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Stella Irene August Aykroyd (born April 5, 1998, Los Angeles, California)1 is an American actress, writer, director, and environmental advocate. The youngest daughter of comedian and Ghostbusters co-creator Dan Aykroyd and actress Donna Dixon, she is best known in the Ghostbusters community for playing Deputy Medjuck in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), and more broadly as a co-writer of the 2025 Blues Brothers graphic novel The Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake.
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Stella Aykroyd was born on April 5, 1998, in Los Angeles, California, the youngest of three daughters.1 Her father, Dan Aykroyd, is an actor, comedian, and screenwriter best known for co-creating the Ghostbusters franchise and for his long tenure as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Her mother, Donna Dixon, is an actress and former model who earned a degree in anthropology at George Washington University before her acting career took off.2 Dixon is known for her recurring role on the sitcom Bosom Buddies (1980-1982), and for co-starring with Aykroyd in Doctor Detroit (1983), Spies Like Us (1985), and other films.2 Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon married in 1983.2
Stella's elder sisters are Danielle Alexandra Aykroyd (born November 18, 1989),3 a singer-songwriter who records and performs under the name Vera Sola, and Belle Kingston Aykroyd (born June 9, 1993).4
Stella Aykroyd began appearing on screen as a child, joining her family for an episode of the adventure travel series Born to Explore in 2014, in which Dan Aykroyd, Donna Dixon, Danielle, and Belle also appeared as themselves.5
Before focusing on narrative writing and acting, Stella worked in documentary filmmaking and environmental advocacy from approximately 2014 to 2018, collaborating with organizations including Sea Shepherd and Riverkeeper on projects covering marine conservation and environmental justice issues, including work connected to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
From 2017 onward she transitioned into scripted work, serving as a writer's assistant and developing her own fiction and screenwriting. In 2025 she emerged as a significant voice in expanding the Blues Brothers legacy when she co-wrote the graphic novel The Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake, published by Z2 Comics in October 2025.6 The book, co-written with Luke Pisano and James Werner with a foreword by her father, picks up the franchise roughly two decades after the original 1980 film, centering on a detective who discovers that Jake Blues is his father.7 Deluxe editions of the publication included a previously unreleased live album featuring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and the classic Blues Brothers band.68 The book was sold out at a December 2025 reading event in Toronto that included Stella, Dan Aykroyd, co-authors Pisano and Werner, and Heather Reisman.9
Her short fiction credit includes an appearance in the 2017 comedy short film Don't Mind Alice, directed by Maude Apatow and Olivia Rosenbloom.10
In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Stella Aykroyd plays Deputy Medjuck, a Summerville, Oklahoma law enforcement officer.11 The character appears in a jail scene roughly midway through the film, interacting with Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) and Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) as they seek the release of the detained children. The character's name is a tribute to longtime Ghostbusters franchise producer Joe Medjuck, who served as associate producer on the original 1984 film and executive producer on subsequent installments including Ghostbusters II, The Real Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters, and the 2016 film.12
The casting continues a tradition of the principal Ghostbusters cast bringing family into the franchise: Stella appeared in the film alongside her father, who reprised his role as Ray Stantz in the film's climax.11 The role was Stella's first appearance in a major studio feature.
The Spook Central website noted that Stella's casting in Afterlife paralleled Harold Ramis's children appearing in the films, observing: "Harold isn't the only Ghostbuster to have his children in one of the films."13
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
IMDb, "Stella Aykroyd" (accessed June 13, 2026), https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9937561/bio/ ↩ ↩2
"Donna Dixon," Wikipedia, accessed June 13, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Dixon ↩ ↩2 ↩3
"Vera Sola," Wikipedia, accessed June 13, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Sola ↩
HollywoodLife, "Dan Aykroyd's Kids: Meet the Actor's Three Daughters Danielle 'Vera,' Belle & Stella" (accessed June 13, 2026), https://hollywoodlife.com/feature/dan-aykroyd-kids-4721991/ ↩
IMDb, "'Born to Explore' Dig It! (TV Episode 2014)" (accessed June 13, 2026), https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3467916/ ↩
Deadline, "Aykroyd Family & Judy Belushi-Pisano's Estate Pass Down The Briefcase Of Blues With First Graphic Novel" (May 6, 2025), https://deadline.com/2025/05/blues-brothers-graphic-novel-2025-1236382598/ ↩ ↩2
Simon & Schuster, The Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake publisher page (accessed June 13, 2026), https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Blues-Brothers-The-Escape-of-Joliet-Jake/Luke-Pisano/9798886561913 ↩
NPR, "Dan Aykroyd and daughter Stella Aykroyd on 'Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake'" (November 15, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/11/15/nx-s1-5433703/dan-aykroyd-and-daughter-stella-aykroyd-on-blues-brothers-the-escape-of-joliet-jake ↩
TicketScene, "In Conversation: Dan Aykroyd, Stella Aykroyd, Luke Pisano, James Werner, and Heather Reisman" (December 4, 2025, Sold Out) (accessed June 13, 2026), https://ticketscene.ca/events/57234/ ↩
IMDb, "Don't Mind Alice (2017)" (accessed June 13, 2026), https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8628816/ ↩
Spook Central, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife Cast & Credits" (November 22, 2021), https://www.spookcentral.tk/2021/11/22/ghostbusters-afterlife-cast-credits ↩ ↩2
"Joe Medjuck," Wikipedia, accessed June 13, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Medjuck ↩
Spook Central, "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Easter Eggs" (June 29, 2024), https://www.spookcentral.tk/2024/06/29/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-easter-eggs ↩