She starred as the alternating title role in the West End production of Matilda the Musical from 2015 to 2016.
The eldest of three to parents Hazel and Ciaran, she has a sister (Charlotte) and a brother (Andrew).
[3] After this, McDonnell played a young Anne Brontë in To Walk Invisible (2016) and then as Alannah in The Delinquent Season (2018).
[4] She then played Captain Holly Short in Kenneth Branagh's Artemis Fowl (2020), a Disney film based on the novel of the same name by Eoin Colfer.
[6] Following the release of the trailer, McDonnell's casting drew some criticism as Holly is described in the book as having "nut-brown skin", leading to accusations of whitewashing.