Kiernan Shipka can beat you up

She was a Gerber baby
At 5 months old, Shipka scored her first gig: a baby-food ad campaign. Her self-critique? ”When I took a bite of the food, I didn’t portray it as delicious as I should have,” she quips. ”And I didn’t fall asleep convincingly.”

Her hands are lethal weapons
Shipka is set to test for a black belt in tae kwon do next year. ”I’ll have to break a brick, which I’m a little nervous about,” she says. ”But I’ve broken really thick wooden boards before.”

Your kids shall know her as Jinora
Shipka also voices an Airbender on the animated Nick series The Legend of Korra (the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender). So is she a sci-fi/fantasy fan? ”The closest thing I watch is Big Bang Theory,” she says. “And they’re all geeks.”

She is a dog’s best friend
Shipka owns two German shepherds, Rosey and Buddy, the latter of which she rescued just before he was to be euthanized. In fact, she’s fostered more than 20 canines. ”If I go by a stray dog, there is no way it’s going to stay there. It has to come home.”

Her dream is to host SNL
A student of improv at Second City Hollywood’s Youth Conservatory, Shipka schools herself with SNL clips featuring Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. (Check out her comedy chops in Funny or Die’s ”Child Star Psychologist.”) ”I would love to work with [‘Weekend Update’ correspondent] Stefon. I could be his assistant, Stefonie!”