Things About Chloe Grace Moretz Most People Don't Know About
You could say that Chloë Grace Moretz had to grow up quickly on screen. She became something of a scream queen before she'd even reached double figures with roles in "The Amityville Horror," "Room 6" and "Wicked Little Things." And her star-making turn came as a foul-mouthed crime-fighting tween in alternative superhero flick "Kick-Ass."
Luckily, the Atlanta native seems to have swerved the usual child star cliché of going completely off the rails the moment they've lost their cherubic appeal. Moretz is still very much an in-demand actor: in 2021 alone, she voiced Wednesday in "The Addams Family 2," played wedding planner Kayla in the live-action/animation hybrid "Tom and Jerry" and took center stage in post-apocalyptic sci-fi "Mother/Android." And there weren't been any stories of hard-partying in the tabloids, either.
Of course, that doesn't mean that Moretz has led an uninteresting life away from the cameras. From celebrity break-ups and social media beefs to political leanings and familial relationships, let's dive into the various things about Chloë Grace Moretz most people don't know about.
Chloë Grace Moretz took a gap year
With the time it takes for a film to make it from the set to the screen, chances are you didn't even realize that Chloë Grace Moretz took a well-earned break from her thriving career at the age of 21. Yes, the "Clouds of Sils Maria" actor treated herself to the Hollywood youngster's version of a gap year in order to find herself. And the former child star found that she likes keeping out of the limelight.
In a 2021 chat with friend and "Dark Places" co-star Charlize Theron for Wonderland, Moretz revealed, "I really started to fall in love with finding my own anonymity — realizing that you can be who you want to be in front of the world and you can meld those two personas, but also protecting who I am at home. I really fell in love with privacy, honestly."
Moretz had been inspired to press pause due to the anxiety she started experiencing three years earlier, with the red carpet part of the job the root cause: "I started realizing that those cameras are eyes and lenses ... That was a hard thing, where I started to realize, 'I hate that this picture is online', or 'I went to the grocery store and looked kind of crazy and I hate that that photo is out there.'"
She doesn't regret child fame
Chloë Grace Moretz has played high schoolers in everything from "Carrie" and "If I Stay" to "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" and "The 5th Wave." But the star didn't actually get to experience the joys of hall passes, pep rallies and prom night in real life: she was home-schooled from the age of nine. Luckily, the actor doesn't harbor any regrets about spending her teenage years rubbing shoulders with the Hollywood glitterati instead.
When asked whether she ever got FOMO during her childhood by NPR, Moretz replied, "I had this ability to travel around the world and be surrounded by people like Martin Scorsese at 13 years old, and Tim Burton at 14 years old, and Sir Ben Kingsley and Julianne Moore ... For me it was one of the most special experiences, to be able to be a kid and be surrounded by people of so much inspiration, and to get inside their minds. I wouldn't give anything in the world to change my childhood."
And Moretz has no plans to do a Natalie Portman by heading to college, either, telling Bustle she'd begrudge the fact it would take a big chunk out of her hard-earned bank balance: "To honestly end up resenting the entire experience because I'm paying it back for the next 10 to 15 years ... I just feel like right now, it doesn't make any sense to me, until we get some real education reform."
She doesn't regret her beef with Kim Kardashian
Chloë Grace Moretz went through a very modern Hollywood rites of passage in 2016 when she got into her first major Twitter beef. And she couldn't have chosen a more high-profile target. In fact, the celebrity she clashed heads with was one of the most-followed on social media!
The feud began when the "500 Days of Summer" star called out Kim Kardashian for posting a naked selfie, arguing that she was setting a bad example to those who looked up to her. In response, the reality TV queen belittled Moretz's level of fame. And the back-and-to continued when the younger of the two gave an interview to Glamour magazine about all the drama.
An unrepentant Moretz argued, "That picture wasn't linked to body confidence. It wasn't a #BodyConfidence or #LoveWhoYouAre. It was done in a slightly voyeuristic light, which I felt was a little inappropriate for young women to see." So how did Moretz feel about Kardashian's comeback? "It was aggressive, and also it was incorrect. I don't have 45 million followers or a TV show that follows my life. But people know who I am. I pride myself on having opinions, and I don't express them in snarky ways toward people."
