Moana Actor Auliʻi Cravalho Grew Up on Food Stamps; Disney Success Allowed Her to Buy ‘My Mommy a House’ and ‘She’s Happily Retired’

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Auli’i Cravalho, the actor who voices Moana in Disney’s animated franchise of the same name, recently told People magazine that the money she earned off the success of the original 2016 film allowed her to buy a house for her mother.

It was a notable achievement considering Cravalho was raised on food stamps as a child. She’s now back as Moana in the record-breaking sequel. “I really get to have that full decade look back at just how much growth I’ve gone through,” the 24-year-old Cravalho told People about coming back for “Moana 2.” She noted that she and her mother “lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Mililani” when she was first cast as the Disney adventurer nearly a decade ago. “I slept in the bedroom, my mom slept on the couch.

She gave me everything,” the actor added. Then “Moana” brought levels of success that Cravalho could have never anticipated.

The movie was a box office hit at the time of release with $687 million worldwide, but its popularity skyrocketed in the years that followed thanks to PVOD platforms and the streaming service Disney+. “Moana” was the most streamed movie on Disney+ in 2023, for instance, seven years after its release. “I bought my mommy a house” and “she’s happily retired,” Cravalho said about how “Moana’s” success impacted her life. “Your parents give you so much.