Willa Holland

Willa Joanna Chance Holland is an American actress and model. She is best known for portraying Kaitlin Cooper in the Fox drama series The O.C., voicing Aqua in the Kingdom Hearts video game franchise, and playing Thea Queen in the CW series Arrow and its spin-off, The Flash.

Holland grew up alongside two sisters, Brianna Holland and Piper De Palma, the latter from her mother Darnell Gregorio's marriage to film director Brian De Palma. She briefly attended Palisades Charter High School before departing to pursue her acting career.

Her career began after film director Steven Spielberg noticed her at age seven while she was visiting her stepfather's neighbor in The Hamptons, New York, and suggested her parents place her in front of a camera. Upon returning to Los Angeles that September, she signed with the Ford Modeling Agency and booked her first shoot for Burberry. She subsequently modeled for several major brands, including Guess, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Ralph Lauren.

In 1999, De Palma introduced Holland to a theatrical talent agency, leading to appearances in national commercials. She acted alongside her father in the 2001 project Ordinary Madness at age ten. After originally being cast in the 2005 Fox series The Inside, she left the project when writer Tim Minear overhauled the show. Holland achieved a major television role on The O.C., taking over the role of Kaitlin Cooper from Shailene Woodley as a recurring character in season three before becoming a series regular in season four.

Holland's screen career continued with a starring role as April, an aspiring model in Los Angeles, in the 2007 independent drama Garden Party. In 2008, she appeared in three episodes of the second season of Gossip Girl as a rebellious model, later making a one-episode return during the show's third season in 2010. She also starred in her first major studio film, the apocalyptic thriller Legion, in 2010, and appeared as Janice Heddon in the 2011 remake of Straw Dogs.

In voice work, Square Enix announced in May 2010 that Holland would voice the character Aqua in the PlayStation Portable title Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, which launched in North America later that year. In 2012, she starred as Davey Wexler in the film Tiger Eyes, based on the 1981 novel by Judy Blume.

In February 2012, Holland joined the cast of the CW action-adventure series Arrow as Thea Queen / Speedy. She served as a series regular until her departure during the sixth season. She subsequently returned to the series for a cameo in season seven and made appearances in two episodes during the eighth and final season.