Mandalynn Carlson (born 1999)[1][2] is an American actress from Taylor, Michigan whose first film appearance was a supporting role in the 2011 action biopic Machine Gun Preacher, with Gerard Butler.

[1] Leaving Michigan for Hollywood, Carlson has found success with supporting and lead roles in dozens of independent films and television shows, including Grey's Anatomy and CSI: NY.

[5] Carlson began her acting career in 2010 with a supporting role in Machine Gun Preacher alongside Gerard Butler, Michael Shannon, and Michelle Monaghan.

She continued to do local projects in Detroit, including the period piece, Mary's Buttons (2012), which was based on a true story and Naked Angel (2014) with James Duval and Debra Wilson.

Mandalynn was on the 2015 season 12 premiere of Grey's Anatomy playing the role of Jessica Tanner in scenes with Sara Ramirez, Justin Chambers and Kelly McCreary which dealt with teen suicide and bullying.

Carlson plays Sam Lambert in Roadside Stars paired Mandalynn with acting legend and academy award nominee Candy Clark from American Graffiti, Gene Loveland and Boti Bliss of CSI:Miami fame.

The drama, nicknamed a "hope opera" as it steers away from using language, sex and violence in the story, follows the prominent Trisk family who runs the fictional ISLE Television Network in South Carolina's most notable resort town.

The series stars Donna Mills of Knots Landing, Michael Swan from As the World Turns, Emmy-winning actress Crystal Hunt of Guiding Light, and Antonio Sabato Jr of General Hospital.

The bullying by schoolmates in grades 4–6 lead her parents to choose home schooling for Mandalynn, allowing her to work at an accelerated pace as well as provided time in her schedule for training and acting.