Odeya Rushinek, known professionally as Odeya Rush, is an Israeli-American actress, model and filmmaker. She is known for her lead roles in The Giver, Goosebumps and Dumplin'.
Early life
Odeya Rushinek was born in Haifa, Israel, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family. Her father Shlomo Rushinek was born in Israel and he is of Polish-Jewish descent, whereas her mother Maia was born in Soviet Russia and immigrated to Israel. Her name, "Odeya", means "I Will Thank God" in Hebrew. As an eight year-old in Haifa, she wrote and performed plays. Her family moved to the United States when she was nine so that her father could take a job as a security consultant in Alabama. When she arrived, Rush could speak only Hebrew. She attended N.E. Miles Jewish Day School in Birmingham, Alabama, where she lived. She later moved to Midland Park, New Jersey, where she attended public school. In the beginning of 2013, Rush moved to Los Angeles, California with her family. Rush has six brothers. Four of them are younger than she is—two sets of twins who live with their parents in Los Angeles, and two older brothers who live in Israel.
Career
Modeling
Before becoming an actress, Rush began her career in her childhood and adolescence when she was discovered as a model in the United States, appearing in major campaigns and advertisements for fashion brandsPolo Ralph Lauren, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and Guess.
Acting
Her first acting roles began in 2010 in , in the episode "Branded", in which she played the character Hannah Milner; and in the television series Curb Your Enthusiasm in the episode "Mister Softee", as Emily. Her first film role was in 2012, playing Joni Jerome, the best friend of Timothy, in the Peter Hedges-directed Disney film The Odd Life of Timothy Green. In 2013, Rush was named one of Hollywood's 20 up and coming young actresses under 20 to watch by The Midwest TV Guys. Rush co-starred, as Fiona, in the science fiction filmThe Giver, based on the 1993 novel of same name from Lois Lowry, and directed by Phillip Noyce. The film also starred Brenton Thwaites, Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes, Alexander Skarsgård and Taylor Swift. In 2014, Rush was one of two Israeli actresses, along with Gal Gadot, to be named as Hollywood's newest leading ladies by InStyle magazine. In 2015, Rush played Ashley Burwood, niece of Johana Burwood, in the comedy filmSee You in Valhalla. Rush's next role was the female lead in the film Goosebumps, based on the R. L. Stine's popular book series. Rush played Hannah Fairchild, the "daughter" of R. L. Stine, who teams up with her neighbor to fight the Goosebumps monsters. In 2016, Rush completed filming the satirical comedy film Dear Dictator, in which she starred with Michael Caine and Katie Holmes. She was also cast as Ella Hatto, opposite Sam Worthington, in action-thriller film The Hunter's Prayer directed by Jonathan Mostow. In 2017, she had a supporting role in Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird; Rush was nominated along with the rest of the cast for numerous awards. The film earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. She starred in The Bachelors with J. K. Simmons in 2017.
