Here's What Foxface From The Hunger Games Looks Like Now
After the success of Suzanne Collins' book trilogy "The Hunger Games," it was only a matter of time before the novels became a global film franchise. In keeping with popular book-to-screen series like "Harry Potter" and "Twilight," the final book was split into two parts, giving "The Hunger Games" a total of four movies.
An impressive cast was assembled to bring the dystopian world of Panem to life, with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson leading the charge as District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. They were joined by a number of young actors, including Jacqueline Emerson who played the District 5 tribute Foxface. The movie marked the start of Emerson's career. "I've been acting since I was 6 years old, but not professionally. This is the best break I could have hoped for," she told "The Hunger Games" fan site Burnt Bread in 2012 when the movie premiered.
Although Foxface dies during that movie, Emerson remained a huge fan of the series and Lawrence's character and continued to attend premieres for the subsequent movies. She also walked the red carpet for the 2023 prequel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." But by that time, it had been 11 years since Emerson made her big screen debut at age 16. Like her co-stars, she had quite the transformation over the decade. She's excelled in the entertainment industry and pursued some other creative avenues.
She's proud of her role in The Hunger Games
Starring in "The Hunger Games" was a life-changing experience for Jacqueline Emerson. She was invited to audition for the role of Foxface after participating in an interview for fans of the books where she gave feedback on the series. Emerson felt an immediate connection to her character, telling Seventeen that she thought Foxface was really unique for making it to the final four in the games without having to kill any of the other tributes. "I think that's really cool, especially when she's thrown into this society where that's what you're brought up to do," she added.
Emerson continues to hold the movie and her part in it in high regard as the years go by. To celebrate the film's 10th anniversary in 2022, Emerson reflected on playing the intelligent and stealthy character in an Instagram post. "This story changed my life, in more ways than I can count," she gushed. "I will forever be humbled by the small part I got to play in bringing this to life."
The following year, in celebration of the movie hitting Netflix, Emerson posted a tongue-in-cheek tribute to "The Hunger Games" by mocking her on-screen death. Celebrating the film being on Netflix, the actor shared a clip of Foxface's death by poisonous berries, before showing herself happily eating a handful of blueberries. "Check it out and let the nostalgia ROLL (as it def did for me)," she joked.
Jacqueline Emerson continued acting
Jacqueline Emerson took her time before taking on another acting role after "The Hunger Games." The movie's success launched her into instant fame, but rather than jumping straight into another big-screen blockbuster, Emerson followed her own path, which was lined with smaller and independent projects. In 2014, she played one of the leads in the fantasy short "The Night is Ours" opposite "Arrow" alum Bex Taylor-Klaus. This led her back to feature film roles, such as the sci-fi thriller "The Last Survivors" alongside "The White Lotus" star Haley Lu Richardson and the horror flick "The Curse of Downers Grove" the following year.
Emerson's acting credits were quite sparse for a few years after this, as she turned her attention away from the screen to attend Stanford University. "College has always been my number one priority, more than anything," the actor told Business Insider. But she added that acting was still her passion and her college environment helped her stay inspired. After graduating, her career switched lanes again as she began exploring roles outside of feature films. In 2018, Emerson played a role in the podcast audio series "Super Ordinary" before testing out the waters of the world of TV. Emerson starred in the 10-episode web series "Wayward Guide," appeared on an episode of "FBI," and starred in a handful of short films.
She uses her platform to speak out
Playing Foxface in "The Hunger Games" gave Jacqueline Emerson a public platform that she's used to speak out on politics and social issues, even co-founding a feminist organization while at university. Emerson helmed "SHE'S SO BOSS" alongside Glass Elevator Media CEO Adrienne Becker. The movement aimed to create an online community to empower young women and address important issues facing them. Emerson continued speaking out about women's rights after college, attending rallies and protests on issues such as abortion and sexual assault. In more recent years, she's also been a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and regularly encourages her fans to vote and get more involved in politics.
