# Shailene Woodley
**Shailene Woodley** (born 1991) is an American actress and environmental activist who broke through as a pregnant high-school student on the ABC Family drama *The Secret Life of the American Teenager*, drew wide praise as [George Clooney](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-clooney)'s daughter in *The Descendants*, and later starred in the *Divergent* series, *The Fault in Our Stars*, and the HBO series *Big Little Lies*.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / birth | Shailene Diann Woodley, born 1991 in California[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0940362/bio/) |
| First major role | Amy Juergens on *The Secret Life of the American Teenager* (2008–2013, five seasons)[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) |
| Breakout film | *The Descendants* (2011), as George Clooney's daughter; Independent Spirit Award and Golden Globe nomination for supporting actress[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/06/shailene-woodley-next-wave-portfolio) |
| Franchise lead | Tris in *Divergent* (2014), *Insurgent* (2015), and *Allegiant* (2016)[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) |
| Signature TV role | Jane Chapman on *Big Little Lies* (2017); Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for supporting actress[4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/shailene-woodley) |
| Emmy win | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, for playing Annie in the *Paradise* episode "Graceland"[4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/shailene-woodley) |
| Activism | Co-founded the charity All It Takes; joined the board of Our Revolution in 2016; arrested in October 2016 protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) |
## Early life and start in acting
Woodley grew up in [Simi Valley, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/simi-valley-california), with her younger brother Tanner, and began commercial modeling at age four.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) Sources give slightly different birthplaces: Biography.com lists [San Bernardino, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-bernardino-california), while IMDb lists Simi Valley.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0940362/bio/)
By five she was taking acting classes, and work followed through a long audition grind. She has described receiving 500 rejections before her first yes, a Honda commercial, and estimates she appeared in about 40 commercials before landing her first lead role.[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/06/shailene-woodley-next-wave-portfolio) Her screen debut came in the 1999 television movie *Replacing Dad*, and she went on to appear in series such as *The District*, *Crossing Jordan*, and *The O.C.*.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) At 15 she was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis and wore a chest-to-hips plastic brace for two years, a treatment she has said proved successful; she kept attending auditions throughout.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0940362/bio/) • [1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley)
## Television breakthrough
During her junior year at Simi Valley High School, Woodley was cast as Amy Juergens on *The Secret Life of the American Teenager*, a drama about a student whose life is upended by pregnancy and motherhood. The show ran five seasons, ending in June 2013.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley)
While still on the series, she made her film breakthrough in [Alexander Payne](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexander-payne)'s *The Descendants* (2011), playing the emotionally wayward 17-year-old daughter of George Clooney's character. The part earned her an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress.[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/06/shailene-woodley-next-wave-portfolio) • [5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/shailene-woodley/)
## The Divergent years and young-adult films
**Franchise lead.** In 2014 Woodley starred as Tris Prior in *Divergent*, an adaptation of [Veronica Roth](https://www.edgepedia.org/veronica-roth)'s young adult novel about a society divided into factions; the story follows Beatrice Prior past her 18th birthday as she chooses between her original faction, Abnegation, and Dauntless.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) • [6](https://time.com/32022/divergent-dystopian-stories-shailene-woodley-interview/) The film's box-office success led to sequels, with Woodley reprising the role in *Insurgent* (2015) and *Allegiant* (2016).[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) Because the character's youth-oriented dystopian franchise sat alongside *The Hunger Games*, journalists repeatedly compared her to [Jennifer Lawrence](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-lawrence); Woodley resisted the framing, telling an interviewer that "comparisons always lead to despair."[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shailene-woodey-doesnt-want-to-be-compared-to-jennifer-lawrence/)
Between franchise installments she took on indie and dramatic parts: *The Spectacular Now* (2013), *White Bird in a Blizzard* (2014), and *The Fault in Our Stars* (2014), playing Hazel, a teenager with cancer who falls in love with another terminally ill patient in the adaptation of [John Green](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-green)'s novel.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) She wanted the part badly enough that she offered, if not cast, to work as a caterer on the set.[8](https://time.com/135472/shailene-woodley-stars-starlet/) In 2016 she played [Lindsay Mills](https://www.edgepedia.org/lindsay-mills), the girlfriend of [Edward Snowden](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-snowden), in Oliver Stone's *Snowden*.[4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/shailene-woodley) • [1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley)
