Showtime’s genre-blending TV series Yellowjackets features a big cast of characters and can become confusing owing to different actors playing the same roles — here is the Yellowjackets cast and character guide. Yellowjackets has two distinct timelines as it examines the lives of its characters in 2021, while also showing flashbacks to events from 1996. Obviously, this means that several of the key characters have both teenage actors and adult actors dependent on the time period. Yellowjackets centers on a 1996 tragedy when a plane carrying a high school soccer team crashes in the wilderness (drawing parallels to the real-life Andes flight disaster plane crash).

The Yellowjackets team was lost for 19 months, and in that time, have formed cannibalistic tribes as a way to survive while paying homage to "the wilderness" entity. The survivors swore to secrecy over what really happened, but now in 2021, the wilderness has come back. With the series rooted in the mystery of the events of 1996, Yellowjackets relies heavily on flashbacks. The scene often jumps from one time period to the other, and following which teenager is which adult (and which teenagers didn’t make it to 2021) can be difficult. Here is a Yellowjackets cast guide, along with the most famous roles the actors are known for.

Sophie Nélisse as Teen Shauna

Date Of Birth: 27 March, 2000

Actor: Canadian actress Sophie Nélisse is known for her role as Liesel Meminger in The Book Thief and as the younger version of Joan Fischer in Pawn Sacrifice. She had a one-off on Transplant as Hannah Miller, and also appears as Caroline in The Kid Detective, Rose in Flashwood, and Aster in The Rest of Us. She's soon headlining the historical drama Irena's Vow, which follows Irene Gut Opdyke, a Polish nurse who attempted to save many Polish Jews during WWII.

Character: Sophie Nélisse plays the young version of Shauna Sadecki née Shipman in the Yellowjackets cast. As she prepares for the national competition, she discovers that she has been accepted to Brown and will not be attending the same university as her friend Jackie. However, Shauna finds herself pregnant by Jackie's boyfriend, suffering from Jackie's death after a blowout from this revelation, and the ascribed butcher of the group. After suffering the death of her baby and forming the sacrificial ritual with the team, Shauna will find herself at odds with the new antler queen Natalie in season 3, as she expresses her jealousy of being overshadowed yet again.

Melanie Lynskey as Shauna Sadecki

Date Of Birth: 16 May, 1977

Actor: Melanie Lynskey is an accomplished character actor and is well known within the Indie film community; however, she is probably most widely known for her television work, such as playing Rose in Two and a Half Men and Molly Strand in Castle Rock. Lynskey also had a role on the hit HBO video game adaptation series The Last of Us as Kathleen and headlined as ax-murder victim Betty Gore in the Hulu true-crime series Candy. More recently, she lent her voice acting skills to the animated drama/fantasy I, Object, and starred in the drama The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Character: The adult version of Shauna Sadecki in the Yellowjackets cast is played by Melanie Lynskey. Shauna survived the wilderness and has kept her journals from the group's time there. She grew up, married Jeff Sadecki, and has a daughter, Callie. Shauna got into a spot of hot water after she was found to be connected to Adam Martin, a man she had an affair with and then subsequently murdered. The other adult survivors help her dispose of the body, but Adam was still found. Luckily, Misty's "boyfriend" came up with a plan involving police corruption to frame Kevyn Tan, and Shauna and her family are safe — for now.

Jasmin Savoy Brown as Teen Taissa

Date Of Birth: 21 March, 1994

Actor: Jasmin Savoy Brown played Allison Adams in For The People and voiced Phin Mason in the video game Spider-Man: Miles Morales. She's also a part of the rebooted Scream franchise, starring as Mindy Meeks-Martin, the niece of Scream alum Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), and her character has managed to survive both Scream 2022 and Scream VI. She played June Allen in Missing and has roles in Ten Dollar Bill and Green Bank. Brown co-hosts a podcast with her Yellowjackets co-star Liv Hewson, called The Homo Schedule.

