from Beyond Burger in West Hollywood, California, per Your Tango.
Danielle MacDonald also stated that she took on the role of Dumplin‘ for her teenage self. Apparently she fell in love with the book just before seeing the script make its rounds. When the producers reached out to her for the role, she says that she did not have to think twice. She’d had her doubts that she would be wanted for the role, given her age, but that proved to be a non-issue. MacDonald says she is proud to take part in this coming of age movie — because as a teenager herself, she did not commonly see movies where an unconventionally strong character such as Willowdean gets the guy.
She even stated that she purchased the book after noticing that the cartoon of Willowdean Dickson on the front cover looked like her.
