Caleb McLaughlin

Caleb Reginald McLaughlin is an American actor born on October 13, 2001, in Carmel, New York, to April and Corey McLaughlin. He has a younger sister, Caitlyn, who is also an actress. McLaughlin attended Kent Primary School and George Fischer Middle School before pursuing performing arts training at Happy Feet Dance School, Seven Star School of Performing Arts in Brewster, New York, and the Harlem School of the Arts in Harlem, New York, where he studied under Aubrey Lynch, a former Lion King producer.

McLaughlin's earliest performance was as a child in the opera Lost in the Stars at the Glimmerglass Opera House in Cooperstown, New York. His Broadway career began with the role of young Simba in The Lion King, which he performed from 2012 to 2014. Prior to his Broadway work, he had guest-starring appearances in television series including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Unforgettable, Forever, What Would You Do?, and Shades of Blue.

In 2016, McLaughlin was cast as Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series Stranger Things, a role he held through 2025. The part brought him international recognition and served as his career breakthrough. That same year, he appeared in the BET miniseries The New Edition Story. In 2017, he was nominated for the BET YoungStars Award, and in 2018 he received the Outstanding Performance by a Youth award at the NAACP Image Awards.

McLaughlin made his feature film debut in the 2020 drama Concrete Cowboy, in which he starred alongside Idris Elba and Jharrel Jerome. He also appeared in Steven Soderbergh's 2019 drama High Flying Bird. In December 2020, Forbes named him to its 30 Under 30 Class of 2021 list. In January 2024, an announcement circulated that McLaughlin would appear in a biopic about rap artist 21 Savage alongside Donald Glover and Savage himself, with McLaughlin set to portray a younger version of Savage; later that month, Savage stated the announcement had been a parody, though he acknowledged it could become a real project.

Beyond acting, McLaughlin has led the social media campaigns #EmbraceYourFace and #BeYourBiggestFan, both aimed at promoting body positivity and self-esteem. In 2020, he also used his Instagram platform to encourage participation in the U.S. presidential election, sharing links to Vote.org. McLaughlin has spoken publicly about experiencing racism during his time on Stranger Things, recounting that some fans refused to stand in his autograph line at his first Comic-Con because of his race, and describing encounters with racism and bigotry at international events.