Amandla Stenberg | |
---|---|
Born |
Los Angeles County, California, U.S. |
October 23, 1998
Occupation | Actress and activist |
Years active | 2011–present |
Website | www |
Amandla Stenberg (born October 23, 1998) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Rue in The Hunger Games.
Stenberg was born in Los Angeles County, California, the child of Karen Brailsford and Tom Stenberg. Her mother is African American, her father is Danish, and her paternal grandmother had Greenlandic Inuit ancestry. Her first name means "power" or "strength" in Zulu.
At the age of four, Stenberg started doing catalog modeling shoots for Disney. She has appeared in commercials for clients such as Boeing. In 2011, she appeared in her first feature film, Colombiana, as a younger version of Zoe Saldana's character. Her career breakthrough came when she was cast as Rue in the 2012 film The Hunger Games. She voiced Bia in the 2014 animated film Rio 2. Stenberg had a recurring role on season one of Sleepy Hollow. In the summer of 2015, she played series regular Halle Foster on Mr. Robinson.
In 2016 Stenberg signed on to play the lead in Amma Asante's World War II drama Where Hands Touch. She also landed the lead in Everything, Everything directed by Stella Meghie, which began filming on September 7.
In 2013, Stenberg began performing on the violin and singing harmonies at LA venues with singer/songwriter Zander Hawley as Honeywater. The folk-rock duo known as released their first EP in August 2015.
The British Dazed magazine named Stenberg "one of the most incendiary voices of her generation" when it featured her on its Autumn 2015 cover. Stenberg has spoken publicly on social media about cultural appropriation, including her video "Don't Cash Crop My Cornrows" and admonishing Kylie Jenner for her hairstyle.