Willa Holland

Willa Holland
Holland at the 2015 PaleyFest
Born	Willa Joannachance Holland (1991-06-18) June 18, 1991 (age 25) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Actress, voice actress, model
Years active	2001–present
Parent(s)	Keith Holland (father) Darnell Gregorio (mother) Brian De Palma (stepfather; 1995–1997)

Willa Joannachance Holland (born June 18, 1991) is an American actress, voice actress and model. She is known for her roles as Kaitlin Cooper in the Fox teen drama The O.C., Agnes Andrews in The CW series Gossip Girl, Aqua in Kingdom Hearts, and Thea Queen in Arrow.

Holland was born in Los Angeles, to cinematographer Keith Holland and actress Darnell Gregorio-De Palma. Her mother was remarried to director Brian De Palma from 1995–97. She grew up with two sisters: Brianna Holland (b. 1988) and Piper De Palma (b. 1996). Holland attended Palisades Charter High School for only six weeks because her career was taking off and school peers were dismissive of her acting pursuits.

At age seven, Holland played at her stepfather's neighbor's house in The Hamptons, New York. The neighbor, Steven Spielberg, was filming home videos and told Holland's parents, "You’ve got to put her in front of a camera." Upon returning to Los Angeles that September, Holland signed with Ford Modeling Agency at age seven, and immediately booked a shoot for Burberry.

The following year, 1999, De Palma took Holland to a theatrical talent agency. Since then she has appeared in many national commercials. During 2001 when Holland was ten, she worked alongside her cinematographer father in Ordinary Madness. She was even slated to co-star in the 2005 Fox series The Inside with fellow model Rachel Nichols, but left the show when writer Tim Minear was brought in to overhaul it. She played the role of Kaitlin Cooper on The O.C.; initially as a recurring character in season 3, but then as a regular in season four.