Odeya Rush was born on May 12th 1997 in Haifa, Israel, to parents Maia and Shlomo. Odeya is the only girl in her family among six boys, two older brothers, and two sets of younger twin boys.
When she was nine, she moved to Alabama in the US so that her Dad could take a job as a security consultant. Odeya was the first to move with her dad, it wasn’t until two years later that her mother and brothers joined her.
The whole family then moved to the NYC area so Odeya could pursue her acting. By age twelve, she had appeared in many commercials, short films and print jobs, and was transitioning to film and television.
When she first took on the acting industry, Odeya often faced rejection because of her Israeli accent and poor English. This only pushed her to work harder. Studying diligently with a dialect coach, she was able to fluently speak English by the age of ten. With a language barrier no longer clouding her opportunities.
Odeya first acting roles were in TV series Curb Your Enthusiasm (2011) and Law and Order: SVU (2010), before landing an important role in The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012) as Joni Jerome.
In 2013, she moved to Los Angeles with her family. She subsequently costarred opposite Sarah Hyland in the dramedy See You in Valhalla (2014), and played the female lead role in the Weinstein Company’s The Giver (2014), opposite Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep.
After wrapping The Giver, Odeya was cast in female lead in Sony Pictures Studios’s Goosebumps (2015) costarred opposite Jack Black in the film adaptation of the book series.
In late 2014 Odeya signed on to Hunter’s Prayer (2015) opposite Sam Worthington who will play an assassin that helps a young woman (Odeya Rush) avenge the death of her family.
Next up is The Locals (2015) where Odeya will play Julia Goldberg (Vera Farmiga’s daughter) in the comedic love story set in the Bronx about two three generational families; one Jewish, one Italian.The movie has been described as a New York based Romeo and Juliet with modern a twist that harks to the hilarity of Moonstruck and the lovable absurdity of familial dysfunction in Little Miss Sunshine.
Her name, “Odeya,” means “Thank God” in Hebrew.
