Demi Singleton on Ghosts, The Power of Reading, and Her Monster High Fashion Influences

Demi Singleton may be a few months shy of her 18th birthday, but already, the actor has the résumé of a seasoned professional. Before the age of 5, she was training in classical ballet and mastering the cello. At 7, she was singing in the children’s choir and studying the Suzuki method at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. By the age of 10, she was performing on Broadway, first in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock and then as young Nala in The Lion King. Then there was her breakout role four years later when she starred as Serena Williams in the biopic King Richard, for which she earned her first Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Her first major fashion campaign with Miu Miu came shortly thereafter, followed by a global ambassadorship with Room to Read and her very own book club with Fable called Black Girl Covers. We’d ask if there’s anything Singleton can’t do, but the answer is obvious.

“I always knew I was going to be a performer my entire life,” she tells us over Zoom from her bedroom in Los Angeles. It’s true. From the moment she could walk, Singleton has been entertaining people in various forms, catching the attention of friends and family members, notable directors, and designers alike.