Girl Power

Makenzie Lee-Foster on Emily’s Wonder Lab and Writing Her Own Book Series

Makenzie Lee-Foster is basically unstoppable!

At just 9 years-old, Makenzie is an actress and award-winning author with a passion for making the world a better place. Her love of science landed her a dream role – she was one of the lucky few selected to be a kid scientist on the new science-focused Netflix series, Emily’s Wonder Lab. She is also the author of her own book series, Kickin’ It With Kenzie, aimed at inspiring kids to follow their dreams. In addition to her work on set and on the page, Makenzie donates her time to Afrikicks, an organization that collects shoes and clothing for kids in need.

Get to know Makenzie Lee-Foster as she dishes on Emily’s Wonder Lab, writing her own book series, and giving back to kids in need!

Get to Know Mackenzie Lee-Foster:

(Photo via Netflix)
Tell us a little about yourself and how you got your start!

MAKENZIE LEE-FOSTER: I was born in the Bay Area. It has been just my Mom and me since I came home from the hospital. Well, actually, we have a dog now too – her name is Josie! Anything that has to do with art, science, creating stuff is my thing!

I have to be honest and say that I don’t really remember when I first started in the industry. I think I was one or two when my Mom signed me with my first agency. It was an agency in the Bay Area, and I did some “fit modeling” for Gymboree and filmed an episode for a show. I have no idea what it was about because it was actually filmed in a different language. I didn’t have any lines. I just remember sitting at a table with a bunch of other kids. When I was about five, my Mom submitted me for representation in Southern California. I was signed via email, and thankfully, I have been with them ever since!

You star as a kid scientist on Emily’s Wonder Lab. What was it like working on such a fun series?

MAKENZIE: OMG! First, I remember wanting to be on the show so bad when my Mom first submitted me for it. All I really knew was that it was a science show for kids. That’s all I needed to hear, though, because I LOVE SCIENCE!

Going in to film the show every day was just like having a playdate with friends, in a science lab, while your favorite teacher from school joined in to get messy too, and teach us stuff, LOL! We had non-stop fun for 2 weeks! None of us had any idea which experiment we would do next, so we would come in really excited.

It was really cool when we did the “on location” experiments! Walking up and seeing a big pool in the middle of a park just excited all of us more because we knew we were going to get really messy! It wasn’t like work at all.

What’s a science fact you learned while working on the show?

MAKENZIE: Well, I don’t know if it’s a fact, but I learned that you don’t have to do complicated experiments to learn about science and have fun while doing it. I also learned that kids can learn and understand those big scientific words if we are exposed to them!

I can use a word like “Non-Newtonian fluid” and actually be able to explain it to other kids and understand what I’m talking about so they can understand and share too.

(Photo Provided by Makenzie Lee-Foster)
In addition to acting, you’re also an author! Tell us about your book series, Kickin’ It With Kenzie!

MAKENZIE: Sure! I got the idea to write a book when I was about 5. I wanted to create a book with a good message, like some of the books I would see in my classroom. Another thing was that I wanted a book with a character that looked like me and dealt with things that all kids might deal with while growing up. I didn’t see very many books like that in my classrooms. I got the idea for the name from my YouTube channel. Mostly, I had science videos and adventure videos on it.

My plan is to use this series as a way to continue connecting with other kids and helping them see how important they are. Before COVID-19, I would take my book into classrooms and read it to other kids. They were all so shocked when I would walk in. None of them believed that I could write a book and be their age! I hope that inspired them to follow their dreams too, and I also hope it made them want to enjoy reading books. I’m super excited about this book series because I hope that it shows kids that they are important and matter.

It seems like you’ve got a lot going on! How do you find a balance between work, school, and just having fun?

MAKENZIE: I’d have to give the credit for that to my Mom. She is in charge of scheduling stuff for me, and I just go with the flow. My Mom does a great job making sure I have time to do “kid stuff” and also time to just relax at home and clear my brain. She’s actually very big on that. We used to be on the road a lot before COVID-19, so my Mom made sure to pack my school work. I have been homeschooled for a few years now. The good thing about that is I can go at my own pace. Most of my assignments were done ahead of time.

Also, I am a pretty busy kid – I like to be out doing stuff. Just about anything that I wanted to try, my Mom made it happen. I remember taking swim, dance, voice lessons, and acting lessons at the same time. My Mom begged me to quit something because she felt it was too much for me. I just really liked learning new stuff, trying new things, and being with other kids. So I stuck with all of them! Yup, all of that while staying on track with school and auditions. Not being able to do any of that now is a little bit tough.

What is something your fans would be surprised to learn about you?

MAKENZIE: Ummmm…maybe the fact that I took Kung Fu for 2 years and LOVED IT! I think my favorite part about taking Kung Fu was that I’m a girl and could do everything in my class that the boys were doing, even though a lot of the boys doubted me. Them doubting me made me want to try even harder!

(Photo Provided by Makenzie Lee-Foster)
We hear you love giving back! What can you share about your work with Afrikicks?

MAKENZIE: Oh, Yes! I love making other kids happy. It made me so sad when I first learned that there are kids that don’t have things like shoes, clothes, and even food to eat.

Afrikicks is an organization that collects gently used and new shoes, toys, and supplies to ship overseas to different countries in Africa to help the kids there. I was lucky enough to help sort hundreds of shoes with them one day, and since then, I wanted to help. Thankfully I was able to catch great prices at Walmart on shoes one day. We bagged the shoes up and delivered them to the organization, but I still want to do more. My goal is to help with twice as many shoes this year and also copies of my book.

What is your biggest dream/goal for the future?

MAKENZIE: The one dream that I always remember having is to invent something that will help people. I’m really into robots, so I think a robot that will help people would be cool.

I just want people to be happy and to be nice to each other. It’s sad seeing people being so mean. It shouldn’t be so hard for people to be nice to each other, so I hope that I can help with that, starting with the kids that will be the future.

Do you have any words of wisdom you’d like to share with your followers?

MAKENZIE: Remember that you can continue to reach for your dreams with one hand and use the other hand to help lift someone else up that might need it! Don’t worry that they might reach their goal before you because what’s meant for you will be, and nobody can change that. You never know how you can be a positive light for someone else.

Now that you know Makenzie, get to know her Emily’s Wonder Lab co-star, Sky Alexis!

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