Mckenna Grace is slaying her Hunger Games press tour wardrobe, but she didn’t get to this level of red-carpet confidence overnight.
In a recent interview with People, the 20-year-old actress shared how her life and relationship with fashion changed after having spinal surgery in 2022 to treat her scoliosis.
“It’s also been so fun for me because I was such a deeply insecure teenager,” she told the outlet. “And for me, fashion was such a source of anxiety, and I hated, hated doing fittings.”
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Overcoming Severe Scoliosis
The Cleveland Clinic defines scoliosis as an “abnormal side-to-side curvature” of the spine. A 10-degree curve meets the diagnostic threshold. In Grace’s case, it was a full 47 degrees. For context, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons describes curves above 25 to 30 degrees as “significant.” Once a curve exceeds 45 to 50 degrees, the organization classifies it as “severe,” and doctors may recommend more intensive treatment.
Treatment varies from person to person and can include monitoring, bracing, or surgery, depending on the curve and whether someone is still growing. The condition can cause uneven shoulders, an uneven waist, or one hip to sit higher than the other.
“I had severe scoliosis and one of my hips was higher than the other, so none of my dresses or skirts or anything would fit as they were supposed to, so I’d have to get them really tailored,” she said. “It created a lot of dysmorphia for me, and I was just so anxious whenever it came to fashion growing up.” After her surgery, her spinal curve decreased from 47 degrees to 6 degrees.
Feeling Confident on Her Own Terms
These days, Grace is having fun with the details. On the press tour for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, she’s worn a gown inspired by Katniss Everdeen’s wedding dress in Catching Fire and a red look that paid tribute to Jennifer Lawrence’s 2011 Oscars dress. As a self-described “super fan,” she’s also working in references to her character, Maysilee Donner, through braids, colors, and butterfly details.
“It’s so exciting to be in a place now where fashion has turned into something fun and exciting and a way to pay tribute to the films that I’m a part of and these things that I’m such a fan of,” she said.
After years of tailoring appointments and anxiety over how her clothes fit, Grace gets to focus on what she wants to wear. “It’s just been so fun to not be anxious about what I wear,” she said, “and to have fun with it instead.”
