Named for the Zulu word for "power," Amandla is a force to be reckoned with. She landed the first of her Disney catalog modeling shoots when she was four years old and has shot numerous national commercials, most notably for McDonald's with Ronald McDonald, for Walmart with DJ Tony, Anthony Okungbowa from Ellen DeGeneres (LeVar Burton aka Kunta Kinte directed), and for Build The Dream. This moving, Boeing- sponsored PSA, which raised funds for a national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., premiered during the weekend of President Obama's inauguration in January 2009 on "Meet the Press" (1947).
In addition to on-camera jobs, Amandla has put her sensitive ear to work in voice-over gigs for both film and television, and as a musician. She plays the violin, drums and guitar. In 2009, Amandla performed the violin with Los Angeles Unified School District's Honors Orchestra at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex. Her involvement with the RockSTAR Music Education program landed her gigs on the guitar and drums at the House of Blues and the Hard Rock Café, as well as a studio session with producer/ engineer Gerry Brown, after her band won RockSTAR's Battle of the Bands.
In the summer and fall of 2010, the actress shot her first feature, Colombiana (2011), an action-thriller starring Zoe Saldana whose character, Cataleya Restrepo, Amandla plays as a child. She opens the movie, setting the stage for Saldana's avenging assassin. The Luc Besson vehicle is quintessential Besson, featuring lots of daring stunts, some of which Amandla performed herself. On set to help Amandla hone her natural athletic abilities was David Belle, the French-born creator of Parkour.
In March 2011, Amandla filmed the Hallmark Channel movie Taste of Romance (2011) (TV). In April 2011, Lionsgate announced that Amandla had landed the role of Rue in the screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins' popular young adult series, The Hunger Games (2012).
