Starring in both Divergent and The Fault in our Stars has put rising young actor Ansel Elgort's name on the map. Find out more about him in his Kidzworld Bio!
Did you know Ansel acts, dances, paints and makes music?
New York City Kid
Ansel Elgort was born on Mark 14th, 1994 and raised in New York city, in a family surrounded by artists. His father is a photographer that works for Vogue, and his mother is an Opera director - it's no wonder he got in front of the camera and on-stage. His older brother Warren is a film editor, and his sister Sophie is a photographer like their Dad. His father's ancestry is Russian Jewish, and his mother's is English, Norwegian and German. Kind of explains his great one-of-a-kind name! Ansel started his acting career early on, taking acting classes at age 12 and starring in a high school production of Guys and Dolls.
Ansel and Shailene as Caleb and Tris in DivergentCourtesy of Lionsgate
Y.A. Actor
Ansel first started out on stage, appearing in the off-Broadway play Regrets, and he landed his first on-screen role in the 2013 remake of the horror classic Carrie, starring Chloë Moretz. His first breakthrough role was as Caleb Prior in the movie adaptation of the sci-fi Y.A. novel Divergent (by Veronica Roth). Caleb is the brother of Tris, the movie's heroine, played by Shailene Woodley. Divergent came out on March 21st, 2014.
Shailene and Ansel must be BFFs, because they spent a lot of time together, co-starring in two different Y.A. book to movie adaptations. Instead of brother and sister, they play sick teens who are madly in love in the heart-wrenching film The Fault in Our Stars (by John Green), which came out in June 2014. In the movie Augustus Waters (played by Ansel) meets Hazel (Shailene) in a support group. Ansel caught everyone's attention with these roles, and his star is definitely on the rise!
Augustus and Hazel in TFIOSCourtesy of 20th Century Fox
Fun Facts
- He is still dating his high school sweetheart, dancer Violetta Komyshan
- He tried out for ballet school when he was young, and is a talented dancer
- Ansel makes EDM tracks under the name Ansolo, remixing artists like Lana Del Rey
- He signed a record label deal with Staar Traxx in February 2014, and his debut album Unite is out now.
- Ansel is set to co-star in the upcoming comedy Men, Women and Children
- Painting is another talent of his
- Apparently Shailene Woodley had to push him to read The Fault in Our Stars before he auditioned
Check out Ansel's interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show below!
Have Your Say
What do you think of Ansel Elgort? Let us know in the comments section below.
