Brooklyn Nelson

Brooklyn Nelson is an American actress born in Huntington, West Virginia, to Tara and Todd Nelson. She has a younger sister, Lacey. Nelson attended Village of Barboursville Elementary School and Barboursville Middle School. Her interest in theater began at age eight, when she was cast in a production of The Little Mermaid Jr. at Huntington's First Stage Theater. She subsequently appeared in additional local productions through First Stage, Curtain Up Players, and the Huntington Regional Theater. After attending a performance of Matilda the Musical, Nelson expressed a desire to pursue Broadway.

Nelson's mother searched online for open casting calls, leading to an audition for Matilda the Musical in April 2015. Following multiple callbacks, Nelson was cast and spent six weeks rehearsing eight to nine hours daily to learn the show's choreography and music. Her run in the production began in September 2015, when she was eleven years old, and lasted sixteen months. She performed as a small girl swing, covering the roles of Lavender and Amanda Thripp before eventually settling fully into the role of Amanda. The engagement marked her professional Broadway debut.

In February 2017, Nelson auditioned for the Broadway adaptation of Disney's Frozen, earning the role of young Elsa after three callbacks. She first performed the role during the production's pre-Broadway tryout in Denver in 2017, sharing it with Ayla Schwartz. Critics responded positively to her performance, with Variety noting that Nelson captured a big sister's attentiveness and her guilt at accidentally harming Anna. In March 2018, Nelson and Schwartz originated the role on Broadway, with Nelson appearing in four of the production's eight weekly performances each week. She departed the cast at the end of April 2018. Nelson also contributed vocals to the Broadway cast recording, which was released in May 2018. During the rehearsal and performance period, she remained enrolled at Barboursville Middle School and completed her schoolwork online.

Beyond the stage, Nelson provided voice work for two English-dubbed anime films. In 2017, she voiced Nazuna Oikawa in Fireworks. The following year, she voiced the character Medmel in Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms. Also in 2018, Nelson appeared on screen as the titular character in Megan's Christmas Miracle, starring opposite Dean Cain.