As teenage Kate on the Netflix series Firefly Lane, Roan Curtis, established herself as a leading lady. Working as an actress since childhood, she has landed guest-starring roles on a handful of television shows. Her role as Kate has provided her the breakout role she needed to vault herself to leading roles.
You probably saw Curtis for the first time in 2007 when she picked up her first roles. Her auspicious debut role was simply called “Kid” in The L Word. She followed it with guest roles on Smallville and Bionic Woman, then made an appearance the following year on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.
Since those days, she has starred in three TV series — the current one — Firefly Lane, Shut Eye in 2016 as Emma Gilbert, and The Magicians in 2017 to 2018 as Sylvia. In Firefly Lane, the cast takes literary pulp to the Internet via adaptation of the 2008 Kristin Hannah novel of the same name. A mix of American and Canadian actors and actresses re-create a group of friends during two key periods of life — formative, dorky teen years and mid-career successful adults.
Childhood best friends Tully Hart and Kate Mularkey go through many ups and downs, played as adults by Katherine Heigl (Tully) and Sarah Chalke (Kate) and teens by Roan Curtis (young Kate) and Ali Skovbye (young Tully). Beau Garrett (Tully’s mama), Ben Lawson (Johnny Ryan), and Brendan Taylor (Mutt) round out the group of inseparable and loving friends. Read on to learn why Canadian actress Curtis has quickly picked up fans throughout the world due to this series.
1. Actress Roan Curtis stars in Netflix’s “Firefly Lane” with one of her close friends, Ali Skovbye.
Although the two did not know one another when they each started on the series, they quickly became close. She’s one year younger than Skovbye’s older sister, making it a comfortable dynamic.
2. She plays Young Kate while actress Sarah Chalke plays adult Kate.
Both actresses have talked about far out of their comfort zone playing the role that takes them, Chalke, for having to sing on camera and Curtis for having to dance on camera.
3. Her role as teenage Kate is only her third major role.
She has also played roles in 2015’s “The Magicians” although not a magician, and 2017’s “Before I Fall.”
4. She celebrates her birthday on February 1, 1996.
That makes her an Aquarius.
5. Curtis maintains close relationships with her father, Kildare Curtis, and her mother, Stephanie Butler.
She calls her dad “creative and kind” and her mom “cute.”
6. She is unmarried but in a serious relationship.
In interviews, Curtis has said she crushed on her current boyfriend, James R. Swalm since she was 17. He is also known as James Rittinger. Yep. Same guy.
5. Roan Curtis is a cat person.
She often posts photos of her kitty to Instagram. The actress adopted her cat Gremlin. He turned two years old on April 5, 2021. Curtis says his greatest accomplishment in the past year has been destroying a 200-year-old chair she owns.
6. When she gets time off to spend at home, she enjoys dancing and napping.
Maybe she is part cat.
7. The actress is not a fan of pants.
You read that right. She just does not like to wear long pants.
8. She’s a private person.
She does not reveal much in interviews and what she posts to social media reveals little personal details.
9. You’ll notice two periods of time off from television during her acting career so far.
Those were for high school and college.
10. The glasses she wears on “Firefly Lane” are just for the show.
She has perfect vision in real life. You will only see her wearing sunglasses.
11. Her dad, Kildare Curtis, owns a clothing company, Eugene Choo Clothing.
Yes, she does wear its clothes and regularly posts Instagram stories of outfits she buys from his company.
12. She did act as a child in two TV series.
She played roles in a lesbian drama series The L Word and on Smallville.
13. Her personality resembles her character Kate in many ways, including a love of family and friends, boyfriend, and her cat.
14. She’s Canadian like her father and mother, but she moved to the US to attend college.
Curtis graduated from Wagner College, joining famed actor Robert Loggia as an alumnus of the institution of higher education.
15. Curtis stands 5′ 5” in height and weighs about 110 pounds.
16. Roan Curtis loves posting to Instagram, but kind of ignores her Twitter.
Perhaps it is that she is busy binge-watching Netflix series. She did so with “The Crown” and a few animated series.
17. The actress uses her budding celebrity as a platform as an anti-racism advocate Sinophobia.
She also advocates self-compassion and posts links to websites about it on her Instagram.
18. This Canadian actress has many hobbies, including cooking, reading, photography, learning, and travel.
She’s filled her Instagram with photos of trips to Europe, an artsy cabin, and lots of food posts. She makes real Sunday dinners such as roast and stews for her and her boyfriend Swalm.
19. She earned her first producer credit for Daughter.
All of her other Internet Movie Database (IMDB) credits are for acting. Kudos to her for diversifying at such a young age.
20. Roan has a brother named Kasper Curtis.
He’s been breaking into modeling since 2017 mostly as a commercial model.
21. She is a non-smoker because she says smoking is just gross.
She favors massive mugs of coffee, cookies, and frozen drinks.
22. Curtis made time for her higher education while acting.
Her alma mater is Wagner College.
23. She has blue eyes.
Only eight percent of the world’s population has blue eyes.
24. She also has a sister named Ruby Curtis.
She is the ballet dancer in the family.
25. She loves art and photography.
She has featured the work of one of her favorite photographers, Rineke Dijkstra, in her Instagram, stating that Dijkstra “has the most amazing way of capturing human vulnerability, especially in youth.”
Of course, people like a relatable, cat-loving person who still dates the guy she first crushed on at 17. It’s easy to like someone who makes you think of your bestie, sister, or daughter. Roan Curtis is that girl whether you get a taste of real her on her Instagram or you enjoy watching her play a role on a television show or in a movie.
At 24, Curtis has blossomed into a young actress after adorable roles as a child. You can catch her on Netflix in Firefly Lane plus a guest spot on an episode of Charmed and the 2021 TV movie, Secrets of a Gold Digger Killer as Kristina.
References:
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