Ariana Greenblatt was certain she wanted to be an actor after she saw Natalie Portman’s performance in the 1994 thriller The Professional. She was only 12 years old when she watched that controversial film — the same age Portman was when she portrayed Mathilda, the charming, coquettish preteen protégée of a hitman — and Greenblatt was utterly captivated. Technically, she had already been working as a child actor, but watching that performance solidified what she wanted for her future.
“I was so inspired by how young [Portman] was, given the performance that she did, and I just thought it was the coolest sh*t ever,” the 2024 Teen Vogue New Hollywood honoree says, now age 16 and still awestruck, over Zoom from her family’s home in Burbank, California. It was so cool, in fact, that Greenblatt's go-to, last-minute Halloween costume is Portman’s precocious character. Very different than Barbie, and very fitting for Greenblatt, whose breakout role was as the angsty preteen, Sasha, in Greta Gerwig’s 2023 blockbuster film, Barbie.
Born to a professional ballerina mother and former-actor father in New York, Greenblatt grew up immersed in the world of performing. She danced competitively from age two until seven. “I didn't know it at the time, but each dance was a different character for me,” she recalls.
Greenblatt booked her first gig in 2015, at the age of six, in an episode of Liv and Maddie, and then joined the cast of the Disney series Stuck in the Middle a year later, playing the bossy youngest member of the Diaz family, Daphne, alongside Jenna Ortega. In 2017, she was cast as Mila Kunis’s daughter in A Bad Moms Christmas, but her first major film role came the following year, when she portrayed young Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War. Greenblatt has since had parts in Love and Monsters, In the Heights, Awake, and 65, and — in addition to starring in Barbie last year — she appeared in the TV series Star Wars: Ahsoka.
Landing a role in Gerwig's pretty-in-pink Barbie world as Sasha — the confident, sassy, Barbie-hating daughter of America Ferrera’s Gloria — is inarguably Greenblatt's biggest gig to date. And she has been endeared to her onscreen counterpart, perhaps because they’re at a similar stage in their lives. “Sasha is not this mean, hormonal, bully teenager. She has really strong opinions, and she's so young that she voices them in a way that's harsh," Greenblatt says with conviction. "It gets the point across, and sometimes that's what you need to do.”
The 16-year-old actor, like her onscreen alter ego, is multidimensional: Greenblatt is a massive art enthusiast, whose first big purchase was a Jesse Mockrin painting; she's an expert makeup artist after studying YouTube tutorials from a young age (a job she’d have if she wasn’t acting); and she is vehemently not a partier (rather, she's hyper-aware of making any mistakes publicly).
Greenblatt wants to continue shining a light on stories that matter, which is particularly important to her as a young Latina actor. “I feel like I bring that to the industry,” she says of her identity. She’s self-assured and buzzing with the kind of creative energy and ambition that makes her one of Hollywood’s most fascinating young people. She has the hunger and the drive for success and is strategically steering her career forward.
The rising actor spent her time on the Barbie set as a self-described “sponge,” trying to “soak up” all the wisdom she could from the impressive ensemble cast. “I observe everyone I work with," Greenblatt says, "because I'm lucky enough to work with those people, and I don't want to take that for granted.” Specifically, she studied Ferrera, Margot Robbie and Gerwig, even watching all of their interviews. “All three of them have a different work ethic, but they're all the hardest workers that I know,” she says of her costars and director.
Greenblatt has also found a mentor and friend in her favorite musician, Billie Eilish, who penned Barbie’s Grammy-winning hit “What Was I Made For?” “She's been such a light in this whole process," Greenblatt says, "and I think she sees a lot of herself in me because she was my age when her life changed as well.”
Among all of the incredible role models on set, there was one person with whom Greenblatt was particularly starstruck: Michael Cera, whose career she has memorized. She didn’t know he was in Barbie until she saw him walk past her on set. “I was oblivious,” she says with a giggle. Greenblatt and Cera ended up playing Wordle together every morning, and at the end of filming, she gave him a long, handwritten letter. “He started crying," she recalls, "and he was like, 'I'm putting this on my fridge.’”
Barbie’s release coincided with the Hollywood strikes, which meant promoting the movie was a nonstarter for the actors. Greenblatt confidently stood — and stands — in solidarity with her peers, from the beginning until the end. “I think the strike was so necessary, and I'm happy for the changes we made,” she says. “But I do think there's room for some more.” Specifically, she hopes there continues to be a push toward greater equality: “I mean, that's why Barbie was made.”
But the strikes didn’t hinder the success of Barbie; the film earned upwards of $1.4 billion at the box office. That impact is not lost on Greenblatt, who says she was initially “scared” by its sweeping reception, so much so that she didn’t leave her house after its release. “It was so amazing, but at the same time, I felt so weirdly exposed,” she explains. “Because I was used to who I am in the world.”
That’s paramount to Greenblatt, who has prioritized staying grounded as she’s progressed in her career. What has helped is that, even though she claims people call her the “queen of pouting” on red carpets, the actor doesn’t take things too seriously. “I describe myself as someone who just likes to have fun and make people laugh,” she says.
About that aforementioned pout? It’s a “protective veil,” she says, a way for her to process the flurry of attention on her. “That's my go-to face to block out any sense of doubt or fear.”
Greenblatt also has other methods of self-protection. Unlike the stereotypical Gen Z or Gen Alpha social media addict, she has created a boundary between herself and technology, particularly because it triggers stress and anxiety for her. “That stuff really affects me,” she says of social media comments. It’s a work in progress for her to stop caring, but she knows when she needs to stop scrolling through those sections.
It’s tough, though, especially as a teenage girl, to be in the spotlight, to crave validation in a world full of judgment. “You're perceived in so many different ways by so many different people," Greenblatt says with a sigh, "and you really don't have any control [over] it.”
Having a résumé that teems with different types of roles has enabled Greenblatt to shape-shift and redefine her narrative as a performer. In her next project to be released, Eli Roth’s video game adaptation Borderlands, Greenblatt waves goodbye to the Barbie dreamhouse in favor of a sci-fi action comedy. But the new movie isn’t new for her, exactly — she filmed it when she was 13, while in the midst of shooting the Adam Driver-led 65. With Borderlands, Greenblatt takes on the “kooky” role of Tiny Tina, a beloved video game character. She teases, “My character is unlike anything I've ever played before.”
She connected with the Borderlands project so deeply because the cast, which includes Kevin Hart, Cate Blanchett, and “mother goddess” Jamie Lee Curtis, “was straight family.” Greenblatt, who started working so young and with people much older than she was, says she's also lucky to have such protective and supportive parents guiding her throughout her career. “I saw it go the other way at such a young age,” she says of problems on set.
Beyond Borderlands, Greenblatt is eager to keep challenging herself. She’s adamant about “normalizing,” not being boxed in as a person or as a performer. That's something the actor, whose passion radiates from her when she discusses her craft, says is “really rare” with people her age in the industry. “I pick the roles I do very strategically," she says, "because I do what creatively fulfills me, but I also do what feels right.”
Unsurprisingly, Greenblatt has already envisioned her dream project, one that juxtaposes the current season of her life. “I would love to make a beautiful coming-of-age story of a teenage girl's life,” she says. “It's been done before, of course, but the life of a teenage girl is more complex than anything.” She imagines collaborating with the queen of cinematic girlhood, director Sofia Coppola. Says Greenblatt, “I think our brains together could make something so amazing.”
Her ambition goes beyond acting too. She’d love to direct (she dabbled in making her own YouTube videos when she was younger), and lately, she’s been immersing herself in character writing. She’d also love to star in an A24 movie, work with Emma Stone (or “Emily,” as she calls her), and Barry Keoghan, “just for funsies.”
As Greenblatt navigates this new chapter in her life, she is vigilant about not falling into the Hollywood trap of child stardom: “Protecting yourself is so important.” To her, that means being surrounded by people who love her unconditionally; that's what helps her stay hyper-focused on her goals and the steps she needs to take toward them.
She sits in her room — just 16 years old and already in the biggest movie of 2023 — surrounded by art from the people she loves: The Mockrin painting and a couple of selects from Japanese anime-style creators sit alongside sketches from her brother, drawings by her friends, Polaroids of memories with them, and pieces she’s collected via her parents, who are both artists. Art intertwined with love: This has always been part of her family.
Greenblatt, who recently painted a scene from Coraline, a movie about a young girl’s agency and identity in the context of her love for family, is still discovering what she’ll do next, who she might become. “At a young age I had to voice my opinions and what I think is important,” she says. “But it's also like, I'm surrounded by the best people that get me.”
Read all of our New Hollywood 2024 stories below:
- Maddie Ziegler on Dance Moms, New Movie Fitting In & Embracing Hollywood
- Ariana Greenblatt on Barbie, Borderlands, Billie Eilish & Child Stardom
- Keith Powers on Uglies, SAG Strikes, Issa Rae & Finding His Own Lane
- Christopher Briney on Reneé Rapp, Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 & Hollywood Next Moves
- Aida Osman on Rap Sh!t Cancellation, Black Stories in Hollywood & Facing Acting Fears
- Iñaki Godoy on One Piece, Latinos in Hollywood & Living His Best Life
- Megan Suri on Valentine’s Day, Bollywood & Movie Career Post Never Have I Ever
- The SAG Strike Proved How Unions Help Make Young People’s Dreams Viable
Photo Credits
Photographer Josefina Santos
Lighting Director Brian McGuffog
Gaffer Daniel Patrick
Gaffer Kane Katubig
Digitech Isan Monfort
Retouching Digital Area
Stylist Ian McRae
Stylist Assistant Auden Alblooshi
Stylist Assistant Mason Telles
Hair Stylist for Maddie Ziegler, Megan Suri Candice Birns at A-Frame Agency
Hair Stylist for Aida Osman, Ariana Greenblatt Suzette Boozer at A-Frame Agency
Groomer for Chris Briney, Keith Powers, Iñaki Godoy Melissa DeZarate at A-Frame Agency
Makeup Artist for Maddie Ziegler, Megan Suri Miriam Nichterlein at A-Frame Agency
Makeup Artist for Aida Osman, Ariana Greenblatt Rob Rumsey at A-Frame Agency
HMU Assistant Jenna Lee
Manicurist Rachel Messick
Prop Stylist Annika Fischer
Prop Assistant Elvis Barlow-Smith
Production Hyperion
Design Director Emily Zirimis
Designer Liz Coulbourn
Visual Editor Bea Oyster
Sr. Fashion Editor Tchesmeni Leonard
Associate Fashion Editor Kat Thomas
Assistant Fashion Editor Tascha Berkowitz
Video Credits
Director/Producer Logan Tsugita
Director/Producer Catherine Mhloyi
Social Video Director/Producer Ali Farooqui
Director of Creative Dev Mi-Anne Chan
Camera Op Nick Massey Ga
Social Cover Video Editor Lindsey Fink
Site Video Header Editor Crystal Waterton
Editorial Credits
Editor-in-Chief Versha Sharma
Executive Editor Danielle Kwateng
Features Director Brittney McNamara
Talent Director Eugene Shevertalov
Senior Culture Editor P. Claire Dodson
Entertainment News Editor Kaitlyn McNab
Contributing Editor Alyssa Hardy
Associate Director of Audience Development and Analytics Mandy Velez Tatti
Sr. Social Media Manager Honestine Fraser
Social Media Manager Jillian Selzer
Copy Editors Dawn Rebecky and Leslie Lipton
Research Editor Cristina Sada
