Shailene Diann Woodley (born
November 15, 1991) is an American actress. Her first major role was as the main
character, Amy Juergens, in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the
American Teenager (2008–13). She then appeared in the independent comedy-drama
The Descendants (2011), for which she received the Independent Spirit Award for
Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting
Actress – Motion Picture and The Spectacular Now (2013), receiving the Special
Jury Award for Acting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and an Independent
Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead.
Woodley gained commercial
success when cast as the main protagonist, Beatrice "Tris" Prior, in
The Divergent Series, and as Hazel Grace Lancaster in The Fault in Our Stars.
Born Shailene Diann Woodley, November 15, 1991 (age 23), Simi Valley, California, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1999–present
Early life
Woodley was born in Simi
Valley, California. Her mother, Lori (née Victor), is a middle school
counselor, and her father, Lonnie Woodley, is a school principal. She has a
younger brother. She modeled at the age of four. When she was 15 she was
diagnosed with scoliosis. She was put in a chest-to-hips plastic brace to stop
her spine from curving further.
Woodley attended Simi Valley
High School. Before landing a role in The Secret Life of the American Teenager,
Woodley considered studying interior design at New York University.
Career
2002–12: Early roles and
breakthrough success
In 2002, Woodley appeared in
small television roles on Without a Trace and The District. In 2005, she was
nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a TV
Movie, Miniseries or Special for her role in A Place Called Home as California
Ford. She also originally played Kaitlin Cooper in The O.C. She appeared as
Felicity Merriman in Felicity: An American Girl Adventure, for which she
received a Young Artists award nomination in the Category: Best Performance in
a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special (Comedy or Drama). This is one of two TV
specials that Woodley appeared in with John Schneider. She did some acting
classes with Anthony Meindl. She appeared on Crossing Jordan as a young Jordan,
as well as other television series including Everybody Loves Raymond, My Name
is Earl, CSI: NY, and Close to Home. In 2007, Woodley appeared in Cold Case as
Sarah Gunden, a murder victim's younger Amish sister, who originally brings the
case to the investigators' attention. Woodley starred in the ABC Family series
The Secret Life of the American Teenager as Amy Juergens, a 15-year-old who
discovers she is pregnant. The show explores the effects of her pregnancy on
her family, friends and herself as well as life at Ulysses S. Grant High School
in California.
In 2011, Woodley made her
feature film debut in The Descendants, where she played Alex, the troubled
elder daughter of Matt King (played by George Clooney). Her performance
received positive reviews from critics. A.O. Scott from The New York Times
said, "Ms. Woodley..[gives]..one of the toughest, smartest, most credible
adolescent performances in recent memory". Peter Debruge from Variety said
that her performance is a "revelation" and that "in the role of
Alex, [she is] displaying both the edge and depth the role demands".
Receiving accolades for her performance, Woodley received a Golden Globe
nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, and won the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female. People named her one of
2012 "Most Beautiful at Every Age." Woodley was also considered one
of the 55 faces of the future by Nylon Magazine 's "Young Hollywood
Issue".
2013–present: Continued
success and The Divergent Series
Woodley starred in the film
adaptation of Tim Tharp's novel, The Spectacular Now, as Aimee Finecky. The film
premiered at Sundance on January 18, 2013. Her portrayal of Aimee gained praise
from critics and she won the Special Jury Award for Acting, alongside Miles
Teller, at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and received a nomination for the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She had also signed on to star
in White Bird in a Blizzard, directed by Gregg Araki. Although filming took
place in October 2012, the film was not released until January 20, 2014 at the
Sundance Film Festival and then on October 24, 2014 to wider audiences. In
October 2012, it was announced that Woodley was offered the role of Mary Jane
Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. On June 19, 2013, it was announced that she
was cut from the film. Director Marc Webb told The Hollywood Reporter that the
cut was "a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter
and Gwen and their relationship," and that everyone loved working with
Woodley.
In 2014, Woodley starred as
Tris Prior in the film Divergent, an adaptation of Veronica Roth's best-selling
young adult novel of the same name, and the first installment in The Divergent
Series. The film received mixed reviews, but Woodley's performance as Tris
received a positive reception; Sam Allard from Orlando Weekly said that,
"with her performance as Tris Prior in Divergent, Woodley rescues and then
raises up a film that could have been an utter disaster". Divergent was
also a financial success as the film reached the No. 1 spot at the box-office
during its opening weekend, and has since grossed US$288.7 million at the
international box-office.
Afterwards in 2014, Woodley
starred as Hazel Grace Lancaster in The Fault in Our Stars, the film adaptation
of John Green's novel of the same name. Green added via Twitter about Woodley;
"There were so many amazing auditions for the role of Hazel, but
Shailene's love for the book and her understanding of Hazel blew me away."
The film was a block-buster success, grossing over US$307 million worldwide.
Woodley's performance received critical acclaim from critics; Peter Travers
from Rolling Stones called her a, "sublime actress with a résumé that
pretty much proves she's incapable of making a false move on camera", and
Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times stated that her performance as Hazel is
Oscar-worthy; and added, "she's that memorable" On November 14, 2014,
she received The Hollywood Film Award for Hollywood Breakout Performance –
Actress for her performance as Hazel.
In 2015, Woodley reprised
her role as Tris in The Divergent Series: Insurgent, the second installment in
The Divergent Series. The film was commercially successful, making nearly
US$100 million in its worldwide debut and grossed over US$270 million
worldwide. Her performance once again received critical acclaim, with Daniel M.
Kimmel of New England Movies Weekly writing that, "Woodley does solid work
here as she's done elsewhere, and continues to be someone to watch."
Woodley was reported to be
in talks to star in a Oliver Stone's film, Snowden, alongside Joseph
Gordon-Levitt. Filming began on February 16, 2015 and is set to be released on
December 25, 2015. She is set to reprise her role as Tris in the two-part
finale of The Divergent Series, titled The Divergent Series: Allegiant, with
Part 1 scheduled to be released on March 18, 2016 and Part 2 on March 24, 2017.
Movies:
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