She takes her LGBTQ allyship very seriously
Chloë Grace Moretz has always been a proud LGBTQ ally, even more so since she played a teenager sent to a gay conversion therapy camp in "The Miseducation of Cameron Post." But the star, who has several openly gay family members, is keen to ensure that she stays in her lane.
In an interview with Gay Times about the issue, Moretz revealed she tries to adhere to certain rules when speaking up for the community: "As an advocate, you're not a saviour, you're in no way shape or form saving anyone, but you just need to open your ears and listen. You are a sounding board. You are a microphone. You're someone that can amplify the voice of others. That's what's important. Don't take the story and then be like, 'It's as important to me because I'm doing this.' It's like, 'No, you're just setting the stage. That's it."
Helmed by Iranian-American bisexual Desiree Akhavan, "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" unfortunately came out around the same as another gay conversion therapy drama, "Boy Erased." And Moretz told Teen Vogue that the contrasting response to the latter was a prime example of how allyship can often overshadow those directly affected: "That movie has distribution already, it's going to come out, it's going to be big — it's written and directed by a white man, it's shot through a straight male gaze. You just look at the discrepancy and that's shocking."
She turned down Taylor Swift's girl squad
You might expect that every female celebrity millennial would sell their souls to be a member of Taylor Swift's all-conquering girl squad. Not Chloë Grace Moretz, however. In an interview with Complex, the "Greta" star revealed that she'd been asked to join the likes of Cara Delevingne, Kaia Gerber and Gigi Hadid in Hollywood's most glamorous friendship group. But her refusal to expand on the matter suggests that she refused the invitation.
When pressed on the matter, Moretz simply stated that Swift was a "very talented person." However, she did confirm that she has something of an anti-squad stance, adding, "They appropriate exclusivity. They're cliques!" Unsurprisingly, the tabloids went into overdrive. But the Atlanta native later insisted to "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" that she had no beef with the "Shake It Off" hitmaker.
Moretz told host Andy Cohen, "What actually happened is they asked me about the question of the word 'squad.' What I said was I don't like the word 'squad' because it does create exclusivity. But it was never against Taylor, and it was never against her squad ... It wasn't about Taylor Swift. It was never about Taylor Swift. They just enjoyed turning Taylor against me, because it creates good headlines."
She found it tough to deal with her split from Brooklyn Beckham
Chloë Grace Moretz famously dated self-proclaimed chef Brooklyn Beckham for four years before the on/off couple finally decided to call it quits for good in 2018. And the son of soccer legend David and former Spice Girl Victoria didn't waste much time in moving on. Indeed, shortly after their split was announced, the celebrity offspring was pictured getting intimate with Canadian model Lexy Panterra.
Understandably, Moretz didn't exactly appreciate being subjected to such lovey-dovey images all over her social media feeds so soon. In an interview with The Sunday Times magazine Style, the actor admitted, "Break-ups are hard across the board, but when every verified account on Twitter posts something about me I get tagged. And every major publication is verified. So anytime they post something about a certain relationship it pops up on my phone, which is how I find out about 90 per cent of things."
When asked if she had a message for her ex, who has since married actor Nicola Peltz, Moretz initially refused to give Beckham the time of day. But she couldn't resist throwing a little bit of shade in his way, adding, "I'm not a big fan of PDAs in general. I personally don't want to see people posted all over my phone making out."
A meme sent Chloë Grace Moretz into therapy
You may well remember the meme in which a picture of Chloë Grace Moretz walking with a pizza box into a hotel was unflatteringly compared to a "Family Guy" character. While this may have amused social media at the time, it was no laughing matter for the actor herself. In fact, she had to seek therapy to deal with the emotional trauma it caused.
