Amandla Stenberg — a.k.a. Rue from The Hunger Games — is all grown up. Since her breakout role
opposite Jennifer Lawrence in 2012, Stenberg has gone on to star in indie and blockbuster
feature films, she's become an activist, and she's grown into an all-around confident woman. Here's
a look at Amandla's gorgeous transformation. Southern California-born Amandla Stenberg has
practically always known that she wanted to spend her life acting. In fact, she can't even remember
a time when she didn't want to dive into the industry, telling the Los Angeles Times that
she begged her mom to find her an agent when she was just three years old. She told W Magazine,
"I don't really remember making the decision, but I've always wanted to do it."
"I grew up reading Essence, seeing the black women
in Hollywood, and feeling inspired and motivated by that"
Stenberg was about 4 years old when she launched her acting career,
working her way up through the ranks in Hollywood,
with her early jobs consisting of commercials for Walmart, Kmart, KFC, and McDonald's.
"Something that I did for fun became a passion"
While The Hunger Games can be considered Stenberg's breakthrough film, it was not
actually her first role in a blockbuster movie. Before she landed the part of Rue, Stenberg
starred in Colombiana, in which she played the younger version of Zoe Saldana's character,
Cat. Stenberg had to undergo hardcore training for the role, studying the
obstacle-navigating sport of Parkour, as well as expert-level running, jumping, and climbing.
"You don't wanna help me? Fine. I'll do it myself"
Her experience on set was a positive one, and proved to be a solid introduction into
the industry for the fresh-faced star. The actress told the Los Angeles Times,
"[The cast] was like a family and I became very close to the crew."
Stenberg went on to appear in the TV film A Taste of Romance
before ultimately landing her role in The Hunger Games.
While you might think that Stenberg's performance in The Hunger Games would
have officially launched her acting career,
it wasn't quite that simple. For years, Stenberg struggled to find substantial roles and found
herself being offered tiny — not to mention problematic — parts. She told IndieWire,
"It was so challenging to find roles for black girls that weren't really
trivializing or harmful in some way. […] [I] couldn't find anything besides
'daughter of drug dealer' or 'hood girl Number 2 who has a fresh mouth."
Those kinds of roles obviously didn't appeal to Stenberg because she didn't want to play
characters that she said, quote, "perpetuate negative stereotypes around black women."
"If I could ask one question to one person,
it would be Angela Davis. And I would just say 'What do I do?'"
It would be years before Stenberg would land another substantial role. But she didn't give up.
The Hunger Games was a turning point for Stenberg in more ways than one. Not only did the hit film
provide her with her breakthrough role, but it also helped her develop a firm grasp on her
identity as a black woman. After it was released, the film attracted some backlash because,
as Jezebel put it, some, quote, "racist Hunger Games fans" were upset that the Rue character
was played by a black actress. The character Rue's ethnicity was never explicitly stated in the book,
although she was described as having, quote, "dark brown skin and eyes."
Stenberg explained to Teen Vogue that once the movie hit theaters,
she was unfortunately exposed to an onslaught of racist slang and even degrading comments.
She was once told that Rue's death would've been sadder if she weren't black. Stenberg later said,
"That was the first moment I realized being black was such a crucial part of my identity in terms
of the way that I was perceived and how it would affect any line of work that I wanted to pursue."
"Learning to embrace yourself is a constant process for everyone"
Stenberg is a woman of many talents. And in 2015, she co-created a comic book with artist
Ashley A. Woods and author/publisher Sebastian A. Jones. Titled Niobe:
She Is Life, the comic made history, with Vogue reporting,
"It was the first internationally distributed comic with a black female author,
artist, and central character."
"I kind of see her story as reflective of mine,
in terms of how I navigate the world and how I attempt to bring peace to the people around me"
In 2017, Stenberg followed up with the second installment in a proposed trilogy,
Niobe: She Is Death. Stenberg revealed that she
closely identifies with the lead character, telling The Culture,
"I think Niobe is a wonderful, nuanced role model. I strive to stay grounded in my roots
and spirituality like her, as well as defy gender roles and assert my own power and independence."
While she hasn't made as many waves with her music as she has with her acting career,
that may all change for Stenberg in the future. You may remember seeing her in
Beyoncé's "Lemonade" visual album in 2016, but what you might not know is
that the actress is also a wildly talented musician herself, who can play the violin,
guitar, and drums — in addition to having a killer set of pipes. She has also recorded some of her
own music, as well as covers, and recorded as a musical artist on the soundtracks for the film
Everything, Everything, as well as streaming series Euphoria and The Eddy.
It's clear that Stenberg has what it takes to launch a successful music career,
but as of 2019, she was feeling content with focusing on contributing to movie
soundtracks and making music for herself. She told Vanity Fair,
"Recently I’ve been making a lot of music with the intention of putting it out at some point.
But not trying to put that pressure on myself — there’s already enough pressure."
Half a decade passed between The Hunger Games and Stenberg's next major project, a 2017 film titled
Everything, Everything. During that time, she landed a handful of other gigs, including a
guest arc on Sleepy Hollow, a spot on Rio 2, and a starring role in the indie film As You Are.
