Disney’s upcoming live-action Moana is starring a brand-new Moana, and her name is Catherine Laga‘aia! The rising teen actor will be singing the iconic “How Far I’ll Go” and share the screen with the original voice of Maui, Dwayne Johnson, in the 2026 movie. Since we all know who “The Rock” is, what about Catherine?
News47.us has all the facts you need to know about Catherine right here!
Catherine was 17 at the time her casting for Moana was announced in June 2024, according to the Walt Disney Company.
Per Catherine’s IMDb profile, she previously starred in three episodes of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. She played the role of Young Candy.
Catherine is the daughter of actor and writer Jay Laga‘aia, who played Captain Typho in Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones and Episode III — Revenge of the Sith. He has also appeared in Daybreakers and is the creator of the series Jay’s Jungle.
After his daughter — whom he calls “Katie” — was cast as Moana, Jay took to Instagram to announce the big news.
“My family and I are so pleased to share this news with the rest of the world. My daughter Katie can finally share the news that she will be taking on the role of Moana in the live-action Disney movie alongside Dwayne Johnson and [producer] Lin-Manuel Miranda,” Jay captioned his post. “Also joining Laga‘aia and Johnson in the cast are Auckland, New Zealander John Tui as Moana’s father, Chief Tui; Samoan-New Zealand actor Frankie Adams as Moana’s mother, Sina; and Rena Owen, who hails from Bay of Islands, New Zealand, as the revered Gramma Tala. Congratulations to John Tui and his partner on his recent addition to their village too.”
