Amandla Stenberg Biography: Age, Net Worth, Family Relationship, Height, Education, Personal Life, Career, Awards and Nomination 2024

Amandla Stenberg, born on October 23, 1998, is an actress and singer from America.

She was recognized in Time’s compilation of Most Influential Teens for the years 2015 and 2016.

Stenberg has been honored with various awards, such as a Teen Choice Award, an NAACP Image Award, and nominations for four Black Reel Awards and a Critics’ Choice Award.

Stenberg’s acting career took off when she starred as Rue in The Hunger Games (2012) after making her debut in Colombiana (2011).

She later portrayed Macey Irving in Sleepy Hollow (2013–2014) and Halle Foster in Mr. Robinson (2015).

As an adult, her roles in Everything, Everything (2017) as Maddy Whittier and The Hate U Give (2018) as Starr Carter propelled her to fame.

Stenberg also appeared in The Darkest Minds (2018) as Ruby, Dear Evan Hansen (2021) as Alana Beck, Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) as Sophie, and lent her voice to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) as Margo Kess / Spider-Byte.

Stenberg is known for her advocacy for LGBT youth, which has garnered widespread attention.

In addition to her acting career, she ventured into music as part of the duo Honeywater in 2015 and performed “Let My Baby Stay” for Everything, Everything.

Read Also: Hilda Baci Biography 2024: Age, Career, Net Worth, Family, Education, Personal Life, Height and Awards

Early Life

Amandla Stenberg, hailing from Los Angeles, California, is the offspring of Karen Brailsford, an African-American spiritual counselor and writer, and Tom Stenberg, a Danish individual.

Her paternal grandmother’s lineage traces back to Greenlandic Inuit ancestry. On her father’s side, Stenberg has two older half-sisters.

Her given name, Amandla, holds the meaning of “power” or “strength” in the South African languages of IsiXhosa and Zulu.

Stenberg embarked on her modeling journey at the tender age of four, participating in catalog shoots for Disney.

She has also been featured in commercials for esteemed clients like Boeing and Kmart.

Career

In 2011, she made her debut in the feature film Colombiana, portraying a younger version of Zoe Saldana’s character.

Her big break came at the age of 14 when she landed the role of Rue in the 2012 film The Hunger Games, which was both a critical and financial success.

Stenberg’s performance was highly acclaimed, earning her numerous awards and nominations, including a Black Reel Award nomination.

In 2013, she appeared in the short film Mercy, playing the daughter of Robin Thicke and Paula Patton, with Thicke also directing the film.

Stenberg also had a recurring role on season one of Sleepy Hollow from 2013 to 2014.

In 2013, Stenberg began showcasing her musical talents by performing on the violin and singing harmonies at various Los Angeles venues alongside singer-songwriter Zander Hawley.

The following year, she lent her voice to the character Bia in the successful animated film Rio 2.

In 2015, Stenberg released her first EP as part of the folk-rock duo Honeywater. She also released the video “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows” that same year.

Stenberg portrayed series regular Halle Foster on the short-lived series Mr. Robinson in 2015.

Additionally, she co-wrote the comic book Niobe: She is Life with Sebastian Jones and Ashley A. Woods, which was published in November 2015 and featured a black woman as its protagonist, author, and artist.

In 2016, Stenberg appeared in Beyoncé’s Lemonade and received the BET YoungStars Award.

She also signed with The Society modelling agency that year. Despite auditioning for the role of Shuri in Black Panther, Stenberg decided to step away from the role, feeling that it wasn’t the right fit for her.

She expressed her satisfaction in seeing the role portrayed by someone who truly deserved it. Letitia Wright ultimately landed the role of Shuri in the superhero film.

In 2017, Stenberg and Sebastian Jones released the second part of the trilogy, Niobe: She is Death.

That same year, she appeared in the romantic drama Everything, Everything, directed by Stella Meghie, alongside Nick Robinson.

Her song, “Let My Baby Stay”, was included in the movie’s soundtrack. Stenberg’s performance was well-received, leading to a Teen Choice Award nomination.

In 2018, she took on the role of Starr Carter in the contemporary drama The Hate U Give, based on the novel of the same name focusing on the Black Lives Matter movement.

The film received positive feedback, with Stenberg’s performance earning critical acclaim.

Rolling Stone magazine praised her incandescent performance, describing it as a gathering storm that intensifies with each scene.

Director George Tillman Jr. commended her ability to bring authenticity to the character, highlighting her rare dedication to the material.

Stenberg garnered various awards and nominations for her portrayal, including an NAACP Image Award win and a Critics’ Choice Award nomination.

Towards the end of 2018, she starred in Amma Asante’s World War II drama Where Hands Touch.

In 2019, Stenberg took on the role of Elizabeth Eckford, a 15-year-old girl who was part of a group of nine black students initially barred from entering a racially segregated high school in Little Rock.

This portrayal was featured on the television show Drunk History. Later that year, she joined the cast of the Netflix miniseries The Eddy, which was released on May 8, 2020.

Stenberg also signed on to star in the remake of the 1996 thriller film Fear in May 2019.

In August 2020, she was cast as Alana Beck in Stephen Chbosky’s film adaptation of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen.

Not only did she play the role, but she also collaborated with the show’s composers, Pasek and Paul, on a new song called “The Anonymous Ones” specifically written for her character.

In 2021, Stenberg landed the main role in the upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte.

And finally, in May 2023, it was announced that she would be part of the voice cast for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, portraying the character Margo Kess, also known as Spider-Byte.

Personal Life

In 2016, Stenberg made an announcement on Instagram that she would be pursuing a degree in filmmaking at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

However, she later decided not to attend the school due to her increasing acting opportunities.

In January 2016, Stenberg publicly came out as bisexual, but later clarified that she also identifies as pansexual. In March of the same year, she revealed that she is non-binary and uses both she/her and they/them pronouns.

Then, in June 2018, during an interview with Wonderland magazine, she came out as gay.

During the period of early 2018 to late 2018, Stenberg was in a relationship with singer Mikaela Mullaney Straus, known as King Princess.

In a July 2017 interview, she mentioned that she had stopped using a smartphone, believing that it could have a negative impact on mental health.

In 2020, she lived in Copenhagen for three months to maintain her Danish citizenship.

Dazed magazine described Stenberg as “one of the most incendiary voices of her generation” when she appeared on its Autumn 2015 cover.

She was recognized in Time’s list of Most Influential Teens in both 2015 and 2016.

Additionally, in 2016, she was featured in Oprah Winfrey’s SuperSoul 100 list of visionaries and influential leaders.

Stenberg, a prominent intersectional feminist, has been vocal about her political beliefs both in interviews and on social media.

In recognition of her advocacy, she was honored as the “Feminist of the Year” in 2015 by the Ms. Foundation for Women.

One of the issues she has addressed on social media is cultural appropriation, as seen in her video titled “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows,” where she criticized Kylie Jenner for adopting a traditionally African-American hairstyle.

Additionally, Stenberg delivered a speech at WE Day California, a WE Charity event, in April 2016.

In October 2023, Stenberg demonstrated her commitment to peace by signing the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to Joe Biden, the President of the United States.

The letter called for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, highlighting her involvement in global political matters.

Filmography

Awards and nominations