Danielle Nicole Panabaker was born in Augusta, Georgia. Her younger sister, actress Kay Panabaker, starred in the TV series, Summerland (2004)(WB, 2004-05). Panabaker started acting at a summer camp, before joining community theater productions when she was 10-years-old. Panabaker moved to Naperville, IL, where she was a member of the Neuqua Valley High School speech team. At the age of 14, while most students her age were barely starting their high school career, she graduated.
Panabaker followed her initial appearances in commercials with roles in television, including a part in the series, Le protecteur (2001) (for which she won a Young Artist Award), as well as other television series, including Malcolm (2000), New York - Unité spéciale (1999), Médium (2005), Summerland (2004), and the Disney Channel original movie, La naissance d'une nouvelle star (2004). She also appeared in the Lifetime Television productions Face à son destin (2003) and Trop jeune pour être mère (2005), as well as the well-reviewed miniseries, Empire Falls (2005). She considers "Empire Falls" to be her big break, as it gave her the confidence to pursue her career. In addition, Panabaker appeared in stage productions, with roles in musical theater, including "West Side Story", "Pippin", "Once Upon A Time", and "Beauty Lou and the Country Beast". In 2004, she starred in the ABC film, Un coeur pour David (2004), alongside former co-Disney star Raviv Ullman. In 2005, Panabaker co-starred in two widely-released theatrical films, L'école fantastique (2005) and Une famille 2 en 1 (2005). Her next role was in the film, Home of the Giants (2007), opposite Ryan Merriman and Haley Joel Osment. She also had a supporting role in the film, Mr. Brooks (2007), opposite Kevin Costner. In the Disney Channel original movie, Le journal de Jaimie (2006), she plays "Is", an alternate version of "Jamie", who was played by her real-life sister, Kay Panabaker.
