Brie Larson

Brie Larson Bio

Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers (born October 1, 1989), known professionally as Brie Larson, is an American-Canadian actress and filmmaker. She began her career as a teenager in supporting comedy roles and has since expanded to leading parts in independent films and major studio blockbusters. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Larson’s career has spanned critically praised indie dramas, mainstream superhero features, and virtual reality projects. Beyond acting, she has co-written and directed short films, made her feature directorial debut with Unicorn Store in 2017, and produced a virtual reality series. She is widely recognized for her role as Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Early Life and Background

Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers was born on October 1, 1989, in Sacramento, California, to Heather and Sylvain Desaulniers, homeopathic chiropractors who ran a joint practice. She has a sister named Milaine. Her father is Franco-Manitoban, and French was Larson’s first language. She holds dual citizenship in Canada and the United States.

Larson’s parents divorced when she was seven years old, after which her mother relocated with her two daughters to Los Angeles to pursue Larson’s acting ambitions. The family had limited financial means and lived in a small apartment near the studio lots in Burbank. Larson was mostly home-schooled, an arrangement she credited with allowing her to explore creative and abstract experiences.

At age six, Larson became the youngest student admitted to a training program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She has said she decided to pursue acting after watching Jennifer Lopez in the 1997 film Selena. Because her birth name was difficult to pronounce, she adopted the stage name Larson from her Swedish great-grandmother and an American Girl doll she had cherished as a child.

Path to Acting

Larson’s first job in entertainment was performing a commercial parody titled Malibu Mudslide Barbie on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1998, when she was eight years old. She went on to take guest roles in television series such as Touched by an Angel and Popular. In 2000, she was cast in the Fox sitcom Schimmel, but the show was canceled before airing after its star, Robert Schimmel, was diagnosed with cancer.

In 2001, Larson landed her first major role as Emily, the younger daughter of Bob Saget’s character, in the WB sitcom Raising Dad, which aired for one season. She later had small parts in the Disney Channel film Right on Track and the 2004 comedies Sleepover and 13 Going on 30. During this period she developed an interest in music, learned to play the guitar, and in 2005 released the album Finally Out of P.E. on Casablanca Records. Although one of her singles received airplay on MTV’s Total Request Live, the album sold only 3,500 copies.

Larson’s screen presence grew with the comedy Hoot in 2006 and a recurring role on the Showtime series United States of Tara from 2009 to 2011, where she played the sardonic teenage daughter of Toni Collette’s character. Her breakout arrived in 2013 with the independent drama Short Term 12, which marked her first leading role and earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead.

Brie Larson Career

Early Career (2009-2014)

After early supporting parts in Hoot and a brief music career, Larson earned notice for her turn as Envy Adams in Edgar Wright’s comedy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in 2010, a film that later developed a cult following. In 2012, she co-wrote and co-directed the short film The Arm with Jessie Ennis and Sarah Ramos, which won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. She also appeared as Molly in the comedy 21 Jump Street, her most widely seen film to that point with a worldwide gross of more than 200 million dollars.

Her breakthrough came in 2013 with Destin Daniel Cretton’s indie drama Short Term 12, set in a group home for troubled teenagers. Critics praised her portrayal of Grace, the emotionally distressed supervisor of the institution, and the role opened doors to a wide range of parts. That same year she had supporting roles in the romantic dramas Don Jon and The Spectacular Now, and in 2014 she appeared opposite Mark Wahlberg in the crime drama The Gambler.

Breakthrough (2015-2019)

In 2015, Larson appeared in three releases: the improvised ensemble comedy Digging for Fire, the comedy Trainwreck alongside Amy Schumer, and the drama Room, an adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s novel. For her portrayal of Ma, a young woman held in captivity, she underwent extensive physical and emotional preparation, including spending a month isolated in her apartment. Her performance drew wide critical acclaim, and she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, and a BAFTA for the role.

Following Room, Larson starred in the action comedy Free Fire in 2016 and, in 2017, took her first big-budget leading role as a photojournalist in Kong: Skull Island, a MonsterVerse entry that grossed more than 566 million dollars worldwide. She also portrayed Jeannette Walls in The Glass Castle and made her feature directorial debut with the comedy drama Unicorn Store, which was later picked up by Netflix.

In 2019, Larson began her tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel, the studio’s first female-led superhero film, for which she trained for nine months in judo, boxing, and wrestling. She reprised the role in Avengers: Endgame, which briefly became the highest-grossing film of all time, and Captain Marvel became the first female-led superhero film to gross over one billion dollars worldwide. She also appeared in Just Mercy, a drama about wrongful conviction.

Notable Works and Milestones

Larson’s signature roles include Ma in Room, Captain Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Grace in Short Term 12. Her work in Room brought her an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA, while her performance in Captain Marvel helped establish her as a leading figure in mainstream blockbuster cinema. She has been recognized by Forbes in its 30 Under 30 list and by People in its annual beauty list, and a Madame Tussauds wax figure of her as Captain Marvel was unveiled in 2019.

Brie Larson Award Nominations

Brie Larson has earned nominations across major film and television awards bodies throughout her career. For Short Term 12 in 2013, she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. For Room, she received nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award and the British Academy Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, in addition to her wins. More recently, for her performance in the Apple TV+ miniseries Lessons in Chemistry, she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries.

Brie Larson Awards Won

Brie Larson has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award among other honors. Her Academy Award and Golden Globe came in 2016 for her performance in Room, and her Emmy came in 2020 for producing the virtual reality series The Messy Truth VR Experience. She has also been honored by industry organizations and publications for her influence and craft.

Brie Larson Family

Brie Larson was born to Heather and Sylvain Desaulniers, homeopathic chiropractors who ran a practice together. She has a sister named Milaine. Her parents divorced when she was seven, and her mother later moved with the children to Los Angeles to support her acting aspirations. Her father is Franco-Manitoban, and French was her first language.

Personal Life

Larson is known for being reticent about her personal life. She began dating Alex Greenwald, lead singer of the band Phantom Planet, in 2013, and the couple became engaged in 2016 before ending their engagement in 2019. They had lived together in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. In 2019, she was in a relationship with actor-filmmaker Elijah Allan-Blitz, and in 2023 she stated that she was single.