Actress Auli'i Cravalho on Moana, growing up Hawaiian, and her blossoming career.
At just 20 years old, Auli'i Cravalho has already made quite a name for herself. She made her acting debut as the voice of Moana, winning an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production along the way. Moana — an animated Disney film about the strong-willed daughter of a Polynesian village chief — was released in 2016 to positive reviews, and went on to gross over $690 million worldwide. Since then, Cravalho starred in the NBC drama series Rise and the Netflix film All Together Now — and she's just getting started.
Cravalho grew up in Kohala, located on the northernmost side of Hawaii's Big Island. Like Moana, Cravalho was always drawn to the water.
"Mom would take me to the beach whenever I was sick because Hawaiians believe that the saltwater heals you," she said. "I was also an avid swimmer. I was on the swim team, and we would sometimes have swim practice in the ocean. It's a lot more difficult when you have the waves working against you."
Cravalho was just 14 years old when she got cast as Moana, and even then she knew it would change her life forever. "It was monumental to portray a character who is of native Polynesian descent, was a wayfinder, did things her parents could only dream of, and lived her truth," she said. "I was really, really proud to play that character, and I'm excited to see how far she'll take me."
Cravalho lives in L.A. now, pursuing her career in acting. And even though she hasn't lived in Hawaii for several years, her coastal roots continue to shape her into the person she is today.
Living in Los Angeles, I'm kind of a snob: I know a good beach when I see one.
"After growing up in Hawaii, it doesn't get much better than that," she laughed. As a result, Cravalho focuses much of her charity work on clean water and the environment. "I grew up seeing the beautiful ocean, and I want our beaches to be clean."
In addition to the beaches, Cravalho also misses the local Hawaiian eats. "My family makes really good food," she said, including her auntie, who she said makes a delicious tripe stew. "Some people don't care for tripe, but I grew up on the dish, and it's one of my favorites." On the sweet side, one of Cravalho's go-to desserts is kulolo. "It's just taro, but it's sweetened to the point where it's this sticky, delicious gooeyness."
One of Cravalho's favorite local haunts growing up was a place called Hawaiian Style Café in Waimea. Kohala didn't have a large supermarket, so Cravalho's family would do their weekly grocery shopping in Kona or Waimea. "We'd always stop at Hawaiian Style Cafe, and I used to get pancakes in the shape of Mickey Mouse." Foreshadowing, anyone?
King's Hawaiian rolls were another favorite growing up, so Cravalho recently partnered with the brand to help raise money for No Kid Hungry. The partnership helped provide half a million meals to children in need.
"King's Hawaiian was always a treat for my family, and I was really happy and excited to celebrate their 70th anniversary and their tradition of giving back," said Cravalho. "The Aloha Spirit means giving back."
As is often the case with young Disney stars, Cravalho's career is evolving and maturing. She will soon star in an Amazon series called The Power, a TV adaptation of Naomi Alderman's award-winning 2016 novel. "It's about these girls who are suddenly able to electrocute people at will," she said. "There's a power shift when women have this strength over the opposite sex, which I think is really interesting."
Cravalho said she also took time in 2020 to focus on her academic future, applying to various colleges. "I got to take a second and breathe and really plan for 2021," she said. "I'm really excited about college. I didn't know that it would be in the cards for me, so I'm happy that now it's a possibility because of Moana."
Story by Abigail Abesamis Demarest · Photos by Michael Simon · Originally published in Beach Happy Magazine, Issue 3
