Welcome to Simply Shipka, the newest fansite source for star Kiernan Shipka. We have the biggest gallery and is the finest in Kiernan news. Here at Simply Shipka we've been bringing you the latest Kiernan updates, multimedia and photography since 2014. Proudly paparazzi free.
Current Projects
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is an upcoming American supernatural television series based on the comic book series of the same name. The series was created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and is being developed for Netflix by Warner Bros
Simply Shipka is a fansite made by a fan for fans of Kiernan Shipka. We are in no way in contact with Kiernan or her family and friends. All other content and graphics are copyright to Simply Shipka sources unless otherwise stated. No copyright infringement intended. The webmaster(s) of this website claim no ownership to any material seen on this website unless otherwise stated and is used, to the best of their knowledge, under the "Fair Use" copyright laws.
She’s learning from the greats.
All clothing MIU MIU Pre-Fall 17
“I don’t do that much karaoke and it’s really frustrating to me,” I can feel Kiernan Shipka’s pain from the other side of the Atlantic. At just 17, the actor is four years shy of being allowed into bars. If I was her, well, frustrated wouldn’t begin to cover it. “‘Last Dance’ by Donna Summers would probably be the most fun to do,” she imagines, “but I also feel like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, I’d tell myself to do, then halfway through I’d be like, ‘This is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life!’” She settles on Taylor Swift, one of “the modern classics”.
It’s hard to even believe the Mad Men star is 17. Joining the American period drama at just seven years old, picturing her in any other way than as the troubled pre-teen Sally Draper is near impossible. Shipka’s own childhood was the antithesis to her character’s, calling her coming-of-age on the show “loving and fun and casual” and her adolescence spent on set “an amazing environment… a special thing”.
Prior to the series, she grew up watching and practising musical theatre, evident in the way she enunciates every word over the phone, peppering our conversation with endearingly dramatic pauses and sudden exclamations of “Oh gosh!” She’s just seen Dear Evan Hansen when we speak—”just amazing”—and obsesses over a long list of more shows. “I mean, Wicked has a very special place in my heart,” she enthuses, ‘I’ve seen it six or seven times… The Lion King… All of them! I adore singing and I like dancing, so if I could do more of that combined with acting, that would be amazing.” Andrew Lloyd Webber, if you’re reading this, Shipka is waiting for the call.
All clothing MIU MIU Pre-Fall 17
Her latest hit show, Feud, is more similar to Mad Men than her beloved musicals; another period piece set in the 60s, this time based on the infamous rift between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. “I’ve seen What Ever Happened to Baby Jane a million years ago, and I knew briefly about the feud,” Shipka says of the notorious rivalry between the two screen sirens, who fought both personally and professionally over everything, from roles and awards to love interests. “Digging in and finding all of those amazing juicy details… It wasn’t just them feuding against each other, there were a lot of people pitting them against each other,” she explains. “That was eye opening.”
Shipka appears as B.D., the daughter of Bette Davis (played by the inimitable Susan Sarandon) who went on to publish a scathing, and largely unverified, exposé on her mother in later life. “I think that B.D. lived her life as Bette Davis’ daughter,” muses Shipka, “and was struggling to find her way as B.D.”
Shipka and her fictional mother had none of the aggressions of their real life counterparts, calling working with Sarandon “a dream come true”. “She was a partner in crime,” she continues, “a sparring partner in those more intense scenes.” The show’s other lead, living legend Jessica Lange, sent her into fan girl fits, “Just making eye contact, I was like, ‘My life is made. I’m done. I’m good!’”
Brainchild of Ryan Murphy—the cult show creator who Shipka calls “the crème de la crème, the most amazing director/human/person/brilliant mind ever”— Feud goes further than highlighting the destructive horrors of Hollywood’s cut-throat competition. With Murphy’s Half foundation, an initiative sparked to secure gender equality in off-screen film roles, 60 percent of the show – runner’s directing slots go to women, in contrast to the industry average of 17 percent. “[Murphy] shows that it’s possible,” enthuses Shipka. “He doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk. That set was incredibly diverse with so many voices, and it made for a warm, well rounded, amazing vibe.”
All clothing MIU MIU Pre-Fall 17
Luckily, unlike Davis and Crawford the young actor hasn’t made any enemies of her own and she’s steered clear of scandal in any form. “Everything becomes everyone’s business,” she reasons of online media. “I literally post photos of my dog and food,” she snorts, “I’m not dating anyone… Owning myself and my feelings is the most empowering thing I can do… I keep it pretty low key but who knows what’s gonna happen? I’ll try to sneak into a karaoke bar and then get kicked out, that’s what’s going to destroy me!”
Since wrapping Feud (a second series is due, this time detailing the tumultuous relationship between Prince Charles and Diana), Shipka’s been stationed at home in Los Angeles, taking classes and hanging out with her dog. “I have a few things that might be lined up for later in the year, so we’ll see,” she says coyly. “The Blackcoat’s Daughter, a movie I did with Emma Roberts is out right now. That’s really exciting and fun, but besides that, I’m just waiting for the right thing.”
Having graduated high school (home school) at just 15 and already earning herself college credits alongside her astounding career, the teenager makes me feel like an underachiever. She’ll be 18 in September and meets my preemptive congratulations with, “Ugh! Don’t remind me!” College isn’t on the cards right now, but she’s educating herself through both literature and life in Los Angeles. “I love this city so much,” she effuses. “I’m really into food and art and culture. LA provides this giant landscape to explore all of that and the city and understand everyone living in it, it’s boundless. A beautiful experience.”
On her current path, by the time September and adulthood roll around, the leading-lady-in-waiting might just be ruling the land she loves so much.
Taken from the Summer 17 Issue of Wonderland; out now and available to buy here.
