Amandla (which means "power" in Zulu) Stenberg was well named. The tyro, who turns 13 this month, was just 3 when she announced to her surprised parents that she wanted to act and needed an agent.

[Earlier this year, she landed] the coveted role of Rue in Lionsgate’s upcoming “The Hunger Games.”

"Rue's the emotional heart of the film, very sweet, and I loved playing her," reports Stenberg who admits there's "a lot of her in me. She's like a bird -- quick and very independent."