Mary Badham

Mary Badham is one of the best child actresses of all time. After playing Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird at the age of 10, she received an Oscar nomination—a prestigious award for anyone in the acting business. Mary is the youngest to ever get nominated for an Academy Award. From acting at a very young age, she decided to also retire early and did so in 1966. Despite the early retirement, she did appear in a cameo for the film Our Very Own.

Since retiring from acting, Badham has become an art restorer and a college testing coordinator. She has also traveled around the world to share her experience in making the iconic film To Kill a Mockingbird, while also spreading and expounding on the book’s messages of tolerance and compassion. We may not see her on the small or big screen often, but even her brief stay in the industry made quite an impact on audiences.