Speaking to Hunger in 2022, the "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising" star revealed exactly how the meme affected her: "Everyone was making fun of my body and I brought it up with someone and they were like, 'Oh, shut the f*** up, it's funny.' And I just remember sitting there and thinking, my body is being used as a joke and it's something that I can't change about who I am, and it is being posted all over Instagram. It was something so benign as walking into a hotel with leftovers. And to this day, when I see that meme, it's something very hard for me to overcome."
A candid Moretz admitted that the unwanted viral hit also spoiled one particular aspect of her career: "It took a layer of something that I used to enjoy, which was getting dressed up and going to a carpet and taking a photo, and made me super self-conscious. And I think that body dysmorphia — which we all deal with in this world — is extrapolated by the issues of social media."
She has had some terrible male co-stars
No doubt you'll be trawling through Chloë Grace Moretz's filmography to narrow down the possible suspects once you've heard these two horror stories. During a 2021 chat with Variety (via Yahoo! Movies), the actor revealed she was reduced to tears on one particular movie set for the derogatory comments a co-star made about her body.
The one-time Aeropostale model explained, "This guy that was my love interest was like, 'I'd never date you in a real-life,' and I was like, 'What?' And he was like, 'Yeah, you're too big for me' — as in my size." The "30 Rock" star, aged just 15 at the time, admitted the worst part was the aftermath: "I had to pick it up and go back on set and pretend he was a love interest, and it was really hard ... It just makes you realize that there are some really bad people out there and for some reason, he felt the need to say that to me."
Unfortunately, Moretz has also had to deal with another chauvinistic male lead, one who spread malicious rumors about her on-set behavior: "They have this inferiority issue, and I'm like, 'You are completely equal to me, you are no different than me. I just happen to be the lead in this movie, and I don't know why just because you are kind of the smaller character that you're pushing me into a corner to try and put me down.'"
Chloë Grace Moretz has MCU aspirations
Chloë Grace Moretz made her name in the superhero world playing obscenity-spewing teenage vigilante Hit-Girl in 2010's "Kick-Ass" before reprising her role in the far inferior sequel three years later. But the adaptations of Mark Millar's graphic novels haven't completely scratched her comic book itch.
Speaking to Capital FM in 2021, the actor revealed that she would love nothing more than to join one particular multiplex-dominating machine, in particular: "I've always had this want to play a villain, but I think people might peg me more as a superhero. I would enjoy to be, of course, in the Marvel Universe, in any way, shape or form."
Moretz was even open to the idea of playing Hit-Girl again in some kind of Marvel Studios/Marv Studios crossover. And she believes that if she was to square off against Tom Holland's Spider-Man, there would only ever be one winner: "What are webs going to do against her bad-a**ery?" If that doesn't happen, then Moretz would settle for a solo return to the "Kick-Ass" world, telling "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," "I think it would be really fun to see where Hit-Girl goes and what she is like as an adult. But I think it would have to be kind of perfect."
Chloë Grace Moretz is a Hillary Clinton fangirl
In 2016, Chloë Grace Moretz joined fellow celebrities Lena Dunham, Meryl Streep and Katy Perry as vocal supporters of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign at the Democratic National Convention. "The Equalizer" star had previously been lucky enough to spend some face-to-face time with the former First Lady, who as we all know ended up losing to Donald Trump. And she had nothing but positive things to say about the interaction.
Moretz told Modern Luxury, "I'm a big fan of what she stands for ... I just wanted to shake her hand, but she sat down with us for 30 minutes. It was wild. She knew everything I had been doing in my career and all about what I've been saying and standing for as a young woman."
Bizarrely, Clinton appeared to have waded into the social media beef between Moretz and Kim Kardashian. Seemingly referring to the feud over a naked selfie, the Atlanta native told The Hollywood Reporter, "I think I gave my attention to people who didn't deserve my attention. So in some ways I think I regret giving them the attention, [though] I don't regret what I said. But also I realized that being the most opinionated and loud person in the room is not always the most impactful. I learned that from Hillary."
