Maya Hawke Bio
Maya Ray Thurman Hawke (born July 8, 1998) is an American actress and singer-songwriter whose career spans screen performances and recorded music. The daughter of Hollywood actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, she grew up surrounded by film sets and creative conversation, an environment that helped shape her early interest in performance. She began her career in modeling before transitioning to acting, eventually gaining international recognition for her role as Robin Buckley in the Netflix science fiction series Stranger Things (2019–present).
Beyond her work on screen, Maya Hawke has built a parallel career as a recording artist, releasing the studio albums Blush (2020), Moss (2022), and Chaos Angel (2024). Her dual creative path has positioned her as a distinctive young voice in contemporary entertainment, equally comfortable on a film set, a recording studio, or a concert stage.
Early Life and Background
Maya Ray Thurman Hawke was born on July 8, 1998, in New York City, the older of two children born to actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. Her parents met on the set of the science fiction film Gattaca (1997), married in May 1998, and divorced in 2005. She has a brother, Levon, and two half-sisters through her father’s second wife, Ryan Shawhughes, as well as another half-sister connected to her mother’s former fiancé, financier Arpad Busson.
On her father’s side, Maya Hawke is a distant cousin of the American playwright Tennessee Williams. On her mother’s side, she is a granddaughter of the Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman and the model Nena von Schlebrügge. This blend of artistic, academic, and modeling heritage gave her early exposure to creative industries on multiple continents.
Hawke has dyslexia, a condition that led her to change schools frequently during her primary years before she was enrolled at Saint Ann’s School, a private school in Brooklyn, New York, that emphasizes artistic creativity and does not grade work. The school’s expressive environment eventually drew her toward acting. She also took part in summer studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York, training that further refined her craft before she pursued a formal degree.
Path to Acting
Maya Hawke’s path to acting began in modeling, following a family tradition that included her mother and grandmother. She modeled for Vogue early in her career and was later selected as the face of the British fashion retailer AllSaints’ 2016/2017 collection. In 2017, she appeared in a video campaign for Calvin Klein’s underwear range, directed by the filmmaker Sofia Coppola. These early modeling assignments introduced her to professional sets and high-profile creative teams, providing a natural bridge into screen work.
Hawke enrolled at the Juilliard School to study toward a BFA in acting, but she left after one year when she accepted her breakthrough role. Before that commitment, she had been Sofia Coppola’s choice to play the title role in Universal Pictures’ live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Although the producers ultimately preferred another actress and Coppola departed the project in 2015, the experience reinforced Hawke’s commitment to pursuing film work. She made her screen debut in 2017 as Jo March in the BBC miniseries adaptation of Little Women, a performance that announced her arrival as a serious young talent.
Maya Hawke Career
Early Career (2017–2018)
Maya Hawke made her acting debut in 2017 with the BBC miniseries adaptation of Little Women, in which she portrayed Jo March. The role placed her in the company of a celebrated literary property and offered an early opportunity to demonstrate her dramatic range. Her performance introduced her to international audiences and led to additional casting opportunities within a short period.
In September 2018, she starred in the thriller Ladyworld, directed by Amanda Kramer, expanding her resume with a darker, ensemble-driven project. These early screen appearances established a foundation of varied work, ranging from period drama to contemporary suspense, and positioned her for higher-profile casting in the years that followed.
Breakthrough (2019–2020)
Maya Hawke’s breakthrough arrived with her performance as Robin Buckley in the third season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, which released in July 2019. The role brought her global recognition and remains one of her signature screen credits. Also in 2019, she appeared as Linda Kasabian, known as “Flowerchild,” in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, sharing the screen with an ensemble cast in a film that became one of the year’s most discussed releases.
That same year, Hawke co-starred in Marc Meyers’ thriller film Human Capital, an adaptation of Stephen Amidon’s 2004 novel of the same name. In 2020, she starred in Gia Coppola’s sophomore film, Mainstream, alongside Andrew Garfield, and guest starred in the fifth episode of the miniseries The Good Lord Bird, where she played Annie Brown, the daughter of her father Ethan Hawke’s character. She also appeared in Italian Studies, written and directed by Adam Leon and co-starring Vanessa Kirby, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and later released on January 14, 2022.
