Chloë Grace Moretz

Early life

Moretz was raised in Cartersville, Georgia. Her mother, Teri (née Duke), is a nurse and her father, McCoy Lee Moretz, is a plastic surgeon. She has four older brothers: Brandon, Trevor, Colin, and Ethan. She has described her family as "very Christian". She moved to New York City in 2002 with her mother and her older brother, Trevor, because he had been accepted into the Professional Performing Arts School, which is what first drew her interest in acting. Moretz would help Trevor read lines, and he taught her some acting techniques that he learned in school. When Moretz realized how much she enjoyed acting, the family decided to attend some auditions to see if she could apply her skills professionally.

Acting

Moretz's first acting role in Hollywood was as Violet in two episodes of the CBS series The Guardian, and her first film role was as Molly in Heart of the Beholder. It was not until her second big-screen acting role, in the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror, that she earned greater recognition, receiving a Young Artist Award nomination. After Amityville, Moretz received several guest-starring roles on TV, as well as a small role in Big Momma's House 2. Her recurring TV characters include Kiki George in Dirty Sexy Money and Sherri Maltby in Desperate Housewives. Moretz also voiced the U.S. version of the animated character Darby in My Friends Tigger & Pooh. Moretz also co-starred as Cammie, an abused child, in The Poker House.

In 2010, Moretz appeared as Hit-Girl in director Matthew Vaughn's action film Kick-Ass, based on the comic book series of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. Moretz trained with Jackie Chan's stunt crew for three months prior to filming and did most of her own stunts while filming on location. Because of her youth, there was controversy about her role in the violent film. She received widespread critical acclaim for her performance. Roger Ebert gave the film only one star, but wrote about Moretz: "Say what you will about her character, but Chloë Grace Moretz has presence and appeal." That same year, she played Abby, a 12-year-old vampire, in Let Me In (2010), the U.K./U.S. remake of the Swedish film Let the Right One In. In November 2010, at age 13, Moretz was called "the busiest actress in Hollywood".

Moretz played Ann Sliger in the 2011 crime thriller Texas Killing Fields. That same year, she played Isabelle in Martin Scorsese's Hugo, a 3-D film adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo, which was nominated for 11 Oscars. It co-starred Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helen McCrory. Moretz starred in Hick, an adaptation of the novel by Andrea Portes. She appeared in the 2012 Tim Burton film Dark Shadows, a remake of the popular soap opera, playing the role of Carolyn Stoddard, a rebellious teenage daughter.

In 2013, she reprised her role as Hit-Girl in the sequel Kick-Ass 2. The same year, she appeared in a short segment in the film Movie 43 and played the title character in a remake of the Stephen King-based film, Carrie, directed by Kimberly Peirce.

Moretz also has done voice work for video games. She reprised her role as Hit-Girl for Kick-Ass: The Game, and played young Lady Emily in Dishonored. When asked in October 2012 why she tends to gravitate towards playing darker, troubled characters, Moretz responded that she has such a happy family life, and finds it challenging to play characters who are significantly different. From March 25 through April 27, 2014, Moretz made her Off-Broadway debut in The Library, directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Moretz played the protagonist, Mia, in the adaptation of Gayle Forman's If I Stay (2014). The story follows a 17-year-old classical musician as she deals with the aftermath of a catastrophic car accident involving her family and has an out-of-body experience. Critical response to the film was mixed; a 35% positive rating based on 122 reviews and an average rating of 5/10 garnered by Rotten Tomatoes was accompanied by a critics' consensus praising Moretz for giving the performance "her all". Moretz subsequently starred as Cassie Sullivan in The 5th Wave, an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Rick Yancey. The film was released in January 2016. Hannah Minghella of Sony Pictures said Moretz "embodies the heart, strength and determination that make Cassie such a compelling character."

Moretz co-starred with Zac Efron and Seth Rogen in the film Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, the 2016 sequel to Neighbors. In July 2015, she completed filming the crime drama November Criminals. Her upcoming roles include Brain on Fire, based on the memoir by Susannah Cahalan. Moretz replaced Dakota Fanning, who was committed to another project.

In November 2015, Moretz was attached to Shane Carruth's third film, The Modern Ocean. The ensemble cast includes Asa Butterfield, Anne Hathaway, Daniel Radcliffe and Keanu Reeves. Also in November, Moretz was announced as the star of Universal Studios' live action version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, to be written by Richard Curtis.

In April 2016, Moretz was chosen to serve as one of three members of the Narrative Short Film Competition jury for the Tribeca Film Festival, alongside Mike Birbiglia and Sheila Nevins.

In September 2016, after working back-to-back on November Criminals and Brain on Fire, Moretz announced that she was dropping out of all her future film projects. "I want to reassess who I am and find myself within my roles again. I’m realizing that I can slow down." She will focus instead on producing, including two television projects.

Modelling career

Moretz has starred in numerous photo shoots, including editorials, features and covers, for magazines including Flaunt, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Jalouse, Marie Claire, Interview, Elle, Love Magazine, Crash Magazine, InStyle and many others. She has also been invited to various haute couture events, such as Dior Spring / Summer 2013 at Paris Fashion Week. Max Mara's signature in 2012 granted her the "Max Mara Face of the Future" award. In 2012, Moretz also became the face of American youth clothing retailer Aéropostale, appearing at various events, videos and reports. In February 2013, Elle magazine awarded her with the "Next Future Icon Award" at the "Elle Style Awards" gala held in London.

Personal life

Moretz lives in Studio City, Los Angeles. Her brother Brandon serves as her business manager; her brother Trevor has been her acting coach since 2010, and accompanies her on trips and press dates when her parents are unable to attend. In order to maintain a clear separation between her professional and personal life, Moretz does not invite her friends to film sets or premieres; she says it is easier for her to focus on work, and to relax with her friends when not working.

Moretz has publicly supported LGBT equality rights. She considers herself a feminist, and has turned down film characters who are overtly sexualized. She took on the role of a teenage prostitute in the 2014 film The Equalizer because her character "felt so real", rather than a mere "plot device". In October 2014, Moretz was named one of the 25 Most Influential Teens of the year by Time magazine.

On May 11, 2016, Moretz revealed on The Late Late Show with James Corden that she was in a relationship with Brooklyn Beckham, the son of retired professional footballer David Beckham and fashion designer and former Spice Girls member Victoria Beckham.