She had an unhealthy relationship with food
During a candid interview with Shape in 2021, Chloë Grace Moretz admitted that she once had an "unhealthy relationship with food." Thankfully, the "Suspiria" star, who became obsessed with creating a calorie deficit, is now fully subscribed to the theory of conscious eating — essentially having what you want but in proportion. Well, most of the time anyway.
Despite her pescatarian status, Moretz confessed that during the early stages of the pandemic she succumbed to fried chicken. And not just a few wings every now and then, either: "I ate Dave's Hot Chicken: two fried chicken sandwiches every day. I was like, 'I've got to have it. I don't know what to do about this.' I became a little demon. Then I was like, 'Something happened. I'm not okay. My digestion isn't normal. I'm totally breaking out.'"
The Saturn Award winner eventually reverted to a much less fatty diet, and now she's pretty much giving Jiro Ono a run for his money: "I wanted to get down to the basics of cooking, learn to make my own bone broth, roux, and gravies and then play with different cuisines. I threw myself into Japanese food too, because I love the simplicity of it. I learned how to use the same ingredients 50 ways with various dashi broths."
She has put the #MeToo movement over her career
Chloë Grace Moretz's career has indirectly been affected by the #MeToo movement on two separate occasions. The first occurred in 2017 when the release of "I Love You, Daddy" was shelved following the sexual misconduct allegations leveled at its star and director Louis C.K. And Moretz, who played the disgraced man's daughter, fully agreed with the decision to withdraw the movie from the schedules.
The star told The New York Times, "I don't think it's time for them to have a voice right now. Of course, it's devastating to put time into a project and have it disappear. But at the same time, this movement is so powerful and so progressive that I'm just happy to be in communication with everyone and to see the big change in the face of the industry, which I think is very, very real."
The second occasion happened two years later when Max Landis, the writer of World War II horror "Shadow in the Cloud," was accused of sexual and emotional abuse. On this occasion, the film in question did see the light of day. But Moretz told The Guardian this was only because Landis' involvement had been reduced: "We've completely distanced ourselves from him. We've rewritten it several times now. His name is kind of far away from the project."
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Her brother has helped shape her career
Chloë Grace Moretz would no doubt freely admit that she wouldn't be where she is today had it not been for the influence and guidance of one of her older brothers. The "Let Me In" star only took up acting when Trevor Duke-Moretz earned a place at New York's Professional Performing Arts School: the youngster would often help her sibling recite his lines having also moved to the Big Apple with mother Teri Duke.
Trevor, who's appeared on screen himself in the likes of "Big Bad Wolf," "Youth in Revolt" and "Playing with Fire," later became Chloë's manager. And the multi-talent, who came out as gay when his sister was 11, served as executive producer on two of her movies, "Hick" and "Kick-Ass 2."
But in an interview with SFGate, Chloë revealed that her brother has also inspired her on a personal level, particularly in the wake of her parents' split: "Trevor has been a father figure to me. It can maim you toward relationships to be a part of divorce. To see my brother be in an 11-year committed relationship has shown me you can have a healthy partnership. It has somehow reformulated my brain in that direction."
Chloë Grace Moretz was warned to stay quiet
Chloë Grace Moretz has never been afraid to say things like they are. She's spoken out about the fat-shaming by a co-star, how another tried to undermine her on set and how she feels Kim Kardashian is setting a bad example to the millions of followers who struggle with the fact they don't have her body shape. But several people, and not just men, either, in the industry have tried to silence her.
In a 2019 chat with The Guardian, Moretz revealed how she was warned not to be so forthright: "Everyone, truly everyone, was calling my publicist, calling my manager and my agent, being like: 'Chloë should not speak so much. She needs to keep it more buttoned up.' ... A broad spectrum of different people were like: 'Is this what she wants to be? Does she want to be the outspoken girl?' And it's like: 'Well, yeah. Respectfully, F that.'"
The "Brain on Fire" star revealed such warnings were particularly common before the #MeToo movement started to gather pace: "Now, everyone says it's cool to be woke. When I was doing it before, people were like: 'You're crazy. You're going lose your career over this. You're so outspoken.'"