Disney’s Moana may wish she could be the perfect daughter, but her voice actress Auliʻi Cravalho can rest easy knowing she managed to stay grounded and give back to her parents.
The 24-year-old opened People about many things her mother Punani made ends meet during her childhood. “We were living in a one-room apartment in Mililani when I got the role. I slept in the bedroom, mom slept on the couch. She gave me everything,” she said, recounting being raised on food stamps while growing up in Hawaii.
She was only 16 years old when she made her season debut Moana, Cravalho now helms the series, continuing his role in the recently released sequel Moana 2. The film broke cash register recordsgrossing a whopping $221 million in five days.
He shares his success with his close family. . “Your parents gave you so much,” said Cravalho, expressing her gratitude for their sacrifice, “the kids feel a little indebted, I’ll be honest!” Cravalho in turn managed to pave the way for his mother. “I bought my mother a house. He is happily retired.”
She’s not the only actress who used her stardom to raise her parents. Margot Robbieknown for films such as Barbie, me, Tonya, and The Wolf of Wall Streetshe explained that her mother took her mortgage money when she helped her continue her career.
“One day, when I made enough money, I just paid off that mortgage in full,” Robbie said in interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “I said, ‘Mom, don’t worry about that mortgage anymore. It doesn’t even exist anymore.’”
Cravalho’s mother helped her stay true to herself
“I really have to look back on that whole decade of how much growth I went through,” says Cravalho. In between blockbusters Moana has since starred in movies like Mean girls remake and make her Broadway debut as Sally Bowles in Cabaret
But at first it was difficult for her to adjust to her newfound fame. “I’d be a little gremlin,” she admits when talking about going home and balancing school and career obligations as a child. “I have nothing left,” she added. “Sometimes people talk about being a Disney child, and I think it’s so much that you put all your energy into a project and then you have nothing in reserve for yourself.”
Her mother kept her grounded, supporting her and holding her to high standards. “It was tough parenting that allowed me to grow as a person, but also looking me in the eye and saying, ‘You have to be kind and you have to be kind to me,'” Cravalho said. It helped her realize that “I can’t give my whole self.”
Both her mother and father, Dwayne, stressed that she should remain a normal child as long as she could. “My parents said, ‘Look, if (Moana) isn’t going anywhere, you have to finish high school. You have to wash the dishes. You have to make your bed. Don’t let that get to your head.’”
