Mika Abdalla’s Off Campus Breakout Brings Fresh Attention to Her Career and Romance

Mika Abdalla has moved from child performer to leading roles in streaming television, with her portrayal of Allie Hayes in Prime Video’s Off Campus bringing her renewed attention. The series, set at the fictional Briar University, follows a college hockey romance and reportedly drew 36 million viewers in its first 12 days on the platform. Abdalla, whose full name is Mikayla Sofia Abdalla, grew up in Dallas, Texas. She began working in print modelling at five and made her acting debut as Jill on Barney & Friends in 2008. She later played McKeyla McAlister, a young spy, in Netflix’s Emmy-nominated Project MC², a role that earned her a Young Artist Award nomination in 2016. After high school, Abdalla attended UCLA, where she earned a degree in philosophy and minored in film. She has also appeared in the Hulu comedy Sex Appeal and the film Snack Shack. In discussing her latest character, she has said she fell in love with Allie, and told The Hollywood Reporter that the character’s story developed in ways she had not expected. The article also draws attention to Abdalla’s reported relationship with Australian actor Josh Heuston, her Off Campus co-star. It describes the pair’s romance as a new chapter in her personal life, while also noting her past engagement to actor Jake Short, whom she met while working on Sex Appeal. The account presents her career and relationship as part of a sudden rise in public interest, though the series is the clearest reason her name is now circulating widely.