Character: The teenage Taissa is played by Jasmin Savoy Brown in the Yellowjackets cast. Taissa has little patience for weakness and sees Allie as a weak link on the team. When the team refuses to freeze her out, she plays rough and ultimately breaks Allie’s leg, foreshadowing her attitude toward surviving the wilderness. She and teen Van are in a relationship in 1996, and the timeline introduces Taissa's sleepwalking problem. Taissa has an undeniable connection to the wilderness, as she sleepwalked to all of the symbol trees, and was the one responsible for deciding that the team should come up with a sacrificial ritual to save themselves from starvation.

Tawny Cypress as Taissa Turner

Date Of Birth: 8 August, 1976

Actor: Outside of Yellowjackets, Tawny Cypress played Naia in the TV series Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector and Nez Rowan in The Blacklist. Others may recognize her for portraying Simone Deveaux in Heroes. Along with other bit roles in various television shows like House of Cards and Blue Bloods, she had a brief role in the series Billions as well as the TV show The Equalizer, in which she played Vanessa.

Character: The adult version of Taissa is played by Tawny Cypress in the Yellowjackets cast. In the 2021 timeline, Taissa is running for state senate and running TV ads — which go against the group's agreement to stay out of the public eye and threatens to draw attention to their secret. Taissa does eventually win her bid for state senate, but at quite the cost. Her wife Simone is horrified to find a sacrificial alter in her basement, complete with the decapitated head of their family dog. Yellowjackets season 2 sees Taissa slowly losing her consciousness to her sleep-walking alter ego, and seeks out Van to help her find some answers.

Sophie Thatcher as Young Natalie

Date Of Birth: 18 October, 2000

Actor: Sophie Thatcher played Cee in Prospect and the young version of Regan in the TV series of The Exorcist. Since appearing in Yellowjackets, she's become something of a rising star. She had a role as the Drash on The Book of Boba Fett, and starred alongside Chris Messina in the 2023 Stephen King adaptation The Boogeyman as Sadie Harper, the daughter of a grieving widower who begins to experience paranormal activity in her home.

Character: Sophie Thatcher plays the teenage Natalie in the Yellowjackets cast. In her younger years, Natalie was part of the soccer team but often hung out separately. Natalie is revealed to have a tragic past which culminates when her abusive father accidentally shoots himself right in front of her after she threatened to kill him herself. Natalie becomes the hunter of the group, due to her skills with a rifle. Her hot and cold relationship with teen Travis and her disdain for Lottie's spiritual tactics were major points of her character, but Yellowjackets season 3 will see Natalie as the antler queen after Lottie decided to the buck.

Juliette Lewis as Natalie Scatorccio

Date Of Birth: 21 June, 1973

Cast: One of the most established of the Yellowjackets cast, Juliette Lewis played Mallory Knox in Natural Born Killers and Harper in Sacred Lies. Her breakout role was arguably Danielle in Cape Fear, and her resume is littered with impressive projects like August: Osage County, Natural Born Killers, From Dusk Till Dawn, and, of course, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, in which she famously portrayed Audrey Griswold. It's unknown what capacity Lewis returns in Yellowjackets season 3, following her previous project, the 2024 crime movie The Thicket, where she will portray Cut Throat Bill.

Character: Juliette Lewis plays the older version of Natalie in the Yellowjackets cast. After 25 years, Natalie has spent time retreating into drugs and sex as a way to distract from the events of 1996 and her loss of purpose. When she gets out of rehab, she heads back to her hometown with the plan to reconnect with the old group. Travis' suicide leaves her reeling, but before she can act on her suicidal ideation she's kidnapped by adult Lottie's cult. She spends much of season 2 there, soul-searching, but Natalie unfortunately dies at the end of Yellowjackets season 2 when she tries to save acolyte Lisa from Misty's phenobarbital needle.

Samantha Hanratty as Teen Misty

Date Of Birth: 20 September, 1995

Actor: Yellowjackets cast member Samantha Hanratty played Holly in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Kassidi in Shameless. Hanratty had a brief stint on The Vampire Diaries as Violet Fell, as well as the TV series Salem as Dollie Trask. The actress has a surprisingly long list of credits, considering her age, and made her television debut in the series ions as Adele. She's had bit roles on television shows like Charmed, House, and iCarly. Her next project is a drama film called Generation Angst where she plays Vivian.

