If you’ve watched Marvel’s Hawkeye, Disney’s holiday film The Naughty Nine, or HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry, you’ve already seen Clara Stack’s work even if the name wasn’t immediately familiar. Clara Stack has quietly built one of the more impressive resumes among young American actors working today, moving between major franchises and prestige television with a consistency that’s rare for a performer still early in her career.
This article looks at who Clara Stack is, how her career developed from local theater to national television, the specific roles that have defined her work so far, and what makes her approach to acting worth paying attention to. Whether you recognized her as young Kate Bishop or you’re just now connecting the name to the face from IT: Welcome to Derry, this guide gives you the full picture of Clara Stack’s career to date.
Who Is Clara Stack?
Clara Stack is an American actress born on October 19, 2010, who has built a growing career across television and film. She’s best known for playing a younger version of Hailee Steinfeld’s character in Marvel’s Hawkeye, for starring as Rose in the Disney Original Movie The Naughty Nine, and for her role as Lilly Bainbridge in HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry. Across each of these projects, Clara Stack has demonstrated a range that extends well beyond a single genre, moving comfortably between superhero action, family adventure, and horror.
What stands out about Clara Stack’s career is how deliberately it’s been built. Rather than landing a single breakout role and coasting on visibility, she’s taken on distinctly different characters across different genres and studios — Marvel, Disney, and HBO each have very different production styles and audience expectations, and successfully working across all three says something meaningful about range and professionalism at a young age. It’s the kind of trajectory that industry observers often point to as evidence of a genuinely promising long-term career rather than a single viral moment.
Clara Stack’s Early Theater Training
Long before television cameras found her, Clara Stack was developing her craft on stage. According to her official Disney press biography, she began acting at age four in local theater productions, taking on roles in beloved musical theater staples including “Annie” as Star to Be, “The Music Man” as Amaryllis, and “Matilda the Musical” in the title role of Matilda. That’s a notable range of material for such an early start, spanning classic American musical theater and one of the more demanding contemporary roles for a young performer.
This theater foundation matters more than it might initially seem. Stage work forces young performers to develop stamina, memorization discipline, and the ability to project emotion clearly to an audience without the benefit of close-up camera work or editing to smooth over rough moments. Many casting directors and acting coaches consider early theater training one of the strongest predictors of a young actor’s ability to transition successfully into film and television, since it builds fundamentals that are much harder to teach once cameras are involved. Clara Stack’s theater background gives her screen performances a groundedness that’s often noted by those who follow her work closely.
Clara Stack’s Breakout Role in Hawkeye
Clara Stack’s most widely recognized role to date came through Marvel’s Hawkeye, the 2021 Disney+ series starring Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld. In the show, Clara Stack played a young version of Kate Bishop, Steinfeld’s character, appearing in flashback sequences that helped establish Kate’s backstory and her early exposure to the superhero world that would eventually define her adult life. Playing a younger version of an established character carries its own specific challenges — the performance has to feel like a believable earlier chapter of someone else’s portrayal, which requires close attention to physicality and mannerism rather than simply delivering an independent performance.
Landing a role in a major Marvel property is significant exposure for any young actor, and Clara Stack’s work in Hawkeye introduced her to a massive built-in audience of superhero fans well before her subsequent projects. It’s a credit that continues to define much of her public recognition, and it remains one of the clearest entry points for new fans discovering Clara Stack’s broader body of work for the first time.
Clara Stack in The Naughty Nine and IT: Welcome to Derry
Following her work in Hawkeye, Clara Stack took on the lead role of Rose in Disney’s holiday film The Naughty Nine, released in 2023. Described in Disney’s own marketing as an animal expert with a big heart, Rose gave Clara Stack the opportunity to headline a family film rather than appear in a supporting or flashback capacity, marking a clear step forward in the scale and visibility of her roles.
Her most recent major credit is Lilly Bainbridge in HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry, a 2025 series expanding the horror mythology of Stephen King’s IT universe. Taking on a role in prestige horror television represents a significant tonal shift from family-friendly Disney programming, and it demonstrates that Clara Stack is being trusted with material that requires genuine dramatic weight rather than roles written specifically around a young audience. Moving from a Marvel flashback role, to a Disney family lead, to an HBO horror drama in the span of a few years is an unusually varied career arc, and it positions Clara Stack as a performer studios are willing to cast across sharply different tones and genres.
Clara Stack’s Career Timeline
| Year | Project | Role | Studio/Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early career | Local theater productions | Star to Be (Annie), Amaryllis (The Music Man), Matilda (Matilda the Musical) | Regional theater |
| Pre-2021 | Madam Secretary, Bull, Almost Family | Guest roles | CBS |
| 2021 | Hawkeye | Young Kate Bishop | Marvel/Disney+ |
| 2023 | The Naughty Nine | Rose | Disney |
| 2025 | IT: Welcome to Derry | Lilly Bainbridge | HBO |
Why Clara Stack Stands Out Among Young Actors
One of the clearest signals of Clara Stack’s growing reputation is the range of production environments willing to cast her. Marvel, Disney, and HBO each maintain very different creative standards and audience expectations, and moving successfully between them requires more than a single strong audition — it requires directors and casting teams trusting a young performer to handle material of genuinely different tones and complexity levels. That kind of cross-studio trust doesn’t happen by accident.
There’s also a personal dimension to how Clara Stack has been presented publicly that’s worth noting. According to her official Disney biography, she has a twin sister named Maggie who she describes as her best friend, and she enjoys spending time with her two cats outside of work. These details, shared through official studio channels, paint a picture of a young performer with a life and identity outside her career — something industry professionals often cite as a healthy sign for actors navigating early fame, since a strong sense of self and support system outside the industry tends to correlate with longer, more stable careers.
Frequently Asked Questions About Clara Stack
Who is Clara Stack?
Clara Stack is an American actress born on October 19, 2010, known for playing a young version of Kate Bishop in Marvel’s Hawkeye, starring as Rose in Disney’s The Naughty Nine, and playing Lilly Bainbridge in HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry. She began her acting career in local theater productions before transitioning to television and film.
What was Clara Stack’s first major acting role?
Before her breakout work in Hawkeye, Clara Stack appeared in guest roles on established television dramas including Madam Secretary, Bull, and Almost Family. Her role as young Kate Bishop in Hawkeye in 2021 is generally considered the project that brought her to a wider national audience.
What character does Clara Stack play in IT: Welcome to Derry?
Clara Stack plays Lilly Bainbridge in HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry, a 2025 series that expands on the horror mythology established in Stephen King’s IT novels and films. The role marked a notable shift toward more dramatically intense material compared to her earlier family-oriented projects.
Did Clara Stack have theater experience before television?
Yes, Clara began performing at age four in local theater productions, taking on roles in well-known musicals including “Annie,” “The Music Man,” and “Matilda the Musical.” That early stage training is often cited as a strong foundation for her later television and film work.
What is Clara Stack best known for?
Clara is most widely recognized for playing a younger version of Kate Bishop in Marvel’s Hawkeye, though her starring role as Rose in Disney’s The Naughty Nine and her more recent work as Lilly Bainbridge in IT: Welcome to Derry have significantly broadened her profile beyond that single credit.
Final Thoughts on Clara Stack
Clara Stack’s career so far reflects a rare combination of early theater discipline and genuine range across major studios and genres. From a Marvel flashback role, to a Disney family lead, to a prestige HBO horror series, Clara has consistently taken on material that stretches her as a performer rather than settling into a single type of role. For a young actress still early in her career, that kind of deliberate variety is a strong indicator of longevity, and it’s worth keeping an eye on where Clara Stack’s career goes
