She survived a collapsing franchise and came back more interesting than the movies that made her famous.
At a glance
- Known for
- The Fault in Our Stars, Divergent franchise, Big Little Lies
- Before fame
- Wore a plastic brace 18 hours a day for two years after a scoliosis diagnosis at 15
- Off-screen
- Arrested at Standing Rock protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline, livestreamed to 40,000 viewers
Rise to Fame
A teen pregnancy drama on ABC Family isn't supposed to launch a serious career, but five seasons of The Secret Life of the American Teenager kept her visible long enough for Alexander Payne to notice. The Descendants in 2011, opposite George Clooney, earned her an Independent Spirit Award and a Golden Globe nomination before she turned 21.
Then came the YA gold rush. The Fault in Our Stars turned a $12 million budget into $307 million worldwide and opened at number one. The Divergent franchise followed, but the math stopped working: Allegiant earned $179 million against a budget north of $110 million. Lionsgate floated finishing the series as a TV movie. She said no. The franchise died, but walking away was the smartest call she made that decade.
In the Spotlight
Turning down Big Little Lies would've been a mistake, and Laura Dern told her so. The show got her an Emmy nomination and put her opposite Kidman, Witherspoon, and Streep, reframing her as someone who could hold space alongside actors twice her age.
She hasn't slowed down: Ferrari for Michael Mann, Motor City at Venice, and a seven-year Janis Joplin biopic she's producing and learning to sing for with Linda Perry. She ate 350 calories a day for the final stretch of Adrift. Every role she picks seems to require some form of physical suffering, which is either admirable or concerning depending on your perspective.
Side Notes
The activism isn't a hobby. She got arrested at Standing Rock on Indigenous Peoples' Day 2016, was strip-searched in jail, posted bail for the other 26 protesters arrested that day, and pleaded guilty to criminal trespassing. She endorsed Bernie Sanders and drove a caravan from Hollywood to the DNC in Philadelphia that same year.
At 19, she gave up nearly all her possessions and lived out of a carry-on suitcase for roughly a decade, picking up dishwashing shifts between roles when she needed cash. She eats clay every morning, forages wild food, and gathers spring water from mountains. Most actors with this profile would be insufferable about it. She just keeps doing the work.