Biography of Ariana Greenblatt
Ariana Greenblatt is a promising young Hollywood actress. She has been acting in films since she was six years old. She gained fame for her roles as Matilda in the fantasy action movie "Awake," Koa in the thriller "65," and Sasha in the adventure comedy "Barbie." For her role in "Barbie," she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award in the "Best Young Actress" category, as well as for the Screen Actors Guild Award in the "Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture" category (together with the film's cast).
Childhood and Family
Ariana was born in the summer of 2007 in New York, to parents Sean Greenblatt and Solimar Colon. She has an older brother, Gavin.Her father studied acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory under Arthur Mendoza. At 22, he began working in the TV and film industry, landing a minor role in the 1989 horror comedy "Chopper Chicks in Zombietown". He also played Jinx in the 1990 comedy "Making Mr. Right" and John Doe in the 1991 film "Drop Dead Fred".
Over a decade, Sean appeared in numerous films, ending his acting career in 2002. By that time, he had transitioned to producing and co-founded the music video production company Creature.
Ariana's paternal grandparents, Kenneth and Sandra Greenblatt, produced Broadway musicals. The couple's works were nominated for the Tony Award more than 60 times and won 20 times. Kenneth is an Ashkenazi Jew, and Sandra has Swedish and Italian roots. Ariana's maternal ancestors are Puerto Ricans.
The Greenblatt family joked that their daughter started dancing before she could walk and showed creative talents from an early age. Her parents encouraged Ariana's desire to be the center of attention. At two years old, she was enrolled in a dance studio.
She was six when the family went to Los Angeles, supposedly for a vacation. But in addition to relaxing, as the girl later recalled, her parents took her to "visits":
I thought I was just meeting people, but in reality, these were auditions for three different roles — and I got all three in one week. My career took off like a snowball.
Acting Career
Everything turned out so successfully that the girl's family had to move from New York to Los Angeles.Luck smiled on Greenblatt during the casting for the Disney teen sitcom "Stuck in the Middle." This project, released in 2016, introduced Jenna Ortega, who played Harley Diaz. Ariana played her noisy younger sister Daphne.
Greenblatt's second project was an episode of the sitcom "Liv and Maddie" titled "Joy To-A-Rooney," and her third was the comedy "A Bad Moms Christmas," where she appeared alongside Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, and Kristen Bell, the main stars of the film.
In 2018, the young actress played the role of young Gamora in "Avengers: Infinity War." In an interview, she shared that she had a lot of fun on set, even though she played the adopted daughter of Thanos, the most despicable villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Josh Brolin:
Greenblatt also remembered how obsessed she was with the filming process, enthusiastically getting up at five in the morning for makeup, where she was painted green, wore wigs, and to keep her character's storyline a secret, was escorted out of the makeup room under a big umbrella. She also fondly recalled meeting Chris Evans, who was getting makeup done in the chair next to her and happily chatted with her.We had a really good relationship, and I just remember joking around, calling all these people with me. We played a prank on Tobey Maguire... I think. At that time, I didn't even know who these people were, but I just took Josh's phone, and we set up a prank. So he helped me feel comfortable on set, which was nice.
In 2020, the young star landed three new roles in the films "Love and Monsters," "In the Heights," and "The One and Only Ivan." Angelina Jolie produced the latter film, which is based on the true story of a gorilla kept in a cage in an American shopping mall. Meeting the famous actress was a memorable experience for Ariana.
That same year, Greenblatt gained experience in voice acting: as Velma from the "Scooby-Doo!" franchise and Tabitha from "The Boss Baby: Family Business." Due to the forced self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, she recorded some episodes at home. She spoke enthusiastically about her character Tabitha Templeton:
A year later, Greenblatt starred alongside Gina Rodriguez in the thriller "Awake," about people's survival after a global catastrophe that renders them unable to sleep. Ariana's character is humanity's only chance for survival.It was a much bigger opportunity in terms of character and scale. She's not only very smart, but her family's story is so wonderful, and I get to sing, which nobody really knows about. The incredible Hans Zimmer wrote an original song for Tabitha, which I have the honor of singing, so it's just amazing.
Soon after, Ariana joined the cast of the movie "Barbie," where she played Sasha, a teenager who criticizes the living Barbie for promoting unrealistic beauty standards but is then forced to collaborate.
