Shelley Hennig

Shelley Hennig is an American actress, model, and beauty queen. She first achieved prominence after winning the Miss Teen USA 2004 competition before establishing a career in television and film. She is best known for her roles as Stephanie Johnson on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, Malia Tate on the supernatural drama series Teen Wolf, and CIA agent Ava Winters in the action comedy series Obliterated. Throughout her career, she has received several accolades, including a Teen Choice Award and two Daytime Emmy Award nominations.

Hennig was born on January 2, 1987, in Metairie, Louisiana, to Cathy Distefano Gosset and Glenn H. Hennig Sr. Before pursuing acting, she entered beauty pageants, competing in her first state pageant in November 2004, where she was crowned Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2004 in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Representing Louisiana at the Miss Teen USA 2004 pageant in Palm Springs, California, Hennig won the national title, becoming the first winner from Louisiana. Her prize package included a scholarship to the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, a one-year contract with Trump Modeling Management, and a guest role on the soap opera Passions. During her reign, she made various appearances representing the Miss Universe Organization, including a trip to Bangkok, Thailand, alongside fellow titleholders. After concluding her reign in August 2005, she competed on MTV's The Reality Show and later co-hosted the Miss Teen USA 2008 pageant.

Hennig transitioned to acting in April 2007, landing her first major role as Stephanie Johnson on Days of Our Lives, a part she played through 2011 and reprised in 2017. Her performance earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 2010 for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series. From 2011 to 2012, she starred as Diana Meade in the supernatural drama series The Secret Circle. She subsequently appeared in the MTV comedy series Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous.

In 2014, Hennig gained wider recognition when she joined the MTV series Teen Wolf as Malia Tate, becoming a series regular for its fourth season until the show ended in 2017. For this role, she won Choice Summer TV Star: Female at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards. That same year, she starred in the horror feature films Ouija and Unfriended. She later appeared in music videos for The Band Perry and Maren Morris, and played photographer Carrie Grey in the 2018 film When We First Met. She was cast in the NBC pilot Crazy for You in 2020, reprised her role in Teen Wolf: The Movie in 2023, and starred in the Netflix series Obliterated.

Throughout her public career, Hennig has supported various charitable initiatives. She worked with organizations including Seeds of Peace, DARE, Sparrow Clubs, and SHiNE during her pageant reign. She has also advocated against underage drinking and mentored youth regarding drug and alcohol abuse through the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Louisiana.