Hailee Steinfeld explores her African American and Filipino roots through role in 'Sinners'

Hailee Steinfeld connects with her mixed ethnicity while preparing for her role in 'Sinners'.

Hailee Steinfeld has opened up about discovering her African American heritage while preparing for her role in Sinners, a new film directed by Ryan Coogler.

Known for