2024
Casting announcement
Disney announced Lagaʻaia as its live-action Moana.
FLM.REDCATHERINE
LAGAʻAIA
แคเธอรีน ลากาอาเอีย
From Sydney to Motunui: a young actor brings her own voice to Moana.
Catherine Lagaʻaia leads Disney’s live-action Moana as the ocean voyager.
Sydney, Australia
An ocean voyage and a new beginning
Catherine Lagaʻaia is an Australian actor from Sydney. The National Institute of Dramatic Art describes her as an actor of Samoan and English heritage, a background she has brought to conversations about representation on screen.
In 2024 Disney announced Lagaʻaia as the lead of its live-action Moana. She plays the seafaring heroine alongside Dwayne Johnson as Maui; the film marked her feature-film debut.
The role connects her to a character first voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho in the 2016 animated film. Cravalho returned as an executive producer on the live-action version, while Lagaʻaia interpreted the role on screen.
The films below are those available on FLM.RED, not her complete filmography.
Selected work
2026
Moana
Her feature-film debut as the title character, opposite Dwayne Johnson’s Maui.
Performance readings are FLM.RED editorial interpretation.
Films in FLM.RED
Titles in this collection; not a complete filmography.
Sources & image notes
Portrait illustration: FLM.RED.