Kennedy! Emma! Stars Who Played Nancy Drew Through the Years

Leaving their mark. Nancy Drew’s story has been introduced on screen by various actresses over the years — and each one brought their own style to the legendary fictional character.

The amateur sleuth was originally conceived in a book series penned by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Nancy was written as the female counterpart to the Hardy Boys book series and first appeared in a 1930 bestseller — which went on to span 175 novels.

Nancy Drew became a legacy over the years with successful movies, video game and TV show adaptations. The character, who lives with father Carson Drew following the death of her mother, is known for her friendship with Bess Marvin and George Fayne. She also typically has a boyfriend named Ned Nickerson in various versions of the story.

In 2019, The CW reimagined the story with a version of Nancy Drew in Horseshoe Bay, Maine. Kennedy McMann, who was cast in the lead role, opened up at the time about her connection to the iconic fictional character.

“The 12-year-old girl in me hogging the family computer playing Nancy Drew computer games and living out fantasies in her head about solving mysteries has been crying tears of joy for the past three days. An absolutely incomprehensible dream come true. Here we go, Nancy,” she captioned a February 2019 Instagram post announcing her involvement with the show.

After four seasons as the red-headed teen detective, McMann reflected on the lessons she learned from the role.

“[Nancy] has taught me so much. I started this show as a young woman. I was at a similar point in life of figuring out who am I and what am I doing here and how am I supposed to go about life? So it’s been really special to go on this journey of growth with her,” the New York native exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2023. “I think I’ve learned so much bravery and boldness from her and, and that it takes courage to pursue the right thing and it takes using your voice and being decisive and making old swings. I’ve definitely taken that from her.”

The Good Lawyer star added: “I hope that in some ways too that she’s kind of taken things from me. I’ve always been very vulnerable and very emotional and to watch her grow into that as the seasons have progressed has been really special. So in a lot of ways, we’ve exchanged a lot of growth.”

McMann noted that she would be willing to reprise the role if the right opportunity came along.

“I could see myself stepping into her shoes again potentially. As for the show as a whole, I think everybody has kind of moved on in their own in the ways that you have in this business and you never know,” she added at the time. “So I think we all had a beautiful time working on it and love our characters dearly. You never know what the future holds.”

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Scroll down to see every Nancy Drew iteration over the years: