Aulii Cravalho was born on November 22, 2000 , and she is an American actress . Her journey in acting started at the age of sixteen, voicing the title character in the Disney animated musical film Moana . After her initial success, she went on to star 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 . At the time of her rise to fame , she was living in Mililani, Hawaii, with her mother , and was in her first year of high school . As a soprano, she performed in the glee club at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama campus. In June 2021 , Cravalho announced her acceptance into Columbia University and revealed her intention to major in environmental science .