Movies on the blog: Alyson Stoner: ChloÃ« Grace Moretz

ChloÃ« Grace Moretz (/ËˆkloÊŠiË ËˆÉ¡reÉªs mÉ™ËˆrÉ›ts/; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2004 at the age of seven, and her first award nomination came the following year for The Amityville Horror. Her film credits include (500) Days of Summer, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Kick-Ass, Let Me In, Hugo, Dark Shadows, Carrie, If I Stay and The Equalizer. In 2010, Moretz provided the voice of Hit-Girl for Kick-Ass: The Game. Three years later, she reprised the role in Kick-Ass 2. In 2014, she performed in The Public Theatre's off-Broadway production of The Library in March and April.

Her modeling career has included cover and feature shoots for publications such as Vogue, Marie Claire, and Elle.

Early life

Moretz was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Her mother, Teri (nÃ©e Duke), is a nurse, and her father, McCoy Lee Moretz, is a plastic surgeon. She has four older brothers: Brandon, Trevor, Colin, and Ethan. She has described her family as "very Christian".

She moved from Cartersville, Georgia, to New York City in 2002, with her mother and her older brother, Trevor, because he was accepted into the Professional Performing Arts School, which is what first drew her interest in acting. Moretz would help Trevor read lines, and he taught her some acting techniques that he learned in school. When Moretz realized how much she enjoyed acting, the family decided to attend some auditions to see if she could apply her skills professionally. As of 2010, Trevor is her acting coach and accompanies her on trips and press dates when her parents are unable to attend.

Acting

Moretz's first acting role in Hollywood was as Violet in two episodes of the CBS series The Guardian, and her first film role was as Molly in Heart of the Beholder. It was not until her second big-screen acting role, in the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror, that she earned greater recognition in the form of a Young Artist Award nomination. After Amityville, Moretz's acting career progressed further when she received several guest-starring roles on TV, as well as a small role in Big Momma's House 2. Her recurring TV characters include Kiki George in Dirty Sexy Money and Sherri Maltby in Desperate Housewives. Moretz also voiced the U.S. version of the animated character Darby in My Friends Tigger & Pooh. Moretz also co-starred as Cammie, an abused child, in The Poker House. After her first film premiere in The Amityville Horror, she has been a frequent guest at film premieres.

In 2010, Moretz appeared as Hit-Girl in director Matthew Vaughn's action film Kick-Ass, based on the comic book series of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. Despite controversy surrounding her role in the violent film, she received widespread critical acclaim for her performance. Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars, but nonetheless wrote: "Say what you will about her character, but ChloÃ« Grace Moretz has presence and appeal." Moretz trained with Jackie Chan's stunt crew for three months prior to filming Kick-Ass and did most of her own stunts while filming on location. That same year, she played Abby, a 12-year-old vampire, in Let Me In, the UK/US remake of the Swedish film Let the Right One In, which was released on October 1, 2010. In November, at age 13, she was called "the busiest actress in Hollywood".

Moretz played Ann Sliger in the 2011 crime thriller Texas Killing Fields. That same year, she played Isabelle in Martin Scorsese's Hugo, a film adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo, which was nominated for 11 Oscars, co-starred Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helen McCrory. Moretz starred in Hick, an adaptation of the novel by Andrea Portes. She appeared in the 2012 Tim Burton film Dark Shadows, a remake of the popular soap opera, playing the role of Carolyn Stoddard, a rebellious teenage daughter. In 2013, she reprised her role as Hit-Girl in the sequel Kick-Ass 2, The same year, she also appeared in a short segment in the film Movie 43 and played the title character in a remake of the Stephen King-based film, Carrie, directed by Kimberly Peirce.

When asked in October 2012 why she tends to gravitate towards playing darker, troubled characters, such as those in Let Me In, Kick-Ass, Hick, and Carrie, Moretz responded that she has such a happy family life, and finds it challenging to play characters that are significantly different from that reality. In January 2013, Moretz was chosen to play the protagonist Mia in the adaptation of Gayle Forman's If I Stay. The story follows a 17-year-old classical musician as she deals with the aftermath of a catastrophic car accident involving her family and has an out-of-body experience. Critical response to the film was mixed; a 41% positive rating based on 65 reviews garnered by Rotten Tomatoes was accompanied by a critic's consensus praising Moretz for giving the performance "her all".

From March 25 through April 27, 2014, Moretz made her Off-Broadway debut in The Library, directed by Steven Soderbergh. Sony Pictures announced in April that Moretz was signed to play the role of Cassie Sullivan in The 5th Wave, an adaptation of the New York Times best-selling novel by Rick Yancey. A release date of January 29, 2016, was set. Hannah Minghella of Sony Pictures said Moretz "embodies the heart, strength and determination that make Cassie such a compelling character."

Modeling

Moretz has starred in numerous photo shoots, including editorials, features and covers, for major magazines including Flaunt, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Jalouse, Marie Claire, Interview, Elle, Love Magazine, Crash Magazine, InStyle and many others. She has also been invited to various haute couture events, such as Dior Spring / Summer 2013 at Paris Fashion Week. Max Mara's signature in 2012 granted her the "Max Mara Face of the Future" award. In 2012, Moretz also became the face of American youth clothing retailer AÃ©ropostale, appearing at various events, videos and reports. In February 2013, Elle magazine awarded her with the "Next Future Icon Award" at the "Elle Style Awards" gala held in London.

Personal life

In order to maintain a clear separation between her professional and personal life, Moretz does not invite her friends to film sets or premieres; she says it is easier for her to focus on work, and to relax with her friends when not working.

Moretz considers herself a feminist, and has turned down film characters who are overly sexualized. She took on the role of a teenage prostitute in The Equalizer because her character "felt so real", rather than a mere "plot device". In October 2014, Moretz was named one of the 25 Most Influential Teens of the year by Time magazine.