Madeleine Coghlan is an American actress, writer, and filmmaker best known for playing Abigail Tierney in ABC’s popular police drama The Rookie. While that recurring role brought her wider recognition, her career includes much more than television acting. She has led independent films, appeared in horror projects, written original screenplays, and directed festival-selected short films.
Her ability to move between comedy and emotionally demanding drama has helped her build a varied professional portfolio. She has also joined the writing team of The Rookie, allowing her to contribute to the series both on-screen and behind the scenes. From her early Disney work to We Burn Like This, Defibrillator, and The Other Girl, her journey reveals a creative professional determined to tell meaningful stories in different formats.
Quick Facts About Madeleine Coghlan
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Madeleine Coghlan |
| Profession | Actress, writer, and director |
| Reported date of birth | February 7, 1996 |
| Age | 30 years old as of 2026 |
| Birthplace | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Mother | Katherine Kamhi |
| Father | Tony Coghlan |
| Sibling | Jack Coghlan |
| Best known for | Abigail Tierney in The Rookie |
| Major film | We Burn Like This |
| Notable series | The Rookie, Mira Mira, Lucifer, and Castle |
| Comedy training | The Groundlings in Los Angeles |
| Directing work | Defibrillator and The Other Girl |
| Relationship status | Not publicly confirmed |
| Social media | Instagram: @maddyc17 |
Early Life and Background
Madeleine Coghlan was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Growing up near the center of the American entertainment industry gave her early exposure to acting, filmmaking, and creative performance.
She also comes from a family with a connection to acting. Her mother, Katherine Kamhi, is an actress known for appearing in films and television programs, including the cult horror movie Sleepaway Camp. Her father is Tony Coghlan, and she has a younger brother named Jack.
Coghlan began performing when she was approximately five years old. She has explained in interviews that she was shy in ordinary social situations but felt more confident when playing a character. Acting gave her a way to move beyond that shyness and explore personalities different from her own.
As she grew older, her interest in performing became more serious. She observed people closely and began using their behavior, emotional reactions, and mannerisms to add depth to her characters. That curiosity eventually influenced not only her acting but also her writing and directing.
Her Age and Physical Features
Entertainment databases commonly report that the actress was born on February 7, 1996. Based on that reported date, she is 30 years old as of 2026. However, she has not made her age a central part of her public image.
She has a petite appearance, brown hair, expressive eyes, and a youthful screen presence. Her appearance can change noticeably depending on the character, costume, lighting, and production style used in a project.
Reliable official sources have not consistently confirmed her exact height, weight, or body measurements. Figures published by celebrity biography websites should therefore be treated carefully because they may be estimates rather than verified information.
Her expressive facial reactions are a particularly recognizable part of her acting style. They allow her to communicate fear, uncertainty, humor, and emotional tension without depending entirely on dialogue.
Career and Major Achievements
Madeleine Coghlan began building professional screen credits at a young age. One of her early television appearances came in the gymnastics drama Make It or Break It. She later appeared in productions such as Wendell & Vinnie, Castle, and Lucifer.
Before becoming widely known for dramatic acting, she worked as a host on Disney Channel’s Movie Surfers. The program gave young audiences behind-the-scenes looks at new movies and allowed her to interact with established entertainment personalities.
She also co-hosted Radio Disney’s Maddy & Chase. These presenting roles helped her become comfortable speaking directly to an audience while improving the camera presence that would support her later scripted work.
To develop her comedy skills, she trained at The Groundlings in Los Angeles. The respected improvisational and sketch-comedy school focuses on character development, spontaneity, and comic timing. That training helped her become more adaptable as a performer.
Her horror breakthrough arrived with the 2016 anthology film Holidays. She played Maxine in the “Valentine’s Day” segment, portraying a bullied student whose feelings toward her swimming coach lead to a disturbing outcome. The movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and introduced her to a wider genre audience.
She later appeared in Miranda July’s 2020 comedy-drama Kajillionaire. Although her role was smaller, the film was an acclaimed independent production that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
In 2021, Madeleine Coghlan delivered one of her most important performances in We Burn Like This. She played Rae, a 22-year-old Jewish painter living in Montana who must confront antisemitism, personal suffering, and the historical trauma carried by her family.
