Hailee Steinfeld

Actor

• Born: December 11, 1996
• Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California

Contribution: Hailee Steinfeld is an actor and singer best known for her Academy Award–nominated performance in the film True Grit (2010).

Background

Hailee Steinfeld was born on December 11, 1996, in Los Angeles, California. She is the younger of two children born to Cheri Steinfeld, an interior designer, and Peter Steinfeld, a fitness trainer. Her older brother, Griffin, is an automobile racer.

Steinfeld developed an interest in acting after seeing a friend perform in a school play when she was eight years old. She began taking acting lessons, and her parents eventually enlisted the help of an agent to find work for their daughter. Steinfeld began with appearances in commercials but quickly transitioned to roles in television series and films.

Career

Steinfeld made her television debut in 2007 with a small role in an episode of the sitcom Back to You, starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. She next starred in several short films, and in 2010, she appeared in a guest role in the comedy series Sons of Tucson.

Steinfeld was one of approximately fifteen thousand child actors who tried out for the part of Mattie Ross in the 2010 film True Grit, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film is based on the 1968 Charles Portis novel of the same name rather than the 1969 film adaptation of the novel, for which star John Wayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor. For the audition, Steinfeld decided to dress for the part, and she and her mother created a nineteenth-century-style outfit using a burlap skirt and a shirt purchased from a thrift store. Steinfeld’s audition impressed the filmmakers and won her the role.

In interviews, Steinfeld explained that she was drawn to the character of Mattie because the young woman is mature beyond her years and has an interesting way of expressing herself. She particularly enjoyed the physical aspects of the role, which included riding horses and performing other stunts. In preparation for the role, Steinfeld went to a shooting range with her father and a police officer and learned the proper way to hold and discharge a firearm.

True Grit premiered to critical acclaim in December of 2010 and was ultimately nominated for ten Academy Awards, including the awards for best picture and best adapted screenplay. Steinfeld’s performance drew praise from critics as well as from veteran actors Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, her co-stars in the film. In recognition of her performance, Steinfeld was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and received best supporting actress awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Southeastern Film Critics Association, and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, among other organizations.

Following her appearance in True Grit, Steinfeld was cast as Juliet in a film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, released in 2013. Directed by Italian director Carlo Carlei, the film also stars British actor Douglas Booth and a number of veteran actors. In addition, Steinfeld was cast as Petra Arkanian in the 2013 science-fiction film Ender’s Game, directed by Gavin Hood and based on the novel by Orson Scott Card. Also starring veteran actors Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley along with a host of young actors, the film opened in theaters in the fall of 2013. She subsequently appeared in such films as the action films 3 Days to Kill (2014) and Barely Lethal (2015); the westerns The Homesman (2014) and The Keeping Room (2014); and the musical comedy 10,000 Saints (2015).

In 2015, she costarred in the sequel film Pitch Perfect 2, alongside Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, and Brittany Snow. Her role in the film, as well as her single “Flashlight” from the soundtrack, helped land Steinfeld a record deal with Republic Records. Her debut single, “Love Myself,” was released later that year before being included on her first extended play (EP) record, Haiz (2016).

In 2016, Steinfeld starred in the coming-of-age comedy The Edge of Seventeen. The film received rave critical reviews, and her performance as the lead earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She later reprised her Pitch Perfect role in Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) before starring in the Transformer series spin-off film Bumblebee (2018). In 2018, she voiced Gwen Stacy in the Academy Award–winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. At the same time, Steinfeld released a number of singles, including “Starving,” with Grey and Zedd; “Most Girls,” “Let Me Go,” with Alesso, Florida Georgia Line, and Watt; and “Afterlife.”

Steinfeld ventured into television in 2019, starring in the Apple TV+ original Dickinson. In the biographical drama, Steinfeld portrayed young poet Emily Dickinson as she brushes against the familial and gender constraints of nineteenth-century society. While 2021 saw that series come to an end, it also saw Steinfeld join the popular superhero genre on screen, as she took on the role of talented archer Kate Bishop in the Marvel series Hawkeye. She subsequently returned to film, providing the voice of Stacy once more in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) and playing Bishop in The Marvels (2023).

Impact

Largely unknown as an actor before being cast in True Grit, Steinfeld became one of the most talked-about performers of the year following the film’s premiere. Steinfeld has used her newfound fame to promote causes she supports, including organizations that combat bullying among school-age children.

Personal Life

When not filming on location, Steinfeld lives in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

Bibliography

Butterfield, Asa, and Hailee Steinfeld. “Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld on Ender’s Game, Tear-Inducing Pranks, and the Harrison Ford Moment They’ll Never Forget.” Interview by Tim Hayne. Moviefone. Moviefone, 19 July 2013. Web. 16 Aug. 2013.

"Hailee Steinfeld." IMDb, www.imdb.com/name/nm2794962. Accessed 16 Sept. 2024.

Kaufman, Amy. “Hailee Steinfeld’s Career Saddles Up.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2010. Web. 16 Aug. 2013.

Steinfeld, Hailee. “Hailee Steinfeld Dishes on Her Biggest Fashion Moment to Date.” Interview by Cindi Leive. Glamour. Condé Nast, 13 May 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2013.

Steinfeld, Hailee. “Hailee Steinfeld: For a Young Actress, a Gritty Debut.” Interview by Melissa Block. NPR. National Public Radio, 17 Dec. 2010. Web. 16 Aug. 2013.

Steinfeld, Hailee. “True Grit: Hailee Steinfeld Interview.” Interview by Rob Carnevale. Orange BAFTAs. Orange UK, 8 Feb. 2011. Web. 16 Aug. 2013.