Hailee Steinfeld

Early life

Steinfeld was born in Tarzana, Los Angeles, the daughter of Cheri (née Domasin), an interior designer, and Peter Steinfeld, a personal fitness trainer. She has an older brother, Griffin (born January 9, 1994), who is a professional NASCAR driver. Her paternal uncle is fitness trainer Jake Steinfeld, and her maternal great-uncle is former child actor Larry Domasin. Her father is Jewish and her mother is of English, Filipino and German descent. Steinfeld was raised in Agoura Hills and later in Thousand Oaks, California, attending Ascension Lutheran School, Conejo Elementary, and Colina Middle School. She has been home-schooled since 2008.

Career

Steinfeld began acting at the age of eight, initially appearing in several short films to gain experience. She played the role of Talia Alden in the award-winning short film, She's a Fox. She went on to make several television commercials and guest appearances on television programmes.Steinfeld was chosen out of 15,000 girls for the role of Mattie Ross in True Grit. She was announced as a nominee for Best Supporting Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards on January 25, 2011.

In May 2011, Steinfeld was chosen to be the new face of Italian designer brand Miu Miu.

She played Juliet Capulet in a 2013 adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, by director Carlo Carlei. She was cast in 2011, when she was fourteen. Due to her young age, there was some concern she would be asked to appear nude in the film. Director Carlo Carlei explained that "there was a lovemaking scene that included nudity for the married Romeo and Juliet. The script was written with a 20-year-old actress in mind. As soon as Hailee Steinfeld was cast, all nudity and love scenes were excised from the script making it age-appropriate for a 14-year-old." Julian Fellowes stated, "We did feel it would be nice to have romantic, married love, and that purity was an important part of the film. They don't make love until they have been married." Steinfeld finished filming her scenes for the film on March 7, 2012. The film was poorly received in the United States and internationally.