Personal life
Robb was born in Denver, Colorado, the daughter of Janet and Dave Robb. She is named after her maternal great-grandmother, AnnaSophie, and her paternal grandmother, Anna Marie.[1] She enjoys singing, snowboarding, rafting, Irish dancing, and reading, particularly the Harry Potter series and historical fiction.[2]
Robb competed in dance and gymnastics for four and a half years, but quit in order to focus on acting.[1] She was once homeschooled but is currently in her freshman year at a local Denver area high school, and she plans to attend college afterwards.[1] Robb is a Christian[3][4] and has said that she is really close with her family.
Robb has said that she is of English, Scottish, Danish, Swedish and Irish descent.[5]
Robb stated on The Ellen DeGeneres Show when she was 11 that she would like to start either a stationary cookie shop or a bakery, and have an "old world section". She also stated that she loves to bake.
Career
After starring in a commercial for McDonald's, Robb made her acting debut in 2004; she had a big role in the episode "Number One Fan" of the television series Drake & Josh. Her first major role was as the title character in the television special Samantha: An American Girl Holiday, in which her hair was dyed dark brown for the part.
Robb's two big-screen appearances in 2005 were both successful adaptations of popular children's books. She had the lead role of Opal in Because of Winn-Dixie and played Violet Beauregarde in Tim Burton's remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The latter was a major box office success worldwide, and helped escalate Robb's popularity among preteen audiences.
In 2005, Robb was the face of Trad Clothing, helping to design and model a fashion line for girls. In 2006, she had a guest role on the cartoon show Danny Phantom as the voice of Danielle "Dani" Fenton.
Robb played Leslie Burke in Bridge to Terabithia, which opened in U.S. theaters on February 16, 2007. She recorded a song for the soundtrack titled "Keep Your Mind Wide Open", and the accompanying video received rotation on the Disney Channel.[1][6] The song appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 at #90 during the week of March 1, giving Robb her first charting single.[7] Robb was a fan of the book before even being cast in the role, saying that it "touched me in a way I hadn’t been touched by a book before."[2]
Robb would go on to appear in The Reaping, along with Doubting Thomas, Jumper (in which she played the younger version of Rachel Bilson's character Millie) and the 1960s-set drama Have Dreams, Will Travel. In the film Sleepwalking, Robb received positive reviews; Time film critic Richard Schickel said, "There is a wonderful range to Robb's work...this is extraordinarily mature acting from someone this young and she wins our sympathy without once begging for it."[8] While filming The Reaping, Robb wrote a short horror story called "Backseat Swamp".
Robb starred alongside Dwayne Johnson in Race to Witch Mountain, which was released in March 2009.[9] She is also set to star in Garry Marshall's Dear Eleanor with Abigail Breslin and Spencer Breslin.[10]
Awards
On March 30, 2008, Robb won her first career award when she was named "Leading Young Actress" at the Young Artist Awards for her role in Bridge To Terabithia. The film itself won a Young Cast award.[11] In 24 April 2009, she received the Horizon Award in the 14th Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival, an award that congratulates young actors/actress's by his/her work in the movies.