Rae is not written as a perfect or predictable protagonist. The character struggles with destructive behavior, complicated emotions, and unresolved memories. Coghlan approached those flaws with sensitivity, creating a performance that felt vulnerable without becoming overly sentimental.
The film premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and later made its European debut at the Deauville American Film Festival. It strengthened her reputation as an actress capable of carrying serious, character-driven material.
She also led the horror series Mira Mira, which follows estranged sisters threatened by a sinister mirror. Her performance combined grief, family conflict, and supernatural fear, giving her another opportunity to work within psychological horror.
Her most recognizable television role remains Abigail Tierney in The Rookie. Abigail is introduced as the fiancée of Henry Nolan, the son of John Nolan, played by Nathan Fillion. The character becomes connected to both the family drama and law-enforcement themes of the series.
In one memorable storyline, Abigail considers a career in policing and accompanies John Nolan on a ride-along. The experience exposes more of her past while showing her desire to build a meaningful future.
Her relationship with the series eventually moved beyond acting. She joined The Rookie as a staff writer and received credited writing work on several episodes. This made her one of the relatively uncommon performers who have acted in a series and later helped create its stories.
Her directorial debut came with Defibrillator, a short film she also wrote and starred in. The project screened at festivals including Beyond Fest, HollyShorts, and FilmQuest. It was also nominated for FilmQuest’s Minerva Award, which recognizes women contributing distinctive voices to genre filmmaking.
In 2025, she returned with The Other Girl, a short horror film centered on an emotionally intense audition. She wrote, directed, and performed in the project, using the story to explore insecurity, artistic pressure, and the fear of never being considered good enough.
She also co-directed and appeared in Darren Hayes’ music video for “Do You Remember.” The colorful video drew inspiration from 1980s nightlife and allowed her to combine comedy, acting, music, and visual storytelling.
Personal Life
Madeleine Coghlan maintains a relatively private personal life. Although she shares selected professional and social moments online, she does not regularly discuss intimate relationships or private family matters in interviews.
No reliable public source has confirmed that she is married. Information about a husband, boyfriend, or long-term partner should not be treated as fact unless she chooses to announce it herself.
Her friendship and creative collaboration with musician Darren Hayes has occasionally attracted attention online. However, their public connection has been presented as a close friendship and professional partnership rather than a romantic relationship.
Family appears to remain important to her. Her mother has publicly expressed pride in her work as an actress, writer, and filmmaker. Growing up with another performer in the family may also have given her a practical understanding of the entertainment business.
Social Media Presence
Madeleine Coghlan uses Instagram under the username @maddyc17. Her content largely focuses on professional announcements, festival appearances, behind-the-scenes moments, friendships, and creative projects.
Unlike celebrities who treat social media as a constant window into their private lives, she appears selective about what she publishes. Her online presence supports her work without turning every personal experience into public content.
She has used Instagram to announce projects such as The Other Girl and to discuss creative collaborations. Followers can also find photographs connected to The Rookie, independent films, music videos, and festival screenings.
Her social media style feels personal but controlled. It allows audiences to understand her humor and enthusiasm while maintaining reasonable boundaries around relationships and private matters.
Personality and Interests
Based on interviews and public appearances, Coghlan appears thoughtful, observant, humorous, and creatively ambitious. She has spoken about enjoying characters who are very different from her own personality.
Her early shyness may have contributed to her interest in transformation. When she performs, she can step away from her everyday identity and explore another person’s fears, motivations, and contradictions.
She is particularly interested in horror, dark comedy, and emotionally complicated stories. Her directing projects often combine unsettling ideas with humor or deeply personal themes rather than depending only on shock.
She also values creative collaboration. While discussing independent filmmaking, she has emphasized the importance of friends and trusted collaborators helping one another complete projects. That community-focused attitude is visible across her films and music-video work.
Net Worth and Income
Madeleine Coghlan’s net worth has not been verified by a dependable financial or entertainment-industry source. Any precise amount found on celebrity wealth websites is likely an estimate rather than confirmed information.