## Big Little Lies and later work
Woodley played single mother [Jane Chapman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-chapman) in *Big Little Lies*, HBO's 2017 adaptation of [Liane Moriarty](https://www.edgepedia.org/liane-moriarty)'s novel, acting alongside [Reese Witherspoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/reese-witherspoon), Nicole Kidman, and Laura Dern. The seven-episode first season, written by David E. Kelley and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for supporting actress; a second season debuted in June 2019.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) • [4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/shailene-woodley)
Her subsequent credits include the ocean survival thriller *Adrift* (2018) with [Sam Claflin](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-claflin), the romantic drama *Endings, Beginnings* (premiered at the 2019 [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival)), and the Netflix film *The Last Letter from Your Lover* (2021), adapted from [Jojo Moyes](https://www.edgepedia.org/jojo-moyes)'s novel.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/aug/01/shailene-woodley-interview-authenticity-is-my-love-language) She later joined the Hulu series *Paradise*, playing Annie Clay, a med-school dropout and Graceland tour guide whose story anchors the season two premiere "Graceland"; for that episode she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.[10](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/paradise-season-2-annie-death/) • [4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/shailene-woodley) She has described having acted since age five as a source of experience: "This year I will have been acting for 25 years," she said in 2021.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/aug/01/shailene-woodley-interview-authenticity-is-my-love-language)
## Activism and environmentalism
Woodley's interest in health and environmentalism dates to high school, when she began making her own household products such as deodorant and toothpaste.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) With her mother she founded the charity All It Takes, which develops young leaders through education on compassion, environmentalism, and sustainability.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley)
In 2016 she campaigned for Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders and joined the board of his organization Our Revolution. Later that year she joined protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, and a live Facebook stream she broadcast captured her arrest in October 2016.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) Named a Greenpeace Oceans Ambassador in 2019, she joined a summer expedition to the Sargasso Sea to research microplastics and micropollution.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley) She has said she dislikes the "activist" label itself, framing her work as ordinary participation: "at the end of the day we're all just people trying to do the best we can."[11](https://www.vogue.com/article/shailene-woodley-big-little-lies-season-2-interview)
## Personal life
In February 2021 it was reported that Woodley was dating NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and later that month she confirmed their engagement.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley)
## References
1. [Shailene Woodley Biography, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/shailene-woodley)
2. [Shailene Woodley - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0940362/bio/)
3. [Shailene Woodley and the Next Wave of Hollywood Stars, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/06/shailene-woodley-next-wave-portfolio)
4. [Shailene Woodley, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/shailene-woodley)
5. [Shailene Woodley - Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/shailene-woodley/)
6. [Why Do We Love Dystopian Stories So Much? The Cast of Divergent Explains, TIME](https://time.com/32022/divergent-dystopian-stories-shailene-woodley-interview/)
7. [Shailene Woodley doesn't want to be compared to Jennifer Lawrence, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shailene-woodey-doesnt-want-to-be-compared-to-jennifer-lawrence/)
8. [Shailene Woodley, Star's Starlet, TIME](https://time.com/135472/shailene-woodley-stars-starlet/)
9. [Shailene Woodley: 'Authenticity is my love language', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/aug/01/shailene-woodley-interview-authenticity-is-my-love-language)
10. [Paradise Season 2: The Annie Death Twist, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/paradise-season-2-annie-death/)
11. [Shailene Woodley on Big Little Lies, Bernie, and Being the “Hollywood Hippie”, Vogue](https://www.vogue.com/article/shailene-woodley-big-little-lies-season-2-interview)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Wh to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license