Speaking out on issues is something Emerson learned from her family. Not only is her dad a diplomat and former White House aide who served as the United States ambassador to Germany from 2013 to 2017, her grandmother was apparently a vocal activist who helped women gain access to illegal but necessary abortions. After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2023, Emerson shared a copy of a letter she said her grandmother wrote to former President Carter in 1978 on abortion rights on Instagram. Alongside the letter, she commented on history repeating itself, writing: "I am blown away by her articulation of this matter. It is too relevant not to share."
The surprisingly bloodless reunion of Marvel and Foxface
Jaqueline Emerson's career after "The Hunger Games" has been about taking risks and trying new things, and one of the ways she's done that is through improv. Emerson first shared that she was pursuing improv professionally in 2020 and she has since performed with the improv troupe Baby Wants Candy and regularly performs on the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) main stage, starring in their monthly show "Pinot Noir" where the performers use a bottle of wine as a prop and narrative aid. In June 2023, Emerson shared a few snapshots of her time on stage on Instagram. Alongside the photos, which range from dramatic to hilarious, Emerson praised the Pinot Noir Improv group. She said: "Somehow every month this show gets more and more fun, which I didn't even think was POSSIBLE – so appreciative of the incredible group on stage, our special guests."
For the September show a few months later, Emerson reunited with her "Hunger Games" co-star Jack Quaid, who played District 1 career tribute Marvel. Emerson celebrated their reunion on Instagram and joked that the tables had turned in terms of the relationship between their characters then and now. "Look! It's me and Jack Quaid performing together again in a totally nonviolent, friendly, non-deadly capacity! (But actually swipe to see me murder him)," she wrote alongside snaps of their scenes together. In the post, Emerson added how grateful she feels to perform with the group, who've also welcomed other celebrity guests like "Modern Family" alum Nolan Gould and "The Goldbergs" star Hayley Orrantia to the stage.
She's also a singer
Many fans of "The Hunger Games" might not know that Jacqueline Emerson has actually been a musician longer than she's been an actor. She released her first debut single "Peter Pan" in 2011 and followed it up with "Catch Me If You Can," which was released around the same time as "The Hunger Games." As we've established, Emerson likes to try new things, and she was not afraid to switch things up for her second single. "It's not my usual sound," she told Burnt Bread.
Over the years, according to her personal website, Emerson has also gone on to perform at ventures like The Hollywood Bowl and the LA Opera and has done vocal work for the likes of Disney and Dreamworks. As Emerson's career has progressed, she's found ways to combine her passions for music and directing. In 2017, she performed and directed the music video for the single "Na Na Na (Na)," which she co-write. Focusing on her passions obviously paid off — Emerson said, "It is the project I am by far the proudest of, because of what it meant to me at that moment in my life," per Instagram. She continued down this path, directing "Impact: The Musical." She also starred in the short, which is a commentary on capitalism.
Jacqueline Emerson came out on social media
Jacqueline Emerson keeps her personal life pretty private, opting to use her social media platforms to promote her work and share resources on social and political issues rather than frequently chronicle aspects of her personal life. However, she occasionally shares personal posts and even had a low-key coming out. In several intermittent Instagram posts, Emerson confirmed that she's a member of LGBTQIA+ community. In 2015, the actor posted a picture of the rainbow pride flag with the caption "YES!!!!!" In September 2022, she shared: "Happy bi-awareness week from this bi-goober! Visibility! Yay!" per Instagram.
Although she hasn't posted much on the topic, it's clear that Emerson enjoys celebrating with her community. In the above photo, Emerson can be seen getting ready to celebrate Pride. In reference to her accessories, which include red heart-shaped sunglasses and a silver rainbow backpack, Emerson said: "I am VERY GOOD at dressing classy. Happy Pride but also always Happy Pride because these are just my everyday accessories," per Instagram.
She shared more photos from her 2023 celebrations in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she was staying to promote the crime drama "Art Thief." The pictures included flags and banners with quotes celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community.
Art Thief marked her return to the big screen
After several years of focusing on improv and music, Jacqueline Emerson made her return to the big screen with the crime drama "Art Thief" in 2023. The independent feature premiered at the Provincetown International Film Festival in June of that year. Sharing the release on Instagram, Emerson teased that the film is "inspired by the greatest art heist in US history," referring to the 1990 Gardner Museum theft in Boston.
