Hollywood actress of African American descent Amandla Stenberg captivated audiences at the age of 14 when she played the role of Ruta in the film "The Hunger Games". But fame came to the girl for a reason, since childhood she has been acting in various films and commercials, regularly attending auditions. And in recent years, Amandla has been studying at the New York University Film School.
Biography of the actress
Amandla Stenberg was born in Los Angeles on October 23, 1998 in a family of African-American, originally from South Africa and Dane. Her mother's native language is Zulu, hence the girl has such an unusual name - in the Zulu language the word "amandla" means "strength", "power".
The actress's father, Danish by nationality Tom Stenberg, has his own business. From her father's previous marriage, Amandla has older half-sisters. The girl grew up comprehensively gifted, and her parents constantly supported her daughter's desire to realize her dreams.
Dad taught Amandla to play the guitar, even in elementary school the girl mastered the violin, and already in her teens she was fascinated by the drumming.
Actor career. The first steps
The debut of the aspiring actress took place back in 2002, it was then that Amandla starred in advertising for the first time, the girl was only 4 years old. The actress got to the cinema later. The first film with her participation, called "Colombiana" with producer Luc Besson, was released in the summer of 2011.
The story in this film tells about the professional killer of Cataleya, who wants to take revenge on the drug lords for the death of her father. The main role in it was played by Zoe Saldana, and Amandla Stenberg was involved in scenes from the childhood of Catalea, in whose eyes the bandits deal with her family.
Star role and career continuation
The young American actress became world famous for her role at the age of 14 in the Hunger Games project. Her heroine Ruta, who died in Katniss's arms, did not leave indifferent viewers in cinemas around the world.
It is noteworthy that the American actress herself is a vivid fan of the Panem trilogy, written by Susan Collins. Stenberg admits in an interview that already when reading the work, she realized how close Ruta's character was to her, which she told her mother about.
A month later, the company that started the project to film the Hunger Games, held a casting and announced that Amandla Stenberg was joining the cast. And it is not in vain that the soulful, sincere play of the young actress in this epic picture brings her several awards at once.
The resounding success, as well as receiving awards, forced the American actress to be more picky about filming proposals. While in her filmography there are several pictures, but in each of them Amandla played a key role.
After the Hunger Games, the artist joins the first series in her career. In several episodes of the first season of Sleepy Hollow, Amandla plays Captain Irving's daughter Macy.
After a successful debut on the movie screen, the girl decides to realize herself in the musical field. Amandla's duet with singer and songwriter Zander Hawley is organized, the actress also sings and plays the violin in it. After 2 years, this group is called Honeywater, and the girls release their first disc. The style of the songs combines rock and folk. In the fall of 2015, Dazed magazine puts the duo on the cover, and calls Amandla Stenberg's voice “one of the most incendiary voices of the generation”.
Of the major works of the actress, it should be noted her successful debut in dubbing cartoons. In 2014, Umnichka, the daughter of the main characters of the sequel to the animated film Rio, spoke in her voice.
The following year, in parallel with his musical activities, Amandla starred in 6 episodes of the sitcom "Mr. Robinson" and successfully passed the casting for the role in the film about teenagers of the 90s "As Is". The film premiered in 2016 at the Sundance Festival and was awarded a special prize by the jury.
Later, the actress took part in an advertising campaign for the Stella McCartney brand. Together with Lourdes Leon, she starred in an advertisement for the perfume of this Fashion House.
In 2017, a new tape with the participation of the actress is released - the melodrama "This whole world", where Amandla again plays the main character. It was 2017 that was truly a breakthrough year for Stenberg. The girl starred in 3 Hollywood films at once, which premiered in 2018.
Personal life
Amandla Stenberg is a supporter of an open personal life and does not hide her preferences from the public. At the age of 17, she told reporters about her bisexuality in an interview. Later, she received statements that she considers herself, rather, to be pansexual.
And in June 2018, the actress, in an interview with Wonderland, said that she definitely defines herself as a lesbian, with a romantic attraction to women. Back in 2016, Amandla appeared at the school ball, accompanied by the son of the actor Will Smith. The event shocked the public by the fact that both the girl and Jaden Smith chose dresses as their outfits. Moreover, the scandalous photographs were posted on Instagram by the actress herself.
Amandla regularly updates not only her Instagram, but also Twitter, where you can follow the news from the life and career of the actress. Stenberg also speaks frankly on socio-political topics. She is a member of the feminist movement and holds the title of "Feminist of the Year 2015".
In addition, Amandla works with Share Our Strength, an NGO that fights child hunger. In 2016, the girl announced that she would be attending film school at New York University.
