How “Moana” Star Catherine Lagaʻaia Is Honoring Her “Star Wars” Actor Father’s Legacy: ‘I Wanted Him to Be Proud’ (Exclusive)
How “Moana” Star Catherine Lagaʻaia Is Honoring Her “Star Wars” Actor Father’s Legacy: ‘I Wanted Him to Be Proud’ (Exclusive)
Lily Brown, Jack SmartTue, July 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
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Jay Laga’aia and Catherine Lagaʻaia attend the opening night of Disney’s “The Lion King” on April 23, 2026Credit: Don Arnold/WireImage -
Catherine Lagaʻaia stars as Moana in Disney’s live-action remake, marking her breakout role in Hollywood
Her father, actor Jay Lagaʻaia, inspired her to honor their family legacy
Moana releases in theaters July 10
For Catherine Lagaʻaia, landing the title role in Disney’s live-action Moana was more than the opportunity of a lifetime: it was a chance to continue a family legacy.
The Australian newcomer, 19, stars opposite Dwayne Johnson in the reimagining of the beloved 2016 animated film, taking over the iconic role first voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho. But as excited as she was to bring a new version of Moana to life, Lagaʻaia tells PEOPLE there was one person whose opinion mattered most: her father, actor Jay Lagaʻaia.
“I inherited nepotism, that’s for sure. I’ll take that anytime,” she jokes with PEOPLE, referring to her dad, who portrayed Captain Typho in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
Ahmed Best, Natalie Portman, Rose Byrne, Jay Laga’Aia in ‘Star Wars Episode II - Attack Of The Clones’Credit: Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
Moana marks Lagaʻaia’s breakout role, and she says growing up with a father who understood the demands of the industry gave her a unique perspective as she embarked on her own acting career.
“I think having my dad in the industry, as well as wanting to do the OG proud, and wanting to do the people who love the movies proud, I feel my biggest thing was I wanted him to be proud,” she says. “He knows what’s good, he knows what he likes. I’m someone on his side. That’s the part of my family that I’m representing.”
Lagaʻaia continues, “So coming back to that, it’s like a ‘what would my dad do,’ but it’s also I need him to be, at the end of the day, proud of the legacy that I’m extending for him.”
Catherine Laga’aia as Moana in Disney’s live-action ‘Moana’Credit: courtesy of Disney
Lagaʻaia grew up in a family with seven other siblings, so finding her own niche could be challenging — and growing up in a “very little bubble” in Australia made it harder for her to break out. “Even my little house felt like a little Motunui, we had so many people always running around,” she says, referring to Moana’s home.
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So when she landed Moana, she says, she felt like, “Okay, I’ve got my thing now.”
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“This is something that kind of differentiates me from you guys,” she remembers thinking of her siblings.
Now, with filming behind her, Lagaʻaia says she’s able to appreciate not only the finished film, but how much the experience changed her.
“I’ve grown so much,” she admits. “I can kind of let go of the more obsessing over how I look and what I sound like and how things are. I can see things through the bigger picture.”
Moana is in theaters July 10.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
