Virginia Gardner

Virginia Elizabeth Gardner (born April 18, 1995), also known as Ginny Gardner, is an American actress and model. She is best known for portraying Karolina Dean in the Hulu original series Marvel's Runaways (2017–2019), Vicky in the horror film Halloween (2018), and Shiloh Hunter in the survival thriller Fall (2022).

Early Life

Gardner was born in Sacramento, California. She attended Sacramento Country Day School from kindergarten through eighth grade, participating in many of the school's theatrical productions. In 2011, she moved to Los Angeles and took online schooling before passing the California High School Proficiency Exam in October 2011. She has cited the 2001 film I Am Sam as an inspiration for her desire to act, noting that her nonverbal autistic brother, Chas, also motivated her. She initially lived with her mother while pursuing acting, later moving into her own apartment as her career progressed.

Career

Gardner made her acting debut on the Disney Channel series Lab Rats (2012). She subsequently took a year off from acting to pursue modeling, working with brands including Kohl's, Love Culture, HP, Hollister, LF, and Famous Footwear. After learning about an audition for Glee, she returned to acting and was cast as Katie Fitzgerald/Marissa for two episodes in 2013.

In 2015, Gardner starred as Christina Raskin in the found footage science fiction thriller Project Almanac, which helped establish her in Hollywood. She appeared in recurring and guest roles on The Goldbergs (2013–2014), How to Get Away with Murder (2015), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2016), and Major Crimes (2016).

In February 2017, Gardner was cast as Karolina Dean in Hulu's Marvel's Runaways, a role that brought her wide recognition, including for her portrayal of one of Marvel's first openly LGBTQ characters in a series. She played Vicky in David Gordon Green's Halloween (2018), a direct sequel to the 1978 original. In 2022, she starred as Shiloh Hunter in the survival thriller Fall alongside Grace Caroline Currey. She later starred as Abby Abernathy in Beautiful Disaster (2023) and its sequel Beautiful Wedding (2024), and as Kelly in the thriller F** Marry Kill* (2025).

Personal Life

Gardner describes herself as a feminist. She holds a black belt in taekwondo and has also trained in boxing and nunchucks. In August 2023, she married Jed Elliott, bassist of the rock band The Struts, in a ceremony in Napa Valley, California.

Filmography

Film

Television