(1988-)

Who Is Zoë Kravitz?

Zoë Kravitz is the only child of actress Lisa Bonet and musician Lenny Kravitz. She knew from a young age that she wanted to be an actress. Her career took off with films such as Mad Max: Fury Road and the TV series "Big Little Lies." She also starred in and executive produced the series "High Fidelity." Kravitz is also a musician who has been in two bands. She married actor Karl Glusman in 2019, but filed for divorce the next year.

Early Life and Parents

Zoë Isabella Kravitz was born on December 1, 1988, in Venice, California. Kravitz's parents are musician and actor Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet. Her stepfather is actor Jason Momoa. Kravitz has two younger half-siblings from Bonet and Momoa's relationship: Lola and Wolf.

Kravitz's paternal grandmother, Roxie Roker, starred on the classic sitcom The Jeffersons. After Kravitz's parents split up when she was 2, she spent most of her early childhood surrounded by nature at her mother's home in the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles. Their television didn't have reception, but Kravitz was allowed to watch tapes on a VCR and could rent movies once a week.

At 11, Kravitz moved to live with her father in Miami. She explained in a 2020 interview, "I just wanted to feel normal, and the way my mother was raising me felt very abnormal, even though looking back, it was the coolest." But the move wasn't easy. "That was a massive change," she told Rolling Stone in 2018. "Going from this really quiet house in Topanga, just me and my mom, to my dad's life, which was very busy — lots of people, lots of assistants."

Kravitz also felt isolated at school. "I went to a private school in Miami, surrounded by wealthy kids, mostly white," she explained. "I felt like a freak because my hair was different, and little kids would come up and say, 'Can I feel your hair?'" Kravitz and her father ended up relocating to New York City, where she enjoyed drama club and took classes at the Conservatory of Theatre Arts.

Eating Disorders

In her last years of high school, Kravitz developed the eating disorders bulimia and anorexia. She later described some of what she was feeling at the time: "I had this remarkably beautiful skinny mother and a father who was dating a supermodel, and I felt short and ungainly."

Kravitz underwent therapy and spent several years dealing with the disorders. "I'm okay now," she said in 2020. "But I am very vigilant. It's a disease, and I never let myself forget that."

Early Career

Becoming an actress was a longtime goal for Kravitz. With help from her father, she landed an agent when she was 15. Her debut was in the movie No Reservations (2007), in which she played a babysitter.

Kravitz's father has won multiple Grammy Awards and her mother came to fame as one of the Huxtable children on "The Cosby Show." Though she understands that having famous family members may have opened doors, she also felt the need to forge her own path, something she believes her upbringing prepared her for. "My parents didn't become who they are because anything was handed to them, and they didn't raise a child who expected something to be handed to her, either," she told Teen Vogue.

Movies and TV Shows

Kravitz has appeared in blockbuster films that include X-Men: First Class (2011), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and the Divergent series. She also provided Mary Jane's voice for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Among the independent films she's been in are Beware the Gonzo, Yelling to the Sky, Dope and Gemini.

Making her way in Hollywood had its difficulties for Kravitz. At the beginning of her career she experienced sexual harassment on a set. She saw that Black women's roles were often limited to "best friend of the white girl." And she was unable to audition for a small part in the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises because she was told the film wouldn't be "going urban." However, she went on to star as Catwoman in The Batman, which is scheduled for release in 2022.

On the small screen, Kravitz appeared in "Californication" and two seasons of "Big Little Lies." She took the lead role in "High Fidelity," which gender-switched the main character from the 1995 novel and 2000 movie (in which her mother appeared). Kravitz was an executive producer and got to write and direct for the show. "High Fidelity" debuted in February 2020 but, to Kravitz's disappointment, was canceled later in the year.

Kravitz is the director and co-writer for Pussy Island, a thriller starring Channing Tatum.

Music

Kravitz has fronted two bands. She was in Elevator Fight and the electronic R&B band Lolawolf, named for her two younger siblings. Lolawolf has opened for Miley Cyrus and Lily Allen and released an album titled Calm Down.

Husband and Divorce

In 2016, Kravitz and actor Karl Glusman began dating. He proposed in 2018. The pair had two weddings in 2019, marrying civilly before tying the knot in a June ceremony at her father's home in Paris. Kravitz filed for divorce from her husband on December 23, 2020.

QUICK FACTS

Name: Zoë Isabella Kravitz
Birth Year: 1988
Birth date: December 1, 1988
Birth State: California
Birth City: Venice
Birth Country: United States
Best Known For: Zoë Kravitz is an American actress, musician, writer and director whose projects include 'High Fidelity,' 'Big Little Lies,' 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'The Batman.'
Astrological Sign: Sagittarius