a 15 year old from Surprise has been in 25 feature films and still hasn’t gotten her driver’s license. Ellie Mae Smith just won a 2026 Young Artist Academy Award for best supporting performance in a streaming film. She’s also nominated for an Arizoni Theatre Award for a youth production of Little Women. She acts, she writes her own productions, and she’s already been in 15 plays. After school she’s studying old movies to get better at both. Auditions mean a lot of “no” before a “yes,” and she says she takes every one as another shot at doing what she loves. The West Valley is doing something right. Tag a Valley kid who’s putting in work. Via: FOX 10 Phoenix #Arizona #Surprise #WestValley #Phoenix #YoungArtistAcademy