A Brie-lliantly Marvellous Super Hero

Through winning an Oscar just before her 27th birthday, Brie Larson instantly became a household name. The best is yet to come; Brie is excited to bring female empowerment to the silver screen and that’s exactly what she’ll be doing when Captain Marvel – Marvel Studio’s first standalone female superhero movie – hits our cinemas.

- Hannah May-Lee Wong

The world watched as Brie Larson accepted her Academy Award for best actress in 2016. It was her first nomination and her first win. Many of us (who are less acquainted with the world of indie films) had not heard of Room (2015), the movie she had won the prestigious award for. Though it wasn’t a giant summer blockbuster, Brie’s portrayal of “Ma” in Room put her on the map and paved the way to the start of an amazing career in Hollywood.

As with many things in life, the road to anything good is never easy. Brie’s captivatingly convincing portrayal of a kidnap victim living in dire circumstances comes from a place of first-hand experience. No, she was never kidnapped. But the inspiration to take on this role was drawn from a childhood spent living with a single mother, in a tiny studio apartment.

GROWING UP TOUGH

Though it is not revealed in her dainty, elegant stature, Brie comes from a background far from growing up with the silver spoon. Brie, currently 29, was born Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers to parents Heather and Sylvain Desaulniers, two chiropractors who were living in Sacramento, California. At the tender age of seven, her parents went through a difficult divorce – an event which would take her father out of the picture for years. When Room was released, she hadn’t seen or spoken to him in a decade.

Brie found support and solace in her closeness to her mother. As soon as Brie knew she wanted to pursue acting, her mother packed their bags, with Larson’s little sister Milaine in tow, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue the big dream. She says in an interview with Elle magazine, “My mom always felt like she was a creative person and her parents wouldn’t allow her to have that kind of life. So when I got interested in acting, she was like, ‘Okay, let’s make this happen.’”.