Frances Rose McIver (born 10 October 1988[1]) is a New Zealand actress. She has portrayed Samantha Arondekar in Ghosts since 2021, Olivia "Liv" Moore in The CW supernatural comedy-drama series iZombie (2015–2019), Summer Landsdown the Yellow Ranger in Power Rangers RPM (2009), and Amber Moore in the romantic comedy film A Christmas Prince (2017) and its two sequels, The Royal Wedding (2018) and The Royal Baby (2019).
McIver made her film debut in the period drama The Piano (1993). Since then, she has starred in the drama The Lovely Bones (2009), the horror comedy Predicament (2010), the sports drama Blinder (2013), the romance drama Petals on the Wind (2014), and the musical drama Daffodils (2019).
Early life
McIver was born in Auckland and was raised in Titirangi by her father, John George Whitfield "Mac" McIver (b. 1951),[1] a photographer, and her mother, Ann "Annie" (née Coney),[1] an artist. Her parents still reside in the house in which she grew up.[2] She has an older brother, Paul McIver, who is a musician and former actor. She studied ballet and jazz dance until she was thirteen.[3][4]
McIver attended Avondale College and was a prefect in her final year. She graduated in 2006.[5] She studied at the University of Auckland, and majored in Psychology and Linguistics, but did not complete her degree.[6] Between acting jobs, she was a babysitter and worked part-time importing bananas with Fair Trade.[7] She took part in their "All Good Bananas" promotion, as the voice of the listener's conscience.[8]
Career
At the age of two, McIver began appearing in commercials. At the age of three, she received the role of an angel in the film The Piano.
McIver has worked for New Zealand television, from fantasy-based series like Maddigan's Quest to dramas such as Rude Awakenings. She has starred in television films such as the Hercules film series and Maiden Voyage, as well as two Disney Channel films: Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off in 2003, and Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board in 2007, which is the sequel to the 1999 film Johnny Tsunami. From March to December 2009, she portrayed Summer Landsdown / Ranger Yellow in the television series Power Rangers RPM for 32 episodes. She also had a role in the comedy series Super City, playing cheerleader Candice.[7] In 2011, McIver appeared in the television film Tangiwai, based on the 1953 Tangiwai rail disaster. In the film, she played Nerissa Love, the fiancée of New Zealand cricketer Bob Blair and one of the victims of the disaster.[9][10]
Further TV roles were as the lead character in MTV's unsold pilot Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys, based on the book by Eric Garcia and produced by Garcia and Krysten Ritter,[11] in Showtime's Masters of Sex, based on the book Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love by Thomas Maier,[12] as Tinker Bell for a multi-episode story arc on the series Once Upon a Time,[13] and as adult Cathy Dollanganger in the Lifetime television film Petals on the Wind, adapted from the book by V. C. Andrews.[14]
In March 2015, McIver starred in CW's series iZombie as Olivia "Liv" Moore.[15] The series concluded after five seasons with 71 episodes on 1 August 2019.
McIver appeared in Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Lovely Bones, which received its U.S. release on 11 December 2009. In the film, she played Lindsey Salmon, the younger sister of the main character.[16] From there she appeared in the film Predicament, based on the novel by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, which was released in New Zealand and Australia on 26 August 2010.[17] She put her studies at the University of Auckland on hold, and traveled to Los Angeles for "a couple of top-secret projects".[18] She was cast opposite Chris Lowell in the indie film Light Years,[19] and in Australian rules football film, Blinder, which began filming in Torquay on 20 February 2012, before moving to Boston.[20][21] McIver was cast in the musical feature, Daffodils. Filming began February 2018 in Wellington, Waikato, and Wairarapa,[22] and was released in New Zealand and Australia in 2019.[23]
On 2 January 2023, McIver married Australian artist George Byrne in Santa Barbara, California[28] after six years of dating.[29] McIver is the sister-in-law of actress Rose Byrne.[30] In June 2024, Byrne revealed that the couple have a daughter.[31]
^Thomas, Carolyn (17 December 2009). "Meet our lovely star". Western Leader (via Stuff.co.nz). Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
^ abcBarry Hill, Rebecca (16 August 2010). "Rose with no thorns". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
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