Raised in Greenville, South Carolina, she is the eldest of seven siblings. At 14, Robertson moved to Los Angeles with her grandmother to audition for TV roles, a pivotal move that led to her living independently from the age of 16. Robertson's early career saw her performing on stage at the Greenville Little Theater, before transitioning to screen, making her debut in an episode of Sheena in 2000. Her subsequent roles in television and film, included Power Rangers Time Force, The Ghost Club, and more significant parts in Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers, Dan in Real Life, and The Tenth Circle.
Her lead roles in series such as Life Unexpected (2010–2011) and The Secret Circle (2011–2012) paved the way for further recognition. Robertson gained wider acclaim for her performances in Under the Dome (2013–2014), Tomorrowland (2015), and as the lead in Girlboss (2017), portraying a fictionalized version of entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso. Her career continued with roles in films like I Still Believe and on television in The Rookie: Feds (2022).
Early life
Robertson was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Beverly (née Hayes) and Ryan Robertson, a restaurant owner.[3] Robertson grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. She is the oldest of seven children; her mother and stepfather have three children (two girls, one boy), and her father and stepmother also have three children (one girl, two boys).[4][5]
Her grandmother, Shuler Robertson, took her to Los Angeles when she was 14 years old in order to allow her to audition for TV pilots. Robertson said that they would knit together during down-time on set.[5] Her grandmother returned to North Carolina when Robertson was sixteen, at which point she lived on her own in Los Angeles. They remain close.[5]
Robertson first appeared before an audience when performing various roles on stage at the Greenville Little Theater in her hometown. At age 12, she began making extended trips to Los Angeles to audition for roles in television series' and landed a role in a television pilot for a series which was never picked up by a network. She made her screen debut as the younger version of the title character in an episode of Sheena in 2000. She made a guest appearance on Power Rangers Time Force the following year and received a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, or Special – Leading Young Actress for her role in The Ghost Club (2003).
In 2009, she appeared in Mother and Child. In the same year, she played a small role as DJ in The Alyson Stoner Project. She also made a guest appearance on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the episode "Babes" as Tina Bernardi, a Catholic teen who gets pregnant in a pact. In late autumn 2010, she starred as Allie Pennington in the Disney Channel original film Avalon High.
Robertson played the lead role of Lux Cassidy in the television drama series Life Unexpected (2010–2011), which was cancelled in its second season despite positive reviews. In 2011, she appeared in Scream 4. She also had a leading role in the supernaturalteen drama television series The Secret Circle (2011–2012), but after its first season, it was also cancelled.[10] That same year, she starred in the film The First Time.
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