Amandla Stenberg

Named for the Zulu word for power, Amandla Stenberg made her feature film debut in 2010 with "Colombiana," an action-thriller starring Zoe Saldana whose character Amandla plays as a child. The Luc Besson vehicle is quintessential Besson, featuring lots of daring stunts, some of which Amandla performed herself, after training with David Belle, the creator of Parkour.

Amandla launched her career as a print model in Disney catalogs when she was four years old. She has shot numerous national spots, most notably for McDonald's with Ronald McDonald himself, for Walmart with DJ Tony of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (LeVar Burton aka Kunta Kinte directed), and for BuildTheDream. org. This moving, Boeing-sponsored PSA, which raised funds for a national memorial in Washington, D. C. honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., premiered during the weekend of President Obama's inauguration in January 2009 on "Meet the Press" and other NBC/MSNBC programs. Amandla was on hand to see the culmination of the historic effort to pay tribute to Dr. King's legacy when she participated in the memorial's dedication ceremony in October 2011.

In addition to on-camera jobs, Amandla has put her sensitive ear to work in ADR gigs for both film and television, and as a musician. She plays the violin, drums and guitar. In 2009, Amandla performed the violin with the Los Angeles Unified School District's Honors Orchestra at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex. Her involvement with the Rock STAR Music Education program landed her gigs at the House of Blues and the Hard Rock Cafe, as well as a studio session with producer/engineer Gerry Brown, after her band won RockSTAR's Battle of the Bands. Amandla is also an avid photographer.

© 2012 Lionsgate