Mimi Kirkland

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Kirkland always had a love for acting and entertaining audiences. Soon after finishing pre-school, she began booking commercials left and right, including spots for Food Lion, Biltmore Estate, and the North Carolina State Fair. During her taping of the Biltmore commercial, Kirkland's mom saw her daughter embrace being on camera, and she worked well with the director and crew. The director noted after the taping that he felt she had the demeanor and creativity to be in movies, and was confident that she would be successful. Shortly after that taping in April 2012, Kirkland auditioned for the role of Lexie in "Safe Haven". After two call backs, and nearly missing her last day of school [the final call back was in June], she landed the career-changing role.

Kirkland made her big screen debut, appearing in the film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' "Safe Haven" [released in February 2013]. Starring opposite Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough, Kirkland was a scene stealer as Lexie - Alex Wheatley's [played by Duhamel] daughter who helps to bring innocence and love back into the lives of her father and his newfound love, Katie [played by Hough.] Cobie Smulders also stars in this Relativity feature, directed by Lasse Hallstrom.

In 2014, Kirkland can be seen in the highly anticipated, new TNT series "Murder in the First" premiering on June 9. Set in San Francisco, "Murder in the First" follows homicide detectives Terry English [Taye Diggs] and Hildy Mulligan [Kathleen Robertson] as they investigate two seemingly unrelated murders. Kirkland can be seen as Louise Mulligan, Hildy's precocious daughter.

When not working, Kirkland loves to spend time with her family and enjoys participating in outdoor activities - such as bike riding, swimming, and playing tag with her sisters. She also has several pets, including a dog named Sami and three fish named Bubbles, Shelly, and Swirly. Kirkland currently splits her time between Raleigh, North Carolina and Los Angeles, and lives with her mom, dad, and sisters Coley and Kate.