Robert Pattinson’s transformation into Batman may be the hot topic, but Zoë Kravitz has been mastering evolution for years.
Zoë Kravitz knows the power of her last name, but she has never expected being the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet to do the work for her.
“There was a little bit of embarrassment around what came with my last name,” Kravitz told Elle as its March 2022 cover star. “People would always assume that if I got a job, it was because of that. That was hard. But I was incredibly privileged. I got an agent easily. I’m not going to pretend like it didn’t help me get into the room. But I had to remember that I work hard.”
She added: “I also am my own human being.”
And now, she doesn’t need a last name at all.
The 33-year-old stars as Catwoman/Selina Kyle in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, out in theaters Friday.
Kravitz was cast for the role in October 2019 — instantly touted by Halle Berry as “eternally graceful and extremely badass” in the process. While Kravitz praised Robert Pattinson last November as “perfect” for Batman/Bruce Wayne, calling his dark transformation into the storied DC superhero “out of this world,” her own evolution has been consistently and equally impressive.
At the Box Office
All figures c/o IMDb’s Box Office Mojo:
- Landed first-ever movie role in 2007’s chef rom-com No Reservations
- Broke through as Angel Salvadore in 2011’s X-Men: First Class, which grossed nearly $352.7 million worldwide
- Starred throughout the Divergent trilogy alongside Shailene Woodley from 2014-16. The franchise boasts a combined $347.3 million lifetime gross.
- Played Toast the Knowing in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller’s apocalyptic sci-fi blockbuster led by Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron that raced to $375.7 million worldwide
- Debuted as the voice of Catwoman for 2017’s The Lego Batman Movie, earning $312.1 million at box offices worldwide
- Voiced Mary Jane in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which collected $375.5 million worldwide
- Established a presence in the sprawling Harry Potter universe as Leta Lestrange in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (’18). Together, the films netted $1.47 billion worldwide.
Career Accomplishments
- Transitioned into television in 2011 with a seven-episode arc as Pearl in Californication
- Formed musical trio LOLAWOLF, named after her two younger half-siblings, in 2013. The now-defunct, genre-bending group’s notable releases included 2014’s “Jimmy Franco” with A$AP Rocky in the music video as well as 2020’s “Teardrop” featuring Miley Cyrus.
- Fronted acclaimed HBO series Big Little Lies (2017-19) alongside the famed “Monterey 5” ensemble cast of Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley — and if that wasn’t star-studded enough, Meryl Streep joined for season two
- Performed “Don’t” during the season 1 finale of Big Little Lies, and the ballad is included on the official soundtrack
- Sang on Janelle Monáe’s provocative track “Screwed” from her Grammy-nominated 2018 Dirty Computer album
- Selected for Forbes 2018 30 Under 30
- Led Hulu’s High Fidelity reboot (2020)
- Will make Saturday Night Live hosting debut on the March 12 episode with Rosalía as musical guest
- Set to begin filming her directorial debut Pussy Island this summer, which will star rumored real-life boyfriend Channing Tatum
- Recording a solo album with producer Jack Antonoff (h/t AnOther)
Endorsements
- Since Spring 2018, Kravitz has been an ambassador for Yves Saint Laurent Beauté (and she wore YSL to The Batman London premiere).
- Starred as the face ofTiffany & Co.’s 2018 holiday campaign
- Walked the runway in Alexander Wang’s final Balenciaga show for her fashion week debut, after years of fronting Alexander Wang campaigns
- Starred alongside mom Lisa Bonet for the 2016 Calvin Klein Watches & Jewelry campaign, as well as with Frank Ocean for the brand’s Fall 2016 global campaign
- Featured in Coach’s 2014 “Coach Dreamers” campaign
- Named the face of Vera Wang’s “Princess” fragrance campaign in 2009
The moment Kravitz has arrived at now is the best illustration of the multi-hyphenate talent’s range.
The Batman — all three hours of it — will undoubtedly balloon into one of the biggest films of 2022, both in dollars and scope. Kravitz’s spin on Catwoman made waves before the movie’s theatrical release, and she will be at the center of unlimited discourse now that it is out.
But while Kravitz is embodying an iconic character, she’s also starring as an inconspicuous one.
Kimi hit HBO Max in February. Directed by the Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh, Kravitz leads the crime thriller as blue-haired agoraphobic technology worker Angela Childs.
The titular character (or voice, more accurately) of Kimi is Angela’s smart device that serves as her steadiest companion. Where Kimi is the only one who metaphorically sees Angela, all eyes are literally on Kravitz.
And she’s primed to capitalize.
Kravitz is set to make her directorial debut with Pussy Island, starring Channing Tatum and deriving from real-life experiences. She explained her inspiration to AnOther Magazine last October:
“I’ve been writing it for four years. I want to be careful about how I speak about it and what information I put out there because there are a lot of layers to the story. I was actually in London shooting Fantastic Beasts when I started to write it. I had a decent amount of time off during that film, and I was feeling a lot of frustration and anger towards men, specifically in my industry, and I felt like this wasn’t a conversation that was happening at the time.
“Then my imagination ran away with me, and I started writing a story around those feelings. Then Harvey Weinstein happened and the world changed. This story has evolved with the world evolving, which has been interesting and which is part of the reason it took so long. This conversation is happening in real-time.”
According to Variety, the film will follow cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) as she manipulatively lands an invite to the private island of tech mogul Slater King (Tatum). She realizes “something terrifying” is at play on the island, buried beneath the glamorous facade.
Separately with Variety, Tatum shared that he advised his rumored girlfriend not to try to act and direct for Pussy Island.
“I was like, ‘You’ll need double the days,'” he told the publication as a cover star in February. “She’s a perfectionist in the best possible way.”
Inherent in perfectionism is intention, and Kravitz’s career choices have been the epitome of both. If she wanted, she could have ridden her parents’ coattails to the top. Yeah, she has starred in major film franchises. But for the most part, she has opted for endearing character work — long live Dope —and authentic musical projects to build a distinct identity.
The Batman explores Selina Kyle’s origin story and captures her just before the inflection point when she shed Selina and forever became Catwoman.
Similarly, Zoë Kravitz has earned the mononymous star power to be remembered asZoë.
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