Her income may come from several professional areas, including acting, television writing, directing, producing, hosting, and independent filmmaking. Payments can vary significantly based on a production’s budget, role size, contract, distribution, and union terms.
Working as a staff writer on an established network series likely provides a different income structure from acting in independent films. Directing short projects may support her long-term creative career, but short films are not always designed to generate immediate profit.
Because she has not publicly disclosed her earnings, it is more accurate to describe her as a working multi-hyphenate entertainer than to attach an unsupported net worth figure to her name.
Public Image and Legacy
Madeleine Coghlan has developed a reputation as a versatile creative professional rather than a celebrity built around publicity. Her career is defined by steady work across acting, writing, and directing.
Viewers of The Rookie may recognize her primarily as Abigail Tierney, while independent-film audiences may associate her with We Burn Like This. Horror fans may instead know her through Holidays, Mira Mira, Defibrillator, or The Other Girl.
This variety gives her career a distinctive identity. She is comfortable moving between network television and small independent productions without treating one form of storytelling as less valuable than another.
It may be too early to define her final legacy, but her current path is meaningful. She represents a generation of performers who create their own material, learn production skills, and seek greater control over the stories they tell.
Future Plans
Her future appears likely to include a continued balance of acting and behind-the-camera work. Her progress from guest performer to television staff writer suggests that screenwriting will remain an important part of her career.
She has also been announced as a lead in the psychological horror film Puppet. The project is expected to feature Chris Sullivan, Taryn Manning, and Kevin Keppy, with Nick Peterson attached as writer and director.
The horror genre remains a natural fit for her interest in complicated emotions, unsettling situations, and character-centered storytelling. At the same time, her appearance in the 2025 holiday movie Christmas at Mistletoe Manor showed that she can lead warmer and more romantic material.
Future projects may give her opportunities to direct longer productions. Her experience creating festival shorts has already helped her develop a personal voice, and a feature-length directing project would be a logical next step.
Conclusion
Madeleine Coghlan has grown from a child performer and Disney host into a versatile actress, television writer, and independent filmmaker. Her journey reflects persistence, curiosity, and a willingness to develop skills beyond acting.
Roles in The Rookie, We Burn Like This, Holidays, and Mira Mira have shown different sides of her performance range. Meanwhile, Defibrillator and The Other Girl demonstrate her ability to turn personal and professional anxieties into creative genre stories.
Her career is still developing, but she has already created a strong foundation. By moving confidently between television, independent film, writing, and direction, she continues to establish herself as a distinctive storyteller with much more to offer.
FAQs About Madeleine Coghlan
Who is Madeleine Coghlan?
Madeleine Coghlan is an American actress, writer, and director. She is best known for playing Abigail Tierney in The Rookie and Rae in the independent drama We Burn Like This.
How old is Madeleine Coghlan?
Her reported date of birth is February 7, 1996. Based on that date, she is 30 years old as of 2026.
What role does Madeleine Coghlan play in The Rookie?
She plays Abigail Tierney, who is introduced as Henry Nolan’s fiancée. Abigail becomes involved in several Nolan family storylines and considers a possible career in law enforcement.
Is Madeleine Coghlan also a writer on The Rookie?
Yes. After appearing in the series as Abigail, she joined the writing staff and received credited writing work on multiple episodes.
What are Madeleine Coghlan’s most famous movies and shows?
Her notable projects include The Rookie, We Burn Like This, Holidays, Kajillionaire, Mira Mira, Lucifer, Castle, and Christmas at Mistletoe Manor.
Is the Madeleine Coghlan married?
No marriage has been confirmed by a reliable source. She keeps her romantic relationships private and has not publicly identified a husband.
What is Madeleine Coghlan net worth?
Her net worth is not publicly verified. Online estimates should be treated cautiously because she has not disclosed her earnings or financial details.
What are her latest and upcoming projects?
Her recent work includes writing for The Rookie, directing The Other Girl, and starring in Christmas at Mistletoe Manor. She has also been announced as a lead in the psychological horror film Puppet.