Kayden Tokarski, a 12-year-old South County actress and activist, won two Best Young Actress Awards for her role in the 2021 film, “Message from the Mermaids.” Tokarski won an international Gold Best Young Actress award from the Independent Shorts Film Festival and a Best Young Actress award from the Venice Shorts Film Festival.
“Message from the Mermaids” tells the story of a young girl named Haven, played by Tokarski, who finds a bottled message on the shores of a beach. From that message and others, Haven is convinced her true family is not on land but in the ocean waters.
Tokarski also served as the keynote speaker for the 33rd Annual Walk Against Drugs in Mission Viejo, in which she recorded a statement calling for youth to say no to drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
Since she began acting at age 10, Tokarski has also starred in several films, including “My Melancholy Baby,” streaming on Amazon Prime Video and the soon-to-be-released Moving Picture Institute original film “Unloaded.” She was also featured on shows like “The Mandalorian” and “Modern Family.”
