Willa Holland is an American actress and model. She is known for her roles as Kaitlin Cooper in the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

teen drama ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...

'', Agnes Andrews in

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

series ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

'',

Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...

in ''

Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...

'', and Thea Queen / Speedy in ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

''.

Early life

Holland grew up with two sisters: Brianna Holland and Piper De Palma. Holland attended

Palisades Charter High School Palisades Charter High School (usually colloquially known as Pali or Pali High and abbreviated as PCHS) is an independent charter secondary school in Los Angeles, United States. The high school serves the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, ...

for only six weeks because her career was taking off and school peers were dismissive of her acting pursuits.

Career

At age seven, Holland was playing at her stepfather's neighbor's house in

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...

, New York. The neighbor,

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

, was filming home videos and told Holland's parents, "You've got to put her in front of a camera." Upon returning to Los Angeles that September, Holland signed with

Ford Modeling Agency Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. Company Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen ...

at age seven, and immediately booked a shoot for

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessorie ...

. She has modeled for

Guess A guess (or an act of guessing) is a swift conclusion drawn from data directly at hand, and held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certainty. A guess is als ...

, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch and Ralph Lauren. In 1999, De Palma took Holland to a theatrical talent agency. Since then, she has appeared in many national commercials. In 2001, when Holland was ten, she worked alongside her father in ''Ordinary Madness''. She was even slated to co-star in the 2005

series '' The Inside'' with fellow model Rachel Nichols, but left the show when writer Tim Minear was brought in to overhaul it. She initially played the role of Kaitlin Cooper on ''The O.C.'', replacing

Shailene Woodley Shailene Diann Woodley (born November 15, 1991) is an American actress. Born in San Bernardino, California, Woodley was raised in Simi Valley, and started modeling at the age of four and began acting professionally in minor television roles. She ...

, as a recurring character in season 3, and then as a regular in season four. WillaHolland08TIFF

In December 2007, Holland was cast in the independent drama film ''

Garden Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

'', playing the role of April, a troubled teenage aspiring model who tries to make it in Los Angeles. In September 2008, The CW announced Holland would appear in three episodes of the second season of the teen-drama television series ''Gossip Girl'', created by ''The O.C.'' creator

Josh Schwartz Joshua Ian Schwartz (born August 6, 1976) is an American screenwriter and television producer. Schwartz is best known for creating and executive producing the Fox teen drama series '' The O.C.'' which ran for 4 seasons. Schwartz is also known fo ...

. Holland played the role of a rebellious 16-year-old model who befriends and creates havoc for

Jenny Humphrey Jennifer Tallulah Humphrey is one of the characters in both the ''Gossip Girl'' and '' The It Girl'' series of novels by Cecily von Ziegesar. She is portrayed by Taylor Momsen in the ''Gossip Girl'' television adaptation on The CW. Novel serie ...

(

Taylor Momsen Taylor Michel Momsen (born July 26, 1993) is an American musician, singer, model, and former actress. Prior to her retirement from acting, she portrayed the character of Cindy Lou Who in the film '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) and Je ...

). In March 2010, Holland made a one-off return in the 16th episode of the third season, "The Empire Strikes Jack". In May 2010,

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...

announced she would be voicing Aqua in the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

title, '' Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'', which was released on September 7, 2010, in North America. That same year, Holland starred in her first major studio film, the apocalyptic thriller film ''

Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

'', playing the role of a bratty teenager. She played Janice Heddon in the film '' Straw Dogs'' (2011), a remake of the 1971 film of the same name. In February 2012, Holland was cast in The CW action-adventure series ''

'', which is based on the

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...

comic books, where she played Thea Queen / Speedy, the sister of Oliver Queen / Green Arrow. She remained a regular cast member in the series until 2018, during the sixth season. In the 2012 film ''

Tiger Eyes ''Tiger Eyes'' is a young adult novel written by Judy Blume in 1981 about a 15-year-old girl attempting to cope with the unexpected death of her father. In 2012, the novel was adapted into a film of the same name, directed by Judy's son, Lawren ...

'', Holland played Davey Wexler. The film was based on the 1981 novel of the same name written by

Judy Blume Judith Blume (née Sussman; born February 12, 1938) is an American writer of children's, young adult and adult fiction. Blume began writing in 1959 and has published more than 25 novels. Among her best-known works are ''Are You There God? It's Me ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Willa Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles American child actresses American female models American film actresses American people of English descent American people of Italian descent American television actresses American voice actresses American video game actresses Female models from California Year of birth missing (living people)