The main character was played by Margot Robbie, with whom Greenblatt quickly found common ground. She talked about her relationships with other actors off-set:
The film was released in 2023, and fans also saw their favorite in the science fiction thriller "65" alongside Adam Driver. According to the script, they are the only survivors of a spaceship crash on an unknown dinosaur planet, where they must fight for their survival.On set, I became very close with Alexandra Shipp, who was one of the Barbies. I always popped into her trailer during filming, and she would do a little Tarot card reading for me. And Margot too, but closer to the end of filming; she became like an older sister to me. I would tell her about my boy troubles. She was always there to listen, and we gossiped about my life. It was so cool!
The actress confessed that thanks to this film, she learned more than ever: how to cope with extreme weather and climatic conditions, emotionally and physically draining scenes. Although it was incredibly difficult at times, Greenblatt took control and accomplished the task set before her:
Koa is the last survivor on a small planet that crashed on Mills' ship. She's the last survivor, and she's very strong and independent. At first, she's scared, nervous, and lost, but then she becomes very strong, independent, and fearless. Koa is a very complex girl; she's so young but has to go through so much. She matures very quickly. And she has to; she's in a very tough situation, and Mills is the only person she can rely on. That's why they bond so quickly and build a relationship. But it was so great to play her. And she was definitely nice.
Ariana Greenblatt's Personal Life
Despite her young age, Ariana has always enjoyed socializing with boys. While working on her first series, "Stuck in the Middle," she met another young actor, Malachi Barton, who played one of the seven Diaz family children.Ariana later called Malachi her first real friend.
Ariana is very close with her parents and older brother, whose sense of humor she adores....he's always ready to do something fun, go on an adventure with me. He protects me like an older brother. It's so great to have a friend with the same imagination as you. He always encourages me to try my hardest. We love doing lots of things together, but most of all we love building forts out of blankets and pillows. We like to compose music and rap together. We perform it in front of our friends and family. I also like to make up dances that I teach Malachi. We also enjoy skateboarding together. He's the one who taught me how to ride.
As she grew older, Ariana decided to get involved in charity work. With her mother's help, she chose her causes - helping homeless children and children's hospitals, supporting foundations for the protection of marine life. The actress is also interested in addressing mental health issues.
Ariana Greenblatt Now
The actress has big plans for the future. In the fall of 2024, fans will be able to see her as Tiny Tina – an unstable girl and explosives expert in the action-adventure comedy "Borderlands," which also stars Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Kevin Hart.The film is set in the distant future. Four "Vault Hunters" travel to the faraway planet Pandora in pursuit of an alien. Director Eli Roth praised the young actress's work:
Greenblatt doesn't hide her ambition to write a screenplay and direct a film herself in the future. Currently, she regrets not being offered roles as a normal teenage girl dealing with typical problems: "I would like to just play something real and authentic, something that could be close to me as well," Greenblatt confessed. Ariana also dreams of collaborating with Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton.Ariana is an amazing new talent in cinema. She has already worked with many of my close colleagues and everyone is thrilled with her. She blew us all away at her audition, and I can't wait to see her bring the wild, crazy, and unpredictable Tiny Tina to the big screen. She's going to explode on screen like one of Tina's grenades.
Interesting Facts
- Ariana believes that the best vacation for her would be a trip to Hawaii with her whole family, where she could learn to surf, climb a volcano, and then relax in a cool treehouse.
- In 2018, she participated in the show "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors" where she was paired with gymnast and dancer Artyon Celestine. Their duo finished in second place.
- During the filming of the movie "65," Ariana Greenblatt and her co-star managed to convey very strong emotions with a very limited amount of dialogue:
It's very difficult to convey so many emotions with just your eyes. This was definitely a first for me, but thanks to this experience, I learned a lot. And I think it's really a great strategy and tactic for conveying so many emotions; it was really important for me to portray what she's thinking and going through in such a short span of time, with so few words. It was great to truly understand who she is as a person, what she's thinking about, and what she's experiencing. So that you just look at her and understand what she's feeling at that moment: whether she's uncomfortable, scared, nervous, or embarrassed. You all had to play using just your face and expressions. So it was a first and really interesting, and I like it.
- The news that Ariana had successfully auditioned for the role of Sasha in the comedy "Barbie" was conveyed to her in a very original way by her mother and brother Gavin. They presented their beloved daughter and sister with a big cake topped with a pink doll while playing the song "Barbie Girl" by Aqua.