Aulii Cravalho was born on November 22, 2000 , and she is an American actress . She began her acting career at the age of 16 , providing the voice the title character in the Disney animated musical film Moana . After her initial success, she appeared in the NBC drama series Rise, the Netflix drama film All Together Now, the supernatural comedy Darby and the Dead, the Amazon Prime Video sci-fi series The Power, the Disney Channel animated series Hailey's On It, and the 2024 film adaptation of the Mean Girls musical. Early Life and Education Spintax Cravalho was born in Kohala, Hawaii , with a heritage that includes Chinese , Native Hawaiian , Puerto Rican, Portuguese, and Irish ancestry . When she gained recognition, she was living in Mililani, Hawaii, with her mother , and was in her first year of high school . She sang soprano in the glee club at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama campus. In mid-2021, Cravalho announced her acceptance into Columbia University and revealed her intention to major in environmental science .