But Everything, Everything became Stenberg's first-ever leading role in a major film.
"Is it always like that? It's never like that"
Stenberg was drawn to the role because of its diverse casting as well as the fact that the
film was based on a book written by black female author, Nicola Yoon. Stenberg told The Aquarian,
"I also thought it was important when I considered how many people
would get to see this girl with natural hair carry the film."
It appears that Stenberg's sexual orientation has evolved throughout her life. In 2016, she took
over Teen Vogue's Snapchat and openly identified herself as bi. But two years later, in 2018,
however, she realized that she truly identified as gay. Stenberg explained to Wonderland Magazine,
"[Socialization] is a b---- and a half and kept me from
understanding and living my truth for a while."
"To me, it's just the most critical that I'm fully myself"
Finally coming to terms with her orientation was a
huge shift for the actress who was relieved to finally live as her true self. She said,
"I was flooded with a sense of calm and peace because everything that I struggled with or
felt discomfort around finally made sense to me. […] I found the freedom to live my best life."
As she's gotten older, Stenberg has become almost as well known for her activism as
she has for her acting. The outspoken young lady is an impassioned advocate who lends her voices
to causes such as ending violence toward women and the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Hopefully my acting career and my artistry, my activism always go hand in hand"
But Stenberg doesn't necessarily view herself as an activist,
and certainly didn't set out to become one. She explained to Vanity Fair,
"That’s still not necessarily a word that I self-label. I protest for sure,
but I’m not out there on the front lines. […] I can speak up about the things that I understand,
and I have been gifted this platform through acting."
One of Stenberg's most meaningful roles came in the 2018 film, The Hate U Give,
a story about police brutality in which Stenberg plays a teenager,
Starr, who witnesses her childhood friend's brutal murder by a white cop. Stenberg was
determined to land the role after reading the novel on which the film was based, telling W
Magazine that she fell in love with the character right out of the gate. She revealed to the outlet,
"[Starr is] multi-dimensional, she's authentic,
and she's so unafraid to be truly herself, which she realizes through these really challenging,
traumatic circumstances that reflect what's happening in our world right now."
"We live in a complicated world. It doesn't seem that complicated to me"
As a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, the story was especially
important to Stenberg. In an interview with Wonderland Magazine, the actress said,
"I hope the film is able to reach those to whom
these events seem trivial and ground it in reality for them."
Hollywood has changed since Stenberg made her splash in 2012. The industry has become
more inclusive and Stenberg is happy to see the progress. The actress has also been able to find
more meaningful roles as she's gotten older — and not just because of her growing fame.
"It's still something that I feel like just now where we started to bridge the gaps in
terms of being able to have three dimensional, nuanced, black characters for young women"
Stenberg explained that since she appeared in The Hunger Games, the industry has shifted to
begin to tell more diverse stories with films like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians.
She also said she was heartened to see the lasting impact of the Time's Up movement. While she
acknowledged that Hollywood is by no means where it needs to be, she is determined to be part of
the changes that are in the works. And, according to Variety, Stenberg demanded that by 2020,
every project she signs onto must have 50 percent of its crew made up of women and people of color.
Although Stenberg does have an Instagram account, you probably won't find her glued to her phone any
time soon. The actress isn't a big fan of social media platforms in general and back in 2017, she
even ditched her smartphone. She later admitted to Teen Vogue that she replaced her iPhone
with a flip phone to protect her mental health during, quote, "all of the chaos in the world."
She told the outlet that she thinks everyone — especially
young people — spends too much time on sites like Instagram and Twitter. Stenberg revealed,
"I’m worried about the mental health effects of smartphones and social media
on kids. […] I see a lot of people around my age who are really unhappy
or experiencing disconnection from reality because they base so much of their existence
on the Internet and on their interactions with people they might not even know."
In 2016, Stenberg announced on Instagram that she was heading to NYU to attend film school.
However, by 2017, the actress was telling Marie Claire that she'd decided to defer
admission for two years in order to focus on her acting career. When those two years were up,
though, Stenberg did not head to New York. Instead, she continued to act,
telling Gizmodo that she decided she would rather focus on her career than go to college, in part
because of the astronomical cost of schooling, which, as of 2020, clocks in at nearly $55,000
per year for tuition alone. Factor in housing and other fees and that total hits upwards of $80,000.
We can't blame Stenberg for choosing to focus
on her enviable acting career instead of forking over that kind of cash for school.
Even though she could certainly afford it, since, according to Celebrity Net Worth,
she has banked an estimated fortune of $2 million. As the star put it in her interview with Gizmodo,
"I was, like, I'd rather make money and learn on set than give a university
all of my money and be broke for the rest of my life."
While Stenberg has set aside college courses for the time being, she still has big dreams
for her future. The actress told Gizmodo that she has plans to both write and direct, in addition
to continuing to pursue acting. While Stenberg plans to learn the tricks of the trade on set,
according to The National, she says she may still go to college one day.
Stenberg may not be getting a degree on set,
but that doesn't mean she's not getting one heck of an education. She told the outlet,
"I feel like I'm being an apprentice to all the directors that I've worked with."
"I love just all, you know,
stages of the filmmaking process, but I wanna direct my own feature"
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