Known from movies

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D (2005)
as Lava girl

Monster Night (2006)
as Dana Ackerman

Apology (2006)
as Judy at age 11

The Alyson Stoner Project (2009)
as a VIP guest



Who is Taylor Dooley?

Born on February 26, 1993 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, USA, Taylor Dooley is an actress, probably best known for her role in the movie “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl” in which she portrayed the titular Lavagirl. She has also appeared in other popular projects during her career, including a guest role in ‘House, MD’.

The Wealth of Taylor Dooley

As of the beginning of 2020, Taylor Dooley’s net worth is estimated to be over $3 million, largely earned through a successful acting career. While she remains active within the profession, she has taken on noticeably fewer projects over the years and could have another primary source of income.

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2 0 1 9 ✌🏼 // the past year has been an incredible year; one with many ups & downs, the biggest highs & the scariest lows. But what I am most grateful for is how much it has shaped my relationship with God. I’ve learned to trust in a way I’ve never done before, I’ve learned to listen, to hear, to talk to Him in a way I’ve only dreamed of. This year He showed me how beautiful and amazing faith can be and how it can move mountains. I begged God to answer one of the biggest questions of my heart this year and He answered in a way only God can. // While dealing with many emotional/anxiety issues, a daughter who was born prematurely, and a mother who was inexplicably ill…it made me stop and look at my life. I’ve been a “struggling actor” for years and now that I’m a wife, a mother, a housewife, I got the feeling that this dream of mine could be so far gone. I was afraid that I might have gone off track somewhere and this was not God’s plan for me. I fell to my knees and begged God for an answer. You see, this beautiful dream comes with so much heartache, so much pain. I cried out to God to ask Him to either take this dream away from me, make me not love it; or help me see His plan. Days went by, I got no answer; I was frustrated but kept praying. He replied a few months later. Out of the blue I received a call from a well-known casting director about a major role in a new movie for Netflix. I had no agent, no manager, I had just given birth to my daughter three months earlier (who had been born early if that wasn’t ironic); where does this come from? Then my heart stopped, could this be the answer I was looking for? I fell to my knees and cried, thanking God for this incredible opportunity and knowing I would never forget this monumental moment. The moment He moved mountains to show me part of His plan for me. I could go on and on about the other crazy God things that happened around this time, but that’s for another post. 2019 has taught me who I am and given me a better relationship with God, can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store ♥️ HAPPY NEW YEAR 🌟

A post shared by Taylor Doley (@taydools) on December 31, 2019 at 4:53 PM PST

Early life and career beginnings

Determined to achieve success as an actress at a young age, Taylor shared her dream with her younger brother and her parents. As a child, her parents encouraged her to enter several beauty pageants, and she won a few of them, which led to a bit of local popularity and resulted in her signing a modeling contract at a young age, initially with a few commercials.

Determined to take the next step, her family moved to Arizona where she attended college Phoenix Theatreknown as the oldest continuously operating theater in the area, featuring several community programs.

She completed her studies there and after training had the basics for performing. Her singing, dancing and acting skills improved and she even toured the country with the Phoenix Players. She appeared in more commercials and modeling projects over the years, but her opportunities were limited in Arizona, so the family moved to Los Angeles, where she would make the most of her aspirations.

Sharkboy and Lavagirl

The decision to move to Los Angeles was primarily motivated by her father’s growing business career, but it was also very beneficial for Taylor.

She attended several auditions but struggled with strong competition, but eventually landed guest appearances on shows such as “General practitioner‘, starring Hugh Laurie in the titular role. The series follows his professional endeavors as he is considered a medical genius who can diagnose even the most complex illnesses of his patients.

After an article in “Discovery Girls” magazine, she landed her biggest role to date in “The adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl”. Starring her alongside Taylor Lautner and Cayden Boyd, the film tells the story of a boy who creates and brings an imaginary world to life. In this world, he is aided by two protagonists, the titular Sharkboy and Lavagirl, who have superhuman abilities.

His escapades coincide with the child not doing well in real life, struggling in school, family life and other endeavours. The film was shot in 3D using anaglyph technology introduced a few years earlier with “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over”. However, the film was not a success at the box office, with many critics targeting the film’s poor 3D quality and lackluster script as reasons for its failure.

Career after Sharkboy and Lavagirl

While “Sharkboy and Lavagirl” wasn’t as big of a success as many thought, it still opened the door for Taylor to take on other projects.

She had a role in the independent film “Whitepaddy” released in 2006, and then a starring role in the television movie “Monster Night” which received a few positive reviews but failed to gain the attention to boost her career. She then worked on another independent feature film in “The Apology”, and continued her commercial work as well, appearing in advertisements for Famous Footwear, the Honda Odyssey, Ashley and Disney Superstar Kids.

Pause and return

As she got older, Dooley found fewer opportunities to be in front of the camera; this was due to her getting older and having to transition into more mature roles as she no longer fit the image she had when she was a teenager.

With her life largely sheltered due to her focus on acting, she decided to take leisurereturned to school and took a psychology course after the entrance exam.

She found the course to complement her love of acting, as she always found other people’s behavior interesting. She also took some time to further develop her skills and completed a course at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute, known for teaching Lee Strasberg’s form of acting known as method acting; it is known to have produced many prominent alumni. She also worked with renowned acting coach Ivana Chubbuck, and others she worked with included Cameron Thor and Leigh Kilton Smith.

After this long hiatus, she stated that she would return to acting and take on more roles. However, she never really returned to her initial success in Hollywood, but in recent months she has announced via social media that she is working on a movie that will air on Netflix, but has not yet provided any details.

Private life

Taylor started a relationship with Justin Cassotta in 2010, and they were together for four years before announcing their engagement.

She got married at the age of 21 and the couple has two children together. Some believe that her early marriage may have hindered her career direction as her busy family life may have led her to lesser roles in the industry. Despite this, she admits that she lives a comfortable life. She remains close friends with Taylor Lautner who played Sharkboy. In recent months she has also been more active online due to lockdowns and quarantines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, especially on her social media accounts such as on Instagram and TikTok.

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia