She has Asian roots
Hailee Steinfeld was born in 1996 to a Jewish father and a mother whose background is European, Filipino and African American, per EthniCelebs.
In particular, she is very proud of her Filipino heritage and felt at home when she visited the country, she told Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP): “One thing I learned very early on about Filipinos is how much passion there is, how much pride there is being Filipino and as little as there is [of that blood] in me, I really do feel so connected to the culture … It’s so incredibly important that I can come somewhere so far from home and feel like I’m home.”
Camila Cabello is selling the love nest she shared with Shawn Mendes
She started out as a child star
At age eight, Steinfeld was inspired to act after watching an ad made by her older cousin True O’Brien. Her parents supported her interest by sending her to acting class for a year, per Vanity Fair.
After modelling for Gap and appearing in several short films, at 13 she beat 15,000 auditionees to land her first movie role, True Grit, according to Insider. She portrayed Mattie Ross, a sassy girl out for revenge alongside Jeff Bridges. It brought her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress at 14, becoming one of the youngest nominees for the category of all time.
Since then, she has played some iconic characters, including Juliet in the 2013 adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Emily Junk in the Pitch Perfect film series, Emily Dickinson in the comedy series Dickinson, and Gwen Stacy or Spider-Woman in the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
How did Jake Paul become one of the highest-paid athletes in the world?
She didn’t need to audition for Hawkeye
Instead of auditioning for the role of Kate Bishop, Steinfeld was simply offered it. Heroic Hollywood reports that at a press conference for Hawkeye, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said, “Hailee did not audition. We were very, very lucky that Hailee was open to this because we very much believed that she was sort of the prototype for the character, and as occasionally happens, the dream version of the character agrees to do it … We were very thankful that she wanted to jump into this role because we had a feeling that she would be great, and she is.”
The return of Melania Trump: 5 signs she’s making a comeback
She was a teen model
After the Oscar nomination, Steinfeld became a teen Hollywood star, catching the eye of Miu Miu. The fashion brand featured her in its autumn/winter campaign in 2011 and later made her a brand ambassador, according to Fashionista. That made her the youngest ever face of the brand, and saw her join Katie Holmes, Evan Rachel Wood, Vanessa Paradis and Lindsay Lohan in the ranks of former Miu Miu muses.
Is Kanye West really dating a Kim K superfan? Meet Vinetria, his new flame
She also modelled hoodies, denim and outerwear for a Guess Kids ad campaign in 2007, per MTV, and appeared in print ads for Kohl’s and Nike. In 2017, she was brand ambassador for Mission’s women activewear line, according to Fashion Network.
She waited for the right moment to become a pop star
Together with acting, Steinfeld was also interested in music from a young age, attending singing lessons and writing music with family friends who are producers, as she revealed to The Stanford Daily. Music was always a part of her plan, but it wasn’t until her role in musical Pitch Perfect 2 in 2015, in which she played a cappella-singing Barden Bella, did she find the perfect opportunity to start her singing career.
Who are Blackpink member Jennie’s celebrity BFFs?
She signed with Republic Records, Taylor Swift’s label, and her debut album “Haiz” was released in 2015 with the single Love Myself peaking at No 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later singles Starving (2016), Most Girls and Let Me Go (both 2017) also made the chart.
Taylor Swift is her BFF
Steinfeld also appeared in the video for Swift’s Bad Blood together with other A-list stars from Swift’s squad. She is also close to fellow squad members Selena Gomez, Sarah Hyland, Lena Dunham, Lorde, Gigi Hadid and Camila Cabello.
Who’s the richest Baldwin? The family’s net worths, ranked
She is into working out and writing
When Steinfeld isn’t acting or singing, she likes to work out, which keeps her fighting fit for the roles of heroines like Kate Bishop. As her father is a personal trainer, she usually trains with him. She tries to exercise at least 15 minutes a day after work, whether it’s cardio like using the elliptical or treadmill, or swimming or biking, along with her favourite circuit training and kick-boxing routines. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, host Clarkson joked that she must do 3,000 crunches a day, to which Steinfeld replied quite seriously, “Every day. 3,000 is the number.”
Talking to Shape, she said, “I always feel like spending time in the gym is a relief. I go in and put my headphones in and kind of just separate myself from everything for a while. It’s kind of like a safe zone in a way. I definitely walk away feeling more relaxed.”
Writing is another of her favourite things to do. She usually has a pen and paper in her bag and when she doesn’t, she writes on the notes app in her phone, per Rookie. She said she writes her own songs to expose herself even more than when she acts: “There’s this sense of vulnerability – in that that’s my name and my voice and my experience, not a character, no matter how much I’ve related to that character or identified with that character.”
