Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the Disney films Stuck in the Suburbs (2004), Sky High (2005) and Read It and Weep (2006), and in the HBO miniseries Empire Falls (2005). She won three Young Artist Awards: for guest-starring in an episode of the legal drama television series The Guardian (2004), for her lead role in the TV film Searching for David's Heart (2005) and for her ensemble performance in the family comedy film Yours, Mine & Ours (2005).
Panabaker came to wider attention as a cast member in the CBS legal drama series Shark (2006–2008) and is also noted as a scream queen, having starred in the psychological thriller Mr. Brooks (2007) and the horror films Friday the 13th (2009), The Crazies (2010), John Carpenter's The Ward (2010) and Piranha 3DD (2012).
After starring in recurring roles on Necessary Roughness (2011–2013), Bones (2012–2013) and Justified (2014), Panabaker guest-starred as Caitlin Snow on The CW television series Arrow in April 2014. The character was then spun off into the main cast of The Flash which premiered that October. Starting with the series' second season, Panabaker began playing the character's alter ego Killer Frost in different capacities, in conjunction with her role as Snow, leading to subsequent guest appearances on Arrow, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow. For her role on The Flash as Frost, Panabaker has been nominated for five Teen Choice Awards and won the 2021 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television.
Early life
Panabaker was born in Augusta, Georgia, to Donna (née Mayock) and Harold Panabaker. Her younger sister, Kay Panabaker, was also an actress and is currently working as a zoologist. As her father's sales job took them across the country, the family spent time in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and, for a short time around Panabaker's kindergarten year, in Orange, Texas. She took a theater class at a summer camp, discovered her love of acting, and started acting in community theaters at the age of 12, later auditioning for commercials.
After moving to Naperville, Illinois, in 2000, Panabaker went to Crone Middle School and then Neuqua Valley High School, participating in the speech team. She graduated from high school when she was 14 years old. Panabaker also took ballet and pointe classes up until she was fifteen. In 2003, feeling it was the only way to land acting roles regularly, Panabaker, her sister, and their mother relocated to Los Angeles, California, so she could pursue an acting career. She attended Glendale Community College, studying acting. In 2005, she earned her associate degree and appeared on the national Dean's List. In 2006, she began her senior year at the University of California, Los Angeles, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in June 2007, again appearing on the Dean's List.