Character: Samantha Hanratty plays the young version of Misty in the Yellowjackets cast. While not included in the social gatherings, after the plane crash Misty became a central part of the tribal structure. A budding sociopath, Misty is certainly one of the most intense and unpredictable teen survivors. She smashed the black box in season 1, leaving the girls stranded in the wilderness for 19 months, and is generally ostracized. However, she finds a friend in Crystal in season 2, and then subsequently backs her off a cliff when she reveals that she smashed the black box and Crystal threatened to out her.

Christina Ricci as Misty Quigley

Date Of Birth: 12 February, 1980

Actor: One of several established names in the Yellowjackets cast, Christina Ricci made a name for herself playing Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and has since played Lizzie Borden in The Lizzie Borden Chronicles and Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald in Z: The Beginning of Everything. She played Kat in Casper, Layla in Buffalo '66, and Rae in Black Snake Moan. Ricci is an undeniable star, who has remained actively in the spotlight for quite a long time. She appeared as Gwyn de Vere in The Matrix: Resurrections and Marilyn Thornhill in the hit Netflix show Wednesday. Her next two projects are The Dresden Sun and Unplugged.

Character: When Misty reaches adulthood she is played by Christina Ricci in the Yellowjackets cast. A manipulative a spiteful woman, Misty now works in a care home and is the first to be approached by Natalie after she gets out of rehab. Adult Misty regards murder as a means to an end. She kills Jessica Roberts in season 1 and has no problem helping the adult survivors dispose of Adam Martin's corpse in grisly fashion. Her "friendship" with Natalie borders on obsession, but she finds a kindred spirit in fellow citizens detective Walter. Unfortunately, she attempts to kill Lisa in the Yellowjackets season 2 finale, but kills Natalie instead.

Courtney Eaton as Teen Lottie

Date Of Birth: 6 January, 1996

Actor: Yellowjackets cast member Courtney Eaton is an Australian actress and model who saw her big screen debut in Mad Max: Fury Road as Cheedo the Fragile. She then moved on to play Zaya in Gods of Egypt and Blake in Newness. This led her into playing Charlotte in the comedy Status Update starring Ross Lynch and then Sarah in Perfect. Her most recent credit is headlining the drama Parachute, which was Brittany Snow's feature film directorial debut.

Character: Courtney Eaton plays teen Lottie in the Yellowjackets cast. Lottie started off harmless and unassuming enough, but as soon as she ran out of her schizophrenia medication after the plane crash, she began experiencing visions and hallucinations which slowly prompted the rest of the team to see her as something of a shamanistic leader. Lottie becomes deeply spiritual during her time in the wilderness, and much of her storyline contains the supernatural vs. reality elements that Yellowjackets is known for. By the end of season 2, Lottie has deferred her leadership to Natalie, much to Shauna's chagrin.

Simone Kessell as Lottie Matthews

Date Of Birth: 19 August, 1975

Actor: New Zealand actress and Yellowjackets cast member Simone Kessell has been in the industry since 1992, first appearing in the Homeward Bound TV series as Hannah Tumai. She then moved on to a couple of Hercules-themed TV movies, such as Hercules and the Amazon Woman and Hercules in the Underworld. Kessell had a brief role on Xena: Warrior Princess as well as Heartbreak High. In addition, she's appeared in shows like CSI: Miami, Criminal Minds, Our Flag Means Death, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in which she played Breha Organa.

Character: Simone Kessell takes on the role of adult Lottie in the Yellowjackets cast. It wasn't revealed that Lottie had made it out of the wilderness until season 2, when Natalie's kidnappers were revealed to be Lottie's cult. In 2021, Lottie runs a "wellness retreat" in upstate New York after spending a long time in a mental facility in Switzerland post-crash-rescue. Now medicated properly, Lottie is disturbed when she starts having visions again. Lottie fully believes that the wilderness entity has come back to haunt the adult survivors and is shipped off to another mental institution by the end of season 2.