Shailene Woodley: Meet the 'Divergent' Star

In this week's 'The Divergent Series: Allegiant,' Shailene Woodley continues as heroine Tris Prior -- only now she and Four (Theo James) have escaped Chicago as a battle rages on beyond the city walls. Let's take a look at this young lady and where she got her start.

Shailene was born in Simi Valley, Calif., in 1991 and started modeling at 4. Her very first on-screen role was a CBS TV movie when she was 6. She had a few more TV roles in shows like 'The District,' 'Without a Trace' and 'Everybody Loves Raymond' before landing a recurring role as the young version of Jill Hennessy's Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh in 'Crossing Jordan' (pictured) from 2001-04.

Other TV credits include 'The O.C.' and 'Cold Case,' but it was the 2008-13 ABC Family series 'The Secret Life of the American Teenager,' in which she starred as twice-pregnant teen Amy Juergens, that put her on Hollywood's radar. You probably didn't know Molly Ringwald played her mother.

The year 2011 marked Shailene's breakout with her critically acclaimed, Golden Globe-nominated performance as George Clooney's troubled daughter, with whom he trieds to reconnect after a family tragedy, in 'The Descendants.' Director Alexander Payne told the Hollywood Reporter, "She is that truly unique actress who can make even bad dialogue sound good." 

Her next part came in 2013 with 'The Spectacular Now' starring her 'Divergent' costar Miles Teller. In it, she plays a dorky high schooler who tutors a popular but troubled senior, and they eventually become a couple. The movie premiered at Sundance to rave reviews.

Here, she and Miles get jiggy with it at the afterparty for the Los Angeles premiere of 'The Spectacular Now' in July '13.

Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Shailene makes no secret of her -- er, interesting lifestyle: She's devoted to herbalism and brought Jimmy Fallon a bag of herbs, she makes her own medicine, forages for wild food, gathers spring water and eats clay. Some say that makes her all the more lovable.

In 2014's Divergent, then-22-year-old Shailene took on her first lead role as the heroine of a dystopian society who doesn't fit into any of its government-controlled "factions"--and thus is labeled "divergent." 

Here she poses for a selfie with a fan at a special 'Divergent' appearance in Atlanta.

Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

Shailene's next non-'Divergent' role was in the drama 'The Fault in Our Stars,' about a couple of teenagers with disabilities who meet at a cancer support group. Funny enough, her love interest is another 'Divergent' costar: Ansel Elgort, who plays her brother in the trilogy.

In 'Insurgent,' 2015's sequel to 'Divergent,' Woodley reprised her role as Tris Prior, who is now on the run from the evil Jeanine (Kate Winslet). The final installment, 'The Divergent Series: Ascendant,' is currently in production for a 2017 release.