Shailene Diann Woodley (born November 15, 1991) is an American actress. Her first roles included Amy Juergens in The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008â€"13) and of Felicity Merriman in the 2005 film Felicity: An American Girl Adventure.
Woodley found breakthrough success in The Descendants (2011). Her performance as Alexandra King received praise from critics and award recognition, including the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture. In 2013, she played Aimee Finecky in the independent film The Spectacular Now, her performance gained recognition from critics, and won the Special Jury Award for Acting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.
Beginning in 2014, Woodley was cast as the main protagonist, Beatrice "Tris" Prior, in The Divergent Series, based on the best-selling series of novels by author Veronica Roth, and Hazel Grace Lancaster in The Fault in Our Stars, based on the novel of the same name by John Green.
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
2002â€"10
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.
2011â€"13
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 â€" 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".
Woodley starred in the film adaptation of Tim Tharp's novel, The Spectacular Now, as Aimee Finecky, a social outcast trying to plan for the future while falling for a boy who lives in the moment. Production of the film occurred in the summer of 2012 and it premiered at Sundance in January 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 Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She had also signed on to star in White Bird in a Blizzard, an independent film about a troubled young woman whose life is upended following the mysterious disappearance of her mother, directed by Gregg Araki, the film was released at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014. 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.
2013â€"present
On March 19, 2013, Woodley was cast as protagonist 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 released on June 6, 2014, and received positive reviews from critics and was also a box-office success. Woodley's performance as Hazel 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 â€" Actress for her performance as Hazel.
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; it was released on March 21, 2014. 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 #1 spot at the box-office during its opening weekend.
Woodley will reprise her role as Tris in the second installment in The Divergent Series, titled The Divergent Series: Insurgent, which began filming on May 27, 2014 and has a release date of March 20, 2015. She will reprise her role again in the two-part finale of the franchise, The Divergent Series: Allegiant â€" Part 1 and Part 2, with Part 1 scheduled to be released on March 18, 2016 and Part 2 on March 24, 2017.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
Woodley's performance in the 2011 American comedyâ€"drama The Descendants won her significant recognition, including the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, and breakthrough awards such as the Trophée Chopard and the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance. She received dozens of other award nominations, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress â€" Motion Picture and nomination by numerous film critic groups. She has also received numerous awards and nominations for her performance in The Spectacular Now, including the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting, a nomination for the Gotham Award for Best Actress, and a second nomination for Independent Spirit Award.
Her performance as Hazel in The Fault In Our Stars received the Hollywood Breakout Performance â€" Actress award at the 18th Hollywood Film Awards.
References
External links
- Shailene Woodley at the Internet Movie Database
- Shailene Woodley at TV Guide
- Shailene Woodley on Twitter
