Victoria Pedretti (born March 23, 1995) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough portraying Eleanor “Nell” Crain Vance in the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), for which she received a Saturn Award nomination. She currently stars as Love Quinn in the Netflix thriller series You (2019–present), and starred as Danielle “Dani” Clayton in the follow-up series The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), the latter of which earned her a Critics’ Choice Super Award nomination.
Pedretti had her feature film debut appearing as Leslie Van Houten in the comedy-drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), and has also starred as Katherine in the biographical-drama film Shirley (2020).
Early life
Pedretti was born in Pennsylvania. Her father is of three-quarter Italian descent, whereas her maternal grandmother was Ashkenazi Jewish. Pedretti had a Bat Mitzvah. She attended Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills and the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting in 2017. Pedretti was diagnosed with ADD when she was six years old.
Career
Pedretti began film acting appearing in two independent short films in 2014. In 2018, she had her breakthrough for her portrayal of Eleanor “Nell” Crain Vance in the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House. Her performance was praised by critics, with Netflix stating “If this is the depth of talent Victoria Pedretti has shown us in merely three years, just imagine what the future holds.” She earned Saturn Award and MTV Award nominations in 2019 for the role.
In 2017, Pedretti auditioned for the role of Guinevere Beck on the Netflix thriller series You; although she was initially rejected, the directors later cast her as Love Quinn in the show’s second season after seeing her previous acting work and her chemistry with her co-star Penn Badgley. The second season was released on December 26, 2019, and Pedretti’s performance and the show were received positively. She will reprise her role for the third season, scheduled for release in 2021. In 2019, Pedretti appeared as Leslie Van Houten in Quentin Tarantino’s comedy-drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which was a commercial success.
In 2020, Pedretti guest-starred in the anthology series Amazing Stories as Evelyn Porter, and in the same year starred as Katherine in the biographical-drama film Shirley, which received positive reviews from critics. Also in 2020, she portrayed Danielle “Dani” Clayton on the Netflix series The Haunting of Bly Manor, the second season in the anthology series to The Haunting of Hill House. The series and Pedretti’s performance received critical acclaim, with The Hollywood Reporter writing that her performance “generates instant empathy”. For the role, she received a nomination from the Critics’ Choice Super Awards.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Sole | Girl | Short film |
| Uncovering Eden | Edie | ||
| 2019 | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | “Lulu” | |
| 2020 | Shirley | Katherine |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | The Haunting of Hill House | Eleanor “Nell” Crain Vance (adult) | Main role |
| 2019–present | You | Love Quinn | Main role (Season 2) |
| 2020 | Amazing Stories | Evelyn Porter | Episode: “The Cellar” |
| The Haunting of Bly Manor | Danielle “Dani” Clayton | Main role |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Most Frightened Performance | The Haunting of Hill House | Nominated | |
| Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actress in Streaming Presentation | Nominated | |||
| Online Film & Television Association | Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Limited Series | Nominated | |||
| 2021 | Critics’ Choice Super Awards | Best Actress in a Horror Series | The Haunting of Bly Manor | Nominated |