Chloe Auliʻi Cravalho (; born November 22, 2000
) is an American actress and singer who made her acting debut as the voice of the
titular character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
in the 2016
Disney 3D computer-animated musical feature film ''
Moana''.
She went on to star in the
NBC drama series ''
Rise'' (2018), the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
drama film ''
All Together Now'' (2020) and the
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...
romantic comedy ''
Crush'' (2022).
Early life
Cravalho was born in
Kohala, Hawaii,
to Cathleen Puanani Cravalho and Dwayne Cravalho. She is of Native Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, Portuguese, Chinese, and Irish descent.
At the time she made her breakthrough, she was living in
Mililani, Hawaii, with her mother and was in her freshman year of high school, singing
soprano in the
glee club
A glee club in the United States is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it w ...
at
Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal mem ...
'
Kapālama campus.
Career
Cravalho has stated that she was initially not going to audition for ''
Moana'' because "there were already so many great submissions that I didn't think I needed to try out". However, an
Oahu
Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...
talent agent 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
Brett Haley (born ) is an American filmmaker and actor best known for his work on ''The Hero'' and '' Hearts Beat Loud''.
Early life
Haley was born in Illinois and raised in Key West, Florida and Pensacola, Florida. Haley developed an interes ...
for
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
.
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
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
'',
Laertes in ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...
'',
Lady Catherine in ''
Pride and Prejudice
''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...
'', and Jeannie Bueller in ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck with supporting roles by Jennifer G ...
''. The reading raised funds for non-profit charities including
Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Cravalho was cast as the title character, Hailey, in the animated comedy-adventure series ''Hailey's On It!'', which is slated to premiere in 2023.
Personal life
In April 2020, Cravalho publicly came out as
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...
. In June 2021, Cravalho announced that she had been accepted into
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
and subsequently revealed that she planned to major in
environmental science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical ...
at the school.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Stage
Music videos
Awards and nominations
See also
*
Portuguese immigration to Hawaii
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cravalho, Aulii
2000 births
Living people
Actresses from Hawaii
American child actresses
American child singers
American people of Native Hawaiian descent
Hawaii people of Portuguese descent
American film actresses
American television actresses
American video game actresses
American voice actresses
Annie Award winners
Audiobook narrators
Bisexual actresses
Columbia University alumni
Hispanic and Latino American actresses
Hispanic and Latino American women singers
Kamehameha Schools alumni
LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people
LGBT Native Hawaiians
LGBT people from Hawaii
LGBT American people of Asian descent
Native Hawaiian actresses
Native Hawaiian musicians
People from Hawaii (island)
Walt Disney Records artists
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
21st-century LGBT people
American bisexual actors