What to Know About Fantastic Beasts’ Bewitching Breakout Star Alison Sudol

The Wizarding World has a bewitching new star — and music fans might already recognize her work.

Alison Sudol joins Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as Queenie Goldstein — a mind-reading witch who helps Eddie Redmayne‘s Newt Scamander collect the magical creatures he accidentally let loose in New York City. But before landing the role, the 31-year-old was best known by the moniker A Fine Frenzy, under which she’s sold more than 650,000 albums, according to iTunes.

Read on to find out more about the scene-stealing, fair-haired beauty:

She graduated high school when she was 16 — but never went to college

Born in Seattle, the actress moved to Los Angeles at a young age after her parents separated. Her new school allowed students to learn at their own pace, and Sudol took full advantage.

“I graduated high school when I was 16, because at my school you could kind of go at your own pace, so I did a lot of summer school and extra programs to get ahead,” Sudol told Elle.

“When I graduated, I was nerdy, quiet — I didn’t drink or smoke or do anything like that and I was so nervous about going into college like that and super young. I figured I would take two years and try to find out what I was doing with music. And when I was 18, I was just so deep into it that I didn’t want to stop,” she added.

She’s already a successful musician

For years, Sudol performed under the moniker A Fine Frenzy and released several full-length albums that earned international acclaim. Her debut album, One Cell in the Sea, was released in 2007 and spawned a single that was picked as one of iTunes’ “Free Single of the Week.”

She later released Bomb in a Birdcage and a live album titled A Fine Frenzy Live at the House of Blues Chicago in 2009 before calling it quits after 2012’s Pine.

Check out the her 2007 song “Almost Lover” below!

She had a small role on Transparent

After deciding to pivot her career towards acting, Sudol booked a role on the hit show Transparent after her third audition.

“I don’t think I fully understood the depth of the project when I went to the audition, luckily, otherwise I probably would have been too freaked out to even walk in the door,” Sudol told Ladygunn about the groundbreaking show.

“I read it and it just felt special. Learning about the whole transgender community, their issues and what people go through in order to transition, how brave they have to be. I mean, the whole show was this huge, incredible experience and it happened to be my first job,” she added.

Her Fantastic Beasts co-star compares her to Marilyn Monroe

“The moment I saw her, I knew her energy was just perfect,” Dan Fogler told Pottermore. “When she gets in the make-up and she’s Queenie and she’s got the lights on her, she’s got skin that glows, you know? When I saw her for the first time, I was like, holy … It’s Alison Monroe over here — Marilyn’s cousin.”

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits theaters Nov. 18.