20 groundbreaking AAPI women who changed the entertainment industry

At just 14 years old, Auli’i Cravalho brought the voice of Moana, Disney’s first Polynesian princess, to life.

Auli’i Cravalho was only 14 when she was cast as Moana, Disney’s first Polynesian princess. The 2016 film was a box-office smash, earning over $640 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo.

The Hollywood Reporter reported that Cravalho spoke about how the role impacted her life at the second annual Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti Conversations panel in May 2024.

“Receiving that role when I was 14, I didn’t fully realize how much would be put on my shoulders,” she said.

“For me to be a representative of all the Pacific is simply incorrect, so I look forward to seeing more faces in the crowd, and, importantly, more faces behind the camera, in the writers’ room, as showrunners, as producers, as industry leaders, because having to answer everyone’s questions is too much,” Cravalho added.

In addition to “Moana,” she has starred in the 2024 adaptation of “Mean Girls” and “Darby and the Dead,” and she’ll reprise her role in “Moana 2” later this year.