Hawke closed 2020 with a high-profile horror credit, appearing as Heather in the Netflix film Fear Street Part One: 1994. She also starred in a spin-off podcast series based on her Stranger Things character, Rebel Robin: Surviving Hawkins, and appeared in the scripted podcast The Playboy Interview, in which she portrayed Helen Gurley Brown. These varied projects reflected her willingness to move between formats and genres while her profile continued to rise.
Continued Success (2021–2024)
In 2022, Maya Hawke starred in Netflix’s dark comedy film Do Revenge alongside Camila Mendes, a project that resonated strongly with younger audiences. She joined the cast of Bradley Cooper’s biographical film about the conductor Leonard Bernstein, titled Maestro, co-starring Cooper and Carey Mulligan. She was also cast in The Kill Room alongside her mother Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson, and she guest starred in Disney’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, which premiered in 2023.
Hawke appeared in the Wes Anderson romantic dramedy Asteroid City (2023), which premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival to positive reviews. She voiced the character Anxiety in the 2024 Pixar animated film Inside Out 2, the sequel to the 2015 film Inside Out, introducing her voice to a global family audience. She also starred in the biographical drama Wildcat (2023).
Notable Works and Milestones
Across her career, Maya Hawke’s signature works include her role as Robin Buckley in Stranger Things, her appearance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and her voice performance as Anxiety in Inside Out 2. Her musical output, including the albums Blush, Moss, and Chaos Angel, has expanded her creative footprint beyond film. The breadth of her collaborations with directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Gia Coppola, and Bradley Cooper has marked her as a versatile presence across major studio and independent productions.
Maya Hawke Upcoming Projects
Looking ahead, Maya Hawke is set to star in a Billy Wilder biopic titled Wilder & Me, a project reported in February 2024. In May 2025, she was announced to lead a biopic about Irish dancer Lucia Joyce, further extending her work in biographical drama. Also in 2025, she was announced as part of the cast of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, in which she will play a younger version of the character Wiress. These projects reflect her continued movement between literary adaptations, biographical films, and large franchise productions.
Maya Hawke Music Career
Maya Hawke has described folk music as a central influence on her work as a musician, citing artists such as Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, and Joni Mitchell. She has spoken of taking inspiration from “great lyricists” like Cohen and Bob Dylan, noting that “music is the best way to communicate poetry.” In August 2019, she released her first two singles, “To Love a Boy” and “Stay Open,” both written and recorded with the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jesse Harris.
Hawke performed a series of headlining shows around New York City in early 2020, her first solo live performances as a musician. On March 18, 2020, she released the single “By Myself” and announced her debut album, Blush, which was released on August 21, 2020. She followed it with her second album, Moss, released on September 23, 2022. In 2024, she released her third studio album, Chaos Angel, supported by appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and The Daily Show.
Maya Hawke Family
Maya Hawke was born into one of Hollywood’s most recognizable acting families. Her father is the actor Ethan Hawke, and her mother is the actress Uma Thurman. Her parents met on the set of Gattaca (1997), married in May 1998, and divorced in 2005. She has a brother, Levon, two half-sisters through her father and his second wife, Ryan Shawhughes, and another half-sister connected to her mother and the financier Arpad Busson. She is a distant cousin of the playwright Tennessee Williams on her father’s side and a granddaughter of the Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman and the model Nena von Schlebrügge on her mother’s side.
Personal Life
Maya Hawke has spoken publicly about her dyslexia and the role it played during her early schooling, a period during which she changed schools frequently before finding her footing at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn. She has described her artistic training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York, and the Juilliard School, where she studied before leaving to take on her first major screen role. Her public life has centered on her creative work in film and music, and she continues to balance both pursuits while expanding her range across genres and formats.
