Ashlynn Christian

**Ashlynn Pienaar Christian** (born 30 July 1984) is a Hawaiian-Zimbabwean actress and model, whose career is mainly based in Hawaii. Beginning her career in 2003 as a professional model, she began an acting career in 2005 while a student at the University of Hawaii – Manoa.

Christian had her breakout role as a teenage runaway in the thriller film *Claire* (2005), which won her the Hawaiian Movie Award for Best Leading Actress at the 2006 Hawaiian Movie Awards. She later achieved further stardom in Hawaii for her role as Leah Grey in the teen comedy *The Rich Kids of Honolulu* (2008). Other notable films include *Polaris* (2007), *The Forgotten* (2010), *Nightcall* (2011), *Wretched* (2013), and *Star-Crossed* (2015), the latter of which she received a nomination for Best Leading Actress at the 2016 Hawaiian Movie Awards for.

## Early life and education

Christian was born on 30 July 1984 in Harare, Zimbabwe to parents Jeremy and Lea Christian (née *Pienaar*). Her father is an immigrant from Wales who works in business, while her mother is an interior decorator of Zimbabwean Afrikaner origin. Through her mother, she has Dutch and French ancestry. Christian was raised bilingually speaking both English and Afrikaans, while she is also proficient in Dutch. Christian has an elder sister Chloe, born  (1980-01-12) 12 January 1980 (age 44), and an elder brother Matthew, born  (1982-07-13) 13 July 1982 (age 41). She grew up in the Avondale suburb of Harare. Her family moved to Cape Town, South Africa in 2004.

Christian attended private schooling in Harare until age 10, when she began attending Dragon School, a coeducational independent boarding school in Oxford, England. After graduating from Dragon School in 1997, she transferred to Stowe School, a coeducational independent boarding school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. She graduated from Stowe School in 2002, and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii to begin studying theater with a focus in acting at the University of Hawaii – Manoa. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2006.

## Career

In 2003, Christian was discovered by a modeling scout for IMG Models while at a bar in Honolulu. She signed to the agency shortly afterwards, but decided that modeling was not the career path that she wanted to pursue forever. However, through modeling Christian was able to kickstart her acting career, receiving an audition for the thriller film *Claire* (2005). She was eventually cast in the lead role as teenage runaway Claire Jenkins. Following its release, the film received critical acclaim and Christian won the Hawaiian Movie Award for Best Leading Actress at the 2006 Hawaiian Movie Awards, becoming the youngest actress to win the award at only 21 years old.

Following the success of *Claire*, Christian was cast in a number of films including *The Inferno* (2006), *Awaken* (2006), *Crazy in Love* (2007), and *Polaris* (2007). In 2008, she starred as the antagonist Leah Grey in the teen comedy film *The Rich Kids of Honolulu*. The film went on to become the most commercially successful film of 2008, and Christian won the Hawaii Blu Award for Best Villain at the 2008 Hawaii Blu Awards. *The Rich Kids of Honolulu* has went on to be considered a cult classic, and cemented Christian as a teen icon. Following the success of *The Rich Kids of Honolulu*, Christian has went on to star in a number of films including *The Forgotten* (2010), *Nightcall* (2011), *Wretched* (2013), and *Star-Crossed* (2015), the latter of which she received a nomination for Best Leading Actress at the 2016 Hawaiian Movie Awards for.

## Personal life

Christian is a tri-citizen; she holds citizenship to the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, and Hawaii. While she became a British and Zimbabwean citizen at birth, she naturalized as a Hawaiian citizen in 2019. Christian can speak fluent English, Afrikaans, Dutch, and French. She owns property in both the Kāhala neighborhood of Honolulu in Hawaii and Cape Town, South Africa. Christian has not returned to Zimbabwe since her family moved to South Africa in 2004.

Christian began dating South African hedge fund manager Pieter Booi in 2012. They became engaged on Christian's 31st birthday in 2015, and later married on 11 June 2016 in a large ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa. The couple splits their time between Cape Town and Honolulu.

## Filmography

*Main article: Ashlynn Christian filmography.*

## Awards and nominations

*Main article: Awards and nominations received by Ashlynn Christian.*