Zoe Kravitz Biography

Zoë Isabella Kravitz (born December 1, 1988) is an American actress, singer and model. She is the daughter of musician Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet. She has appeared in the films No Reservations (2007), The Brave One (2007), and as Angel Salvadore in the superhero film X-Men: First Class (2011). Kravitz played Pearl on the fourth season of the Showtime television series Californication, and co-starred in After Earth, with Will and Jaden Smith (directed by M. Night Shyamalan).

Early life

Kravitz was born in Venice Beach, Los Angeles, California, at the canal-front home of her parents, actress Lisa Bonet and musician Lenny Kravitz. Her paternal grandmother, actress Roxie Roker, was of African-American and Afro-Bahamian descent (and a third-cousin of meteorologist Al Roker), and her maternal grandfather, Allen Bonet, is African-American. Her paternal grandfather, filmmaker Sy Kravitz, and maternal grandmother, Arlene Litman, were both Jewish, and Zoë Kravitz identifies as a secular Jew.

Kravitz's parents married in 1987 and divorced six years later, in 1993, when she was five. She lived with her mother until age eleven, and then lived with her father, while spending summers with her mother. Kravitz attended Miami Country Day School in Miami, Florida, and then Rudolf Steiner School in Manhattan, New York, where she graduated in 2007. Kravitz began studying that year at the acting conservatory at the State University of New York at Purchase. She left college after a year and moved to Brooklyn to work in films.

Career

Acting

Kravitz landed her first film role while in high school, playing a babysitter hired by Catherine Zeta-Jones in the 2007 romance, No Reservations. That same year she played a teenage prostitute in the action thriller The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard.

She starred in Jay-Z's music video for the single "I Know" in 2008, and was featured singing in will.i.am's music video, "We Are The Ones", in support of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama. That year Kravitz appeared in the film Birds of America, a dramedy about a dysfunctional family starring Matthew Perry. She co-starred in the independent ensemble drama The Greatest, which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Kravitz played a character addicted to grief counseling groups.

She completed work on the coming-of-age film, Yelling to the Sky, in 2009, starring with Gabourey Sidibe and Tim Blake Nelson. The directorial debut of Victoria Mahoney, it premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2011. Kravitz played Sweetness O'Hara, a troubled 17-year-old from Queens, New York.

In 2010, she appeared in It's Kind of a Funny Story, a coming-of-age film adapted from the 2006 novel by Ned Vizzini. Also that year, Kravitz appeared in Twelve, adapted from the cult novel of the same name by Nick McDonell, about a group of wealthy and reckless teens from the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Kravitz starred as Evie Wallace, a high school sex columnist, in the teen comedy Beware the Gonzo. The film premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.

In 2011, she appeared in a six-episode arc of the Showtime television series Californication, playing Pearl, an uninhibited musician who recruits Becca (cast-member Madeleine Martin) into her all-girl band, Queens of Dogtown. Kravitz next was cast to star in Fury Road, by Australian filmmaker George Miller, set shortly after the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Originally scheduled to begin shooting in Australia in early 2011, production was postponed to 2012.

She co-starred as Angel Salvadore, one of the superhuman teen mutants, in X-Men: First Class, based on the Marvel Comics characters the X-Men. The film is a prequel to the X-Men film series, and is set in the 1960s during the Cuban missile crisis. Kravitz filmed in London and performed wire work for her role, to simulate her character's ability to fly. In late 2011, she also completed work on the film The Boy Who Smells Like Fish, starring opposite Douglas Smith. Kravitz co-starred in After Earth, alongside Will Smith, Jaden Smith, and Sophie Okonedo. The M. Night Shyamalan-directed film was released on May 31, 2013.

Kravitz joined the cast of Divergent, an adaptation of a young adult novel of the same name. She plays Christina, a character in a futuristic society divided into five factions. Shailene Woodley will also star in the film, and Neil Burger will direct. Kravitz will star in the independent drama, The Road Within, with Robert Sheehan and Dev Patel. The film is a remake of the 2010 German film, Vincent will Meer.

Modeling and fashion

Kravitz has modeled in fashion magazines such as French Jalouse, Venus Zine and Elle. She was named the face of Vera Wang's Princess fragrance in 2009, appearing on the website and in advertisements for the brand. Kravitz starred in a campaign for fashion designer Alexander Wang in 2010, and represented Vera Wang's new Preppy Princess fragrance in 2011. In 2013, Kravitz released a jewelry line in collaboration with the Swarovski crystal company. She used ethnic and vintage jewelry, and her birthstone, Turquoise, as inspiration for her designs.

Personal life

Kravitz has a maternal younger half-sister (born July 2007), and younger half-brother (born December 2008), from her mother's relationship with actor Jason Momoa. As of 2009, she lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City. The song "Flowers for Zoë", included on her father's second album Mama Said, was written as a tribute to a then three-year old Kravitz.

Kravitz fronts the New York/Philadelphia-based band, Elevator Fight, which she formed in 2009. The band has performed at the South by Southwest music festival, and on the main stage of the Roots Picnic in Philadelphia in June 2009, along with The Roots, TV On The Radio, and The Black Keys. Kravitz has stated that her music is a hobby.

Kravitz dated her X-Men: First Class co-star Michael Fassbender in 2011. She began dating Gossip Girl actor Penn Badgley in mid-2011. They split in 2013, shortly after sharing a loft together in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Filmography

List of acting performances in film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	No Reservations	Charlotte	Feature film debut
2007	The Brave One	Chloe
2008	Assassination of a High School President	Valerie
2008	Birds of America	Gillian
2009	The Greatest	Ashley
2010	Twelve	Gabby
2010	Beware the Gonzo	Evie Wallace
2010	It's Kind of a Funny Story	Nia	Nominated " Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
2011	Yelling to the Sky	Sweetness O'Hara	Premiered at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival
2011	Californication	Pearl	TV series, 8 episodes
2011	X-Men: First Class	Angel Salvadore	Nominated " Scream Award for Breakout Performance-Female Nominated " Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout: Female Nominated " Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Chemistry
2012	The Boy Who Smells Like Fish	Laura
2013	After Earth	Senshi Raige
2013	Mad Max: Fury Road	Toast
2014	Divergent	Christina	Post-production