Fans flock to meet 'Kit Kittredge' star
Hundreds of young girls carrying dolls flowed into Hollywood Blvd. cinema to meet one of the young stars of the latest American Girl movie on the day it opened nationwide.
Madison Davenport plays Ruthie Smithens, best friend to title character Kit Kittredge, portrayed by Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin.
Davenport signed autographs and greeted hundreds of fans at the Woodridge theater Wednesday and Thursday.
Even though the story is set in 1934 and tells the story of a Midwestern family in the Great Depression, Davenport said many of the lessons are relevant to preteen girls in the suburbs today.
On a personal level, however, she admits, "I relate to Ruthie because she's a girlie girl and so am I," said Davenport, an 11-year-old Texas native.
Daily Herald Staff Writer Anne Halston chatted with the child actress, who has an upcoming role in "ER." Following is an edited transcript of the conversation.
Q. You had to learn a lot about history to do this role.
A. Me and my mom looked up the 1930s on the Internet and we did our history review.
Q. How has life changed since 1934 for a typical kid living in the suburbs?
A. Our clothes have definitely changed.
And we have got TV, and we've got Game Boy and we've got the Wii.
Basically, life has definitely changed from using anything you had around as something to play with, to, well, kind of taking things for granted.
Q. How has it remained the same?
A. I think family is still the same. We all still love each other no matter what.
Q. How do you think suburban girls who see this can relate to this story?
A. Many people are losing their homes, just like what happened during the depression. It's not as bad yet. But some kids living in the suburbs can kind of relate to that or they might be seeing that around them.
Q. What message did you take away from this story that has impacted your life?
A. Even through the hardest of times, if you are losing your house or if someone loses their job, you should still stick together with your family no matter what.
And I also learned never to judge anyone just by what they have or by what they look like.
Q. Did you have an American Girl doll when you were a little girl?
A. Kit was my very first doll - when I was four. And since my hair was blonde before, I actually cut it to look like hers. I would walk around in the matching outfits and things like that.
Q. How did you get into acting?
A. I've always been a drama queen. Definitely. So acting was a place to put my drama and my other acting things that I like to do. My very first play, musical theater, was "Annie." I played Molly.
Q. What advice would you give to other girls who want to be in movies?
A. If you want to be in a movie, find some contacts - a manager and an agency. Choose good one and just keep going. Just keep reaching for that dream.