"Art Thief" sees Emerson star as Olympia Hutchinson, the love interest and eventual co-conspirator of the titular criminal Kevin Deeley (Max Deacon). In this fictional retelling, Kevin has already pulled off the heist of a Rembrandt painting; he sets his sights on a much bigger score, but he cannot do it alone.
Before meeting Kevin, Olympia is a promising art student. Emerson shared pictures of her posing with paintings and brushes on Instagram to get into character. Alongside one, she joked: "I can officially say that I am now able to hold a paint brush without looking like a COMPLETE idiot!" Of course, Emerson wasn't actually required to do any real painting. Apparently, Egeli recreated the film's famous paintings himself.
Two Starfield characters borrow her voice
At the same time she was working on "Art Thief," Jacqueline Emerson had another project up her sleeve. She also contributed voice roles for the action role playing game "Starfield." The project, which sees her voice two characters — Helena Chambers and Autumn MacMillan — was years in the making. To celebrate the game's release in September of 2023, Emerson took to Instagram and gushed, "it's SO COOL to finally see it out in the world!!!"
From Bethesda Game Studios, "Starfield" offers players the opportunity to explore real and fictional galaxies in space where they can form their own teams with NPCs, set up outposts, and extract resources from planets they come across. Emerson teased that Autumn might be particularly helpful for this. "Go find and recruit Autumn MacMillan from the Freestar Collective — she's very useful, I promise, and there's a fun conversational Easter egg if you keep hanging with her." She added, "my other character ... Helena Chambers is wandering around New Atlantis with some serious attitude, so definitely come say hi."
Emerson stars in the video game alongside the likes of "Star Trek: Picard" alum Sumalee Montano, prolific character actor Barry Wiggins, and "So Random!" star Damien C. Hass.
She's in a long-term relationship
Although she does very little press and her personal social media posts are few and far between, Jacqueline Emerson has revealed that she is in a relationship. "The Hunger Games" star confirmed that she's dating a fellow actor and writer, Matt Linton. Linton previously appeared in a skit on "The Late Late Show with James Cordon" in 2019 before doing background work in episodes of TV shows such as "Hollywood" and "How I Met Your Father."
It's possible that the pair met through Pinot Noir Improv, in which they are both actively involved. Linton wrote and starred in the group's short film "Improvageddon" alongside Emerson in 2020, and since then, they have collaborated on several more projects. The couple both starred in the 2023 short thriller "Darby Hoskins" and Linton even had a supporting role in "Art Thief."
Emerson and Linton celebrated their two-year anniversary in April 2022. "2 years of you falling asleep on me," she joked on Instagram while sharing a series of photos from their relationship, showing their adventures together which include everything from skiing holidays to traveling to the U.K. to visit the Harry Potter Studios. Linton shared an equally sweet post for the occasion, which revealed that Emerson introducing him to the film "Paddington" marked the start of their relationship.
What does the future hold for Jacqueline Emerson?
As of December 2023, Jacqueline Emerson has a variety of projects on her upcoming slate. First, she completed a movie called "Wine Club" with Pinot Noir Improv, and she's set to appear in a couple more notable features. Back in September 2022, Emerson announced that she'd been cast in "Kent State" alongside Dermot Mulroney. "Soooooooo stoked about this film!!" she wrote on Instagram at the time. Alec Baldwin has subsequently joined the cast of the film, which will chronicle the true events of the 1970 Ohio massacre. It is helmed by Briarcliff Entertainment, with exec Tom Orternberg telling Deadline the company is particularly motivated to share this dark story. "This is a story that needs to be told and, surprisingly, never has. We are looking forward to bringing it to the big screen to educate and inspire both the young and old alike," Ortenberg said.
Emerson is also set to share the screen with Jenna Ortega in the movie "Winter Spring Summer or Fall." The romantic drama sees Ortega take the lead role opposite her "Wednesday" co-star Percy Hynes White. The film follows the pair and depicts their love story through one day each season. Along with Emerson, "Riverdale" alum Marisol Nichols and "Criminal Minds" star Adam Rodriguez round out the supporting cast.