You might know Willa Fitzgerald from her time on Season 1 of the crime drama Reacher, but her latest role is sure to put her on the map. Fitzgerald is the star of the new medical drama series Pulse on Netflix.
The actor plays Dr. Danielle “Danny” Simms, a third-year medical resident, who is unexpectedly promoted to chief resident of a Miami emergency room after her ex-partner, Dr. Xander Phillips, is suspended from the position. In fact, Danny is responsible for the suspension—she reported him for sexual harassment.
“No one knows why Danny reported Xander. But suddenly Danny is on the back foot with all of her co-workers,” Fitzgerald told Netflix’s Tudum. “They don’t know what the clothes are in her dirty laundry yet. But now it’s all out there for everybody to see.”
Before she was cast in the highly anticipated medical series that dropped Thursday, the 34-year-old earned recognition for her role in the 2024 horror movie Strange Darling. She has also appeared in a number of shows, including 2023’s The Fall of the House of Usher. Here’s what else you should know about the emerging star.
Willa Fitzgerald started acting at an early age
Fitzgerald has been acting since she was in the fifth grade. Describing herself as an introvert, she told W Magazine in January 2025 that she wasn’t eager to be the center of attention growing up in Nashville but found comfort in playing pretend.
“I started doing this thing called Forensics, which is a kind of competitive acting—different teams from different schools compete,” Fitzgerald said. “The first time I did it, in the fifth grade, I progressed to the finals and I burst into tears. One of the parents said, ‘It’s like the Oscars.’”
She initially majored in psychology
Despite catching the acting bug early on, Fitzgerald didn’t want to commit to a career in acting before exploring her options. She studied psychology at Yale University for three years, all the while acting in multiple plays a semester.
After writing her thesis, however, she decided to switch majors and eventually graduated with a degree in theater studies in 2013. “I realized that I didn’t want to be writing research papers—becoming an actor felt undeniable,” she said.
She landed her first role right after college
Fitzgerald landed her first major onscreen credit in 2013 as Lola Laffer in the short-lived political satire series Alpha House. This was followed in 2014 by a recurring role in Royal Pains—her first taste of a medical TV show. Starting in 2015, she played the lead in MTV’s Scream: The TV Series, which ran for three seasons. Fitzgerald then played minor parts in shows like House of Cards and Younger before appearing in the 2019 movie The Goldfinch.
Her turn on Reacher in 2022 as police officer Roscoe Conklin was a particular favorite. “I love playing that character, and I loved getting the chance to help initiate the Reacher television universe,” Fitzgerald told Forbes.
The actor worked with Dolly Parton
The Nashville native was also cast in an episode of the 2019 Netflix series Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, an anthology series inspired by the country icon’s songs. Fitzgerald told Flaunt Magazine she had a blast working with the fellow Tennesseean.
“It was so fun,” Fitzgerald said. “She is such an amazing inspiration, I think because she crossed all sort of socio economical political lines and just came to people from a place of connection and community and love.”
Fitzgerald’s breakout role was a serial killer
The actor found her breakout role in the acclaimed 2024 horror film Strange Darling, in which she played a serial killer named “the Lady.” To prepare for the violent part, Fitzgerald took a rather unconventional approach.
“I didn’t train at all physically, but a big part of understanding the Lady came from watching a lot of weird YouTube videos about raccoons,” she told W Magazine. “They’re an urban wild animal, and there are a lot of videos of people goading them, and the raccoons react in an explosive way, driven by survival. I was like, ‘That’s the Lady!’”
She has many hobbies
When she’s not on set, Fitzgerald likes to stay busy with various hobbies. “I’ve worked with ceramics for several years and am just starting to explore more sculptural forms,” she told Photobook in March 2022. “I love to hike and get out in nature.” She also takes online courses from to time, studying history, the environment, and social justice.
She already has her next few gigs lined up
In addition to Pulse, Fitzgerald is set to appear in several other projects in the near future. She was recently tapped to star alongside Russell Crowe in the Cold War thriller The Billion Dollar Spy, in which she will play the wife of a CIA agent. The actor has also been cast in the upcoming adaption of Colleen Hoover’s novel Regretting You, as well as an untitled political thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
Catherine Caruso joined the Biography.com staff in August 2024, having previously worked as a freelance journalist for several years. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she studied English literature. When she’s not working on a new story, you can find her reading, hitting the gym, or watching too much TV.
![a teenage boy holds golden trophy above his head with one hand](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/owen-cooper-accepts-the-outstanding-supporting-actor-in-a-news-photo-1757950768.pjpeg?crop=0.651xw:0.875xh;0.0561xw,0.0517xh&resize=360:* "Owen Cooper accepts the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie award for "Adolescence" during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14, 2025")
