Auliʻi Cravalho

Chloe Auliʻi Cravalho (; born November 22, 2000) is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut as the voice of the title character in the Disney animated musical film '' Moana'' (2016) and reprised her role in the 2024 sequel.

Cravalho has had leading roles in the drama series '' Rise'' (2018), the drama film '' All Together Now'' (2020), the supernatural comedy '' Darby and the Dead'' (2022), the sci-fi series '' The Power'' (2023), and the 2024 film adaptation of '' Mean Girls: The Musical''. She has also acted in several theatrical productions, including '' Evita'' (2023) in London and ''Cabaret'' (2024) on Broadway.

Early life and education

Cravalho was born in Kohala, Hawaii, and is of Chinese, Native Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, Portuguese, and Irish descent. Her parents Dwayne and Puanani "ran a construction company and divorced when she was young". At the time she made her breakthrough, she was living in Mililani, Hawaii, with her mother and was in her first year of high school, singing soprano in the glee club at Kamehameha Schools' Kapālama campus. She grew up with her mother in a one-bedroom apartment, and they had to rely on the federal food stamps program for support. Following the success of ''Moana'', she bought a house for her mother.

In June 2021, Cravalho announced that she had been accepted into Columbia University and subsequently revealed that she planned to major in environmental science. However, during the early 2020s, she repeatedly deferred her entrance to Columbia in order to focus on her acting career, to the point that she would have to reapply to Columbia for admission because she had deferred too many times.

Career

As a 14-year-old high school freshman, Cravalho was cast as the title character in the 2016 animated movie '' Moana''. She has stated that she was initially not going to audition for the role because "there were already so many great submissions that hedidn't think heneeded to try out". However, a talent agent in Oahu discovered her through a charity video contest and brought her to Los Angeles to audition for the role. Casting director Rachel Sutton has stated that Cravalho was the last person to audition out of hundreds of actresses.

In February 2017, it was announced that she had been cast in the pilot for the NBC drama '' Rise'', which was ordered to series on May 4, 2017. The series premiered on March 13, 2018, but NBC cancelled the series on May 15, 2018, due to low ratings. In May 2017, she sang the national anthem at the National Memorial Day Concert. In November 2017, Cravalho announced she was going to reprise her role as Moana in the first Hawaiian language–dubbed Disney film. The dubbed ''Moana'' premiered on June 10, 2018.

On November 5, 2019, Cravalho portrayed Ariel in ABC's '' The Little Mermaid Live!,'' a live-action concert rendition of ''The Little Mermaid''. In 2020, she starred in '' All Together Now'', directed by Brett Haley for Netflix. Cravalho has twice performed as guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World, in 2018 and 2021.

In 2020, Cravalho participated in '' Acting for a Cause'', a live classic play and screenplay reading series created, directed and produced by Brando Crawford. Cravalho played Gwendolen Fairfax in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'', Laertes in ''Hamlet'', Lady Catherine in ''Pride and Prejudice'', and Jeannie Bueller in ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off''. The reading raised funds for non-profit charities including Mount Sinai Medical Center.

On November 18, 2021, it was announced that Cravalho would voice the title character, Hailey, in the animated comedy-adventure series '' Hailey's On It!'', which premiered on June 8, 2023, on Disney Channel. She also has a role in the sci-fi drama series '' The Power'', where she plays Jos Cleary-Lopez, a teenager who develops electric powers, and as Janis 'Imi'ike in '' Mean Girls'', a 2024 film adaptation of the stage musical ''Mean Girls''.

In 2023, it was announced that Cravalho would be an executive producer on the upcoming live-action adaptation of ''Moana'' but would not reprise the titular role. She stated in 2024 that "it feels really important to me to pass the baton to the next young woman of Pacific Island descent".

In July 2024, it was announced that Cravalho will take over the role of Sally Bowles in the Broadway production of ''Cabaret'' beginning September 16.

Personal life

In April 2020, Cravalho came out as bisexual. In January 2024, Cravalho revealed that she has Ehlers–Danlos syndrome.

During the Gaza war, Cravalho became a member of Artists4Ceasefire and signed the group's open letter urging US president Joe Biden to facilitate a ceasefire to end the war.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Web

Stage

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cravalho, Aulii
2000 births
Living people
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American women singers
21st-century American LGBTQ people
American bisexual actresses
American child actresses
American child singers
American film actresses
American LGBTQ people of Asian descent
American actors of Chinese descent
American people of Irish descent
American actors of Puerto Rican descent
American television actresses
American voice actresses
Annie Award winners
Audiobook narrators
Columbia University alumni
Hawaii people of Portuguese descent
Hispanic and Latino American actresses
Kamehameha Schools alumni
LGBTQ Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiian actresses
Native Hawaiian musicians
People with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome
Walt Disney Records artists
LGBTQ actors with disabilities