Shailene Woodley by Caroline Tompkins for Outside November/December 2024

Shailene Diann Woodley (born November 15, 1991) is an American actress and activist. Brought up in Simi Valley, California, Woodley began modeling at the age of four, and began acting professionally in minor television roles, before gaining two Young Artist Award nominations for her leading roles in the television films A Place Called Home (2004) and Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005). As a teenager, she rose to fame for her leading role as Amy Juergens on the ABC Family television series The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–13), for which she received five Teen Choice Awards nominations. She garnered critical acclaim for her film debut in The Descendants (2011), for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, and the Trophée Chopard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. Her role in The Spectacular Now (2013) received further praise, and she won the Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Dramatic Acting and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance.

In 2014, Woodley achieved global recognition for her starring role in the romantic drama The Fault in Our Stars, which earned her the Hollywood Film Award for Breakout Performance - Female, three Teen Choice Awards, and two MTV Movie Awards, including one for MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance. Her starring role as Beatrice "Tris" Prior in the dystopian science fiction action The Divergent Series (2014–16) garnered her further recognition.

Since 2017, Woodley has portrayed Jane Chapman in the HBO limited series Big Little Lies (2017–present) for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series. Besides acting, Woodley is an environmental activist and has served as a board member of Our Revolution.