Rising Starlets of 2014
There's no question that 2014 will be a make-or-break year for 22-year-old Shailene Woodley. She stars in the two of the most anticipated films of the year: Divergent, out March 21, and The Fault in Our Stars, out June 6. Both films are based on wildly popular young-adult books, but that's about all they have in common. Divergent, an action film set in a dystopian future, is hoping to copy the success of The Hunger Games films, while in The Fault in Our Stars is a poignant love story about a cancer-stricken teen. Shailene recently said in an interview that the poster's tagline, One Sick Love Story, is "not something I would've chosen."
Shailene has been acting since age 10, playing a headstrong American girl in Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005) and a pregnant American teenager on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. The show just ended its five-year run in 2013, although Shailene admitted in an interview that if not for contractual obligations, she would've quit it sooner. In search of more serious roles, she played George Clooney's rebellious daughter in the Oscar-nominated The Descendants (2011). Her costars in both her upcoming films have praised her for her professional attitude and deep understanding of the character, but only time will tell if she'll take 2014 by storm, or if the year will hang her out to dry.
Shailene hones her fighting skills in Divergent
This will be a big year for Shailene, but she's not the only young actress to watch for in 2014. Here are a few other girls with notable roles of their own.
Flowers in the Attic, Kiernan Shipka, January 18. Kiernan, now 14, has long been hoping to move from TV - where she's been earning high praise as Mad Men's Sally Draper ever since she first got the role in 2007 - into film, and this TV movie remake of the 1987 film might be just the stepping stone that she needs. Kiernan stars as the older sister of four children forced to live in attic by their mother (Heater Graham) and grandmother (Ellen Burstyn, The Exorcist); cutoff from contact with the rest of the world, she develops an incestuous relationship with her older brother. Child actress Ava Telek, who bears a strong resemblance to Kiernan at a younger age, costars as her little sister. Lifetime just announced plans for a sequel.
Maleficent, Elle Fanning, May 30. Disney is keeping up its recent theme of revisiting classic stories. (For other examples, see Alice in Wonderland or Oz: The Great and Powerful. Even Saving Mr. Banks, though based on true events, is rehashing of Mary Poppins.) This movie retells the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale from the perspective of the evil witch Maleficent (Angelina Jolie). Fifteen-year-old Elle stars as Princess Aurora, and her ethereal, innocent looks are well-suited to the part. British starlet Juno Temple (Atonement) appears a good fairy, and keep your eyes peeled for Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Angelina and Brad Pitt's 5-year-old daughter, who plays Aurora at a younger age. (See also photos from the premiere and my review.)
Transformers: Age of Extinction, Nicola Peltz, June 27. Nicola, now 19, seemed destined for stardom when she was cast as the lead in The Last Airbender four years ago. But the M. Night Shyamalan film became a notorious flop, earning Nicola a Razzie nomination. Last year, she earned praise for her appearances on TV's The Bates Motel, and she has two films scheduled for release in 2014: Affluenza and Transformers, which costars Mark Wahlberg ( The Lovely Bones) as her father.
Barely Lethal, Hailee Steinfeld, fall 2014. Think Mean Girls meets Kick-Ass. Hailee plays a teenage government agent specializing in assassination and espionage, but when she grows bored with her world of intrigue and action, she fakes her own death and enrolls in a suburban public high school. Hailee, 17, got plenty of gun-handling experience in her Oscar-nominated film debut True Grit in 2010, which will come in handy here. Her costars include Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Alba, and 17-year-old Dove Cameron, of Disney Channel fame.
Annie, Quvenzhane Wallis, December 19. Ten-year-old Quvenzhane puts a fresh face on an old favorite in her first lead role since her Oscar-nominated performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild at age 6. It's the third movie based on the long-running Broadway musical, but this Annie is doing things a little differently, most notably by updating the story from the 1930's to modern-day. Quvenzhane stars alongside an A-list adult cast, plus several other young actresses as fellow orphan girls. Expect singing and dancing, too: Annie will be Quvenzhane's musical debut.
Previous predictions on rising starlets of 2011 and 2010.
Shailene has been acting since age 10, playing a headstrong American girl in Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005) and a pregnant American teenager on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. The show just ended its five-year run in 2013, although Shailene admitted in an interview that if not for contractual obligations, she would've quit it sooner. In search of more serious roles, she played George Clooney's rebellious daughter in the Oscar-nominated The Descendants (2011). Her costars in both her upcoming films have praised her for her professional attitude and deep understanding of the character, but only time will tell if she'll take 2014 by storm, or if the year will hang her out to dry.
Shailene hones her fighting skills in Divergent
This will be a big year for Shailene, but she's not the only young actress to watch for in 2014. Here are a few other girls with notable roles of their own.
Flowers in the Attic, Kiernan Shipka, January 18. Kiernan, now 14, has long been hoping to move from TV - where she's been earning high praise as Mad Men's Sally Draper ever since she first got the role in 2007 - into film, and this TV movie remake of the 1987 film might be just the stepping stone that she needs. Kiernan stars as the older sister of four children forced to live in attic by their mother (Heater Graham) and grandmother (Ellen Burstyn, The Exorcist); cutoff from contact with the rest of the world, she develops an incestuous relationship with her older brother. Child actress Ava Telek, who bears a strong resemblance to Kiernan at a younger age, costars as her little sister. Lifetime just announced plans for a sequel.
Maleficent, Elle Fanning, May 30. Disney is keeping up its recent theme of revisiting classic stories. (For other examples, see Alice in Wonderland or Oz: The Great and Powerful. Even Saving Mr. Banks, though based on true events, is rehashing of Mary Poppins.) This movie retells the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale from the perspective of the evil witch Maleficent (Angelina Jolie). Fifteen-year-old Elle stars as Princess Aurora, and her ethereal, innocent looks are well-suited to the part. British starlet Juno Temple (Atonement) appears a good fairy, and keep your eyes peeled for Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Angelina and Brad Pitt's 5-year-old daughter, who plays Aurora at a younger age. (See also photos from the premiere and my review.)
Transformers: Age of Extinction, Nicola Peltz, June 27. Nicola, now 19, seemed destined for stardom when she was cast as the lead in The Last Airbender four years ago. But the M. Night Shyamalan film became a notorious flop, earning Nicola a Razzie nomination. Last year, she earned praise for her appearances on TV's The Bates Motel, and she has two films scheduled for release in 2014: Affluenza and Transformers, which costars Mark Wahlberg ( The Lovely Bones) as her father.
Barely Lethal, Hailee Steinfeld, fall 2014. Think Mean Girls meets Kick-Ass. Hailee plays a teenage government agent specializing in assassination and espionage, but when she grows bored with her world of intrigue and action, she fakes her own death and enrolls in a suburban public high school. Hailee, 17, got plenty of gun-handling experience in her Oscar-nominated film debut True Grit in 2010, which will come in handy here. Her costars include Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Alba, and 17-year-old Dove Cameron, of Disney Channel fame.
Annie, Quvenzhane Wallis, December 19. Ten-year-old Quvenzhane puts a fresh face on an old favorite in her first lead role since her Oscar-nominated performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild at age 6. It's the third movie based on the long-running Broadway musical, but this Annie is doing things a little differently, most notably by updating the story from the 1930's to modern-day. Quvenzhane stars alongside an A-list adult cast, plus several other young actresses as fellow orphan girls. Expect singing and dancing, too: Annie will be Quvenzhane's musical debut.
Previous predictions on rising starlets of 2011 and 2010.