Hailee Steinfeld was only 14 when she was nominated for an Oscar for her impressive performance in 2010’s True Grit, which was basically her first ever proper acting job. More than a decade later, she’s built an eclectic filmography packed with surprising roles that highlight the actress’s remarkable range.
Steinfeld does comedy with a refreshing amount of heart, action with resolute power, and drama with arresting sincerity. She has shone as the face of blockbusters, but she’s even more powerful when she takes on small-scale passion projects. She’s also had the privilege to voice some of the most exciting animated productions in recent years, and did so with grace and the wit that has defined her career since True Grit.
The future certainly holds bigger, better, and brighter things for one of her generation’s defining talents, but until then, let’s look to the past for Hailee Steinfeld’s 10 best movies and television shows.
10. Pitch Perfect 2 and 3 (2015/2017)
The Pitch Perfect trilogy is some of the funniest cinema made in the last decade. The first film might have created a cult following that had every girl tapping plastic cups while singing “When I’m Gone,” but Pitch Perfect 2 and 3 had Hailee Steinfeld. Granted the sequels were not as good as the original in this instance, but regardless of overall quality, Steinfeld always managed to steal every scene she was in as the Legacy Bella Emily Junk.
9. Bumblebee (2018)
At its core, Bumblebee is a classic family film about two misfits finding each other, and Hailee Steinfeld has got the role of the maverick teenager down to a tee. A lot of her best performances borrow from that formula, and Bumblebee is no different. As the irreverent Charlie, Steinfeld brings heart and grounded emotion to a film about cars that turn into huge robots. She also penned and sang the promotional song for the movie, “Back to Life.”
8. Barely Lethal (2015)
Another hilarious banger from Hailee Steinfeld, Barely Lethal was the actress’s boot camp for Hawkeye, where she starred alongside fellow young talent Sophie Turner and action veterans Jessica Alba and Samuel L. Jackson. This fun, high-energy, teen-action comedy sees Steinfeld step into the role of a teen spy who decides to flee her agency and enroll in a Canadian school as an exchange student. It is every bit as camp as it sounds, and Steinfeld fits the style like a glove.
7. Arcane (2021)
When it comes to partaking in groundbreaking animated television and film, Hailee Steinfeld doesn’t have that much competition. Arcane — dubbed by many critics as one of the greatest video game adaptations ever made, and praised for its gorgeous combination of 2D and 3D animation — stars Steinfeld as the main character Violet, aka Vi, and Ella Purnell as her sister Powder, aka Jinx. The Netflix show sets up the sisters’ backstory as two of the most popular champions in the League of Legends world.
6. The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
The Edge of Seventeen is a true coming-of-age gem. A film made for the lovers of The Breakfast Club, Lady Bird, and Juno, which sees Steinfeld perfectly embody teenage anxiety opposite a fantastically sardonic Woody Harrelson. The actress plays Nadine, a high-school student whose best and basically only friend decides to start dating her obnoxious older brother. It’s charming, genuine, and unexpected at every turn, hosting one of Steinfeld’s best performances to date.
5. True Grit (2010)
It’s hard to name a better career starter than a Coen brothers Western which also stars bona fide Hollywood legends Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin. Yet, somehow, Hailee Steinfeld was all everyone could talk about when True Grit hit theaters in 2010. This virtually unknown young rockstar held her own among the bright stardom of her castmates as Mattie Ross, the 14-year-old girl who hires a Deputy U.S. Marshal to help find and convict the man who killed her father.
4. Hawkeye
Some roles truly appear to be made specifically for some actors. That’s the case with Marvel Comics’ Kate Bishop and Hailee Steinfeld. The superhero company is notably good at casting its characters, and Hawkeye proved it hasn’t lost its touch all these years later. The Disney Plus show introduces the Young-Avenger-to-be as Clint Barton’s mentee and successor and is elevated by Steinfeld and Jeremy Renner’s great on-screen chemistry. With Hawkeye, the 26-year-old actress is set to become one of the faces of Marvel’s future and we can’t wait to see more of her as Kate Bishop.
3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Elsewhere in the Marvel world, Hailee Steinfeld brings to life yet another iconic fan-favorite character — Gwen Stacy, also known as Spider-Gwen. The Spider-Verse series, which is composed of only two films for now, but has at least one more lined up, is already being hailed as some of the greatest animated filmmaking in history, and definitely the best superhero movies in recent years. Into the Spider-Verse introduces Gwen as one of the Spider-People on Miles Morales’ team fighting against Wilson Fisk.
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Across the Spider-Verse is arguably made better than its predecessor for featuring a lot more of Steinfeld’s Spider-Gwen. She is absolutely crucial in this second film in the Spider-Verse series and it becomes undeniable how clearly the actress understands her character. The deep dive into Gwen’s backstory makes her relationship with Shameik Moore’s Miles Morales all the more meaningful through the highs and lows of this fantastically animated, and strikingly emotional modern masterpiece.
1. Dickinson
Allow me to confidently state that Emily Dickinson is the role of Hailee Steinfeld’s career. Granted, the precocious actress still has many years ahead of her to dispute this statement, but as it stands, there isn’t a single film or television show in her catalog that has so distinctly exposed everything that Steinfeld is capable of. Alena Smith’s interpretation of the acclaimed poet’s young life is brilliant on its own, but it wouldn’t have worked as well with anyone else in the lead. As Emily, Steinfeld soars and delivers her most whimsical, emotional, and eccentric performance to date, in what is almost an amalgamation of all the great traits she displayed in every former entry on this list. A must-watch.
