When you see Taylor Dearden’s name in the credits on your screen, you probably don’t think too much of it.

The 32-year-old actress is an up-and-coming star, most recently making a name for herself as fan favourite Dr Mel King in the new medical drama The Pitt.

But with her newfound fame has come a discovery that has baffled many fans. Dearden actually has a much more famous last name – she just chooses not to use it.

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Dearden was born in February 1993 in Los Angeles, California to not one, but two famous parents.

Her mother Robin Dearden isn’t quite a household name, best known for her work in projects such as Wooly Boys and Magnum, P.I., but when it comes to her dad, you’d struggle to find anyone who didn’t recognise his name.

Dearden is the daughter of Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston.

Her full name is Taylor Dearden Cranston, however when she decided to go into acting she dropped her father’s last name in attempt to make it on her own.

“She’s very independent,” Cranston told GQ of his daughter.

“And very conscientious of not having any association or hint thereof of nepotism.”

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But despite her current efforts to forge her own path separate to her father’s career, Dearden’s first-ever on-screen role was actually in an episode of Breaking Bad.

In 2010, when she was just 17, Dearden appeared in the first episode of the show’s third season, titled No Más, as Sad Faced Girl and was credited as Taylor Cranston.

Watch the video above.

Following her minor role in the show, Dearden dropped the Cranston last name and completed a theatre degree at the University of Southern California.

She appeared in various short films and web series before graduating in 2015 and scoring her first major role.

In 2016, she was cast in the MTV show Sweet/Vicious as Ophelia Mayer, one of two best friends who take it upon themselves to become vigilantes fighting against sexual assault on their college campus.

“We’re always taught as young girls, ‘Don’t wear things too short or too tight,’ and, ‘Make sure if you’re drinking, you have a buddy who can watch you’, Dearden told Cosmopolitan about the message behind the show in a December 2016 interview.

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“But no one sits their little boys down and goes, ‘If she can’t speak, nothing happens. If she can’t say yes, and she just mumbles, you don’t do anything.’

“It’s on women not to get raped as opposed to being on boys not to rape. Personally, I’m just so glad that everyone’s finally talking about these issues, especially with our incoming president.”

Sweet/Viscious only ran for one season, with Dearden next scoring roles in the 2017 film The Last Champion and 2018 Netflix mockumentary American Vandal.

But it’s her latest role that has seen the actress skyrocket to a new level of fame.

Dearden stars alongside ER’s Noah Wyle in the new critically-acclaimed medical drama The Pitt.

The show, which follows the story of emergency department workers over one day in a Pittsburgh hospital, sees Dearden take on the role of Dr Melissa ‘Mel’ King, a second-year resident on her first day at a new hospital.

Dr King quickly became a fan favourite on the show because of her empathetic nature and kind temperament, a far step from Dearden’s usual sarcastic, dry characters.

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But the actress has said it was a challenge she was willing to take on, adding that what really drew her to the character is their shared neurodivergence.

In an interview with Parade, Dearden said Dr King’s neurodivergence wasn’t explicitly written into the script but was an obvious part of the character, with the writers of the show wanting to cast someone who shared similar traits.

“I went, ‘Well, it’s your lucky day. Hello!’ because ADHD and autism are on the same spectrum now. And so it’s just kind of like, ‘I can do that!’,” she said.

“And I think some people were more trepidatious than others to fully go in for it. But I was just like, ‘I’m gonna play what I would I feel like on the inside instead of the cool exterior I usually have.’

“I just feel so lucky to be able to be the person who – and I’ll continue to strive for realism – is able to portray what we’ve never seen for ourselves. We’re not robots!”

With the season finale of the hit show released on Friday, Dearden has well and truly made a name for herself in the film and TV industry, with fans of The Pitt praying Dr King returns for season two.

And while some parents may be butthurt over the fact that their child decided to drop their last name in pursuit of a career detached from their own, Cranston seemingly couldn’t be prouder.

“She is far beyond where I was in my 20s as far as ability,” he said in a 2020 interview with People.

“She is a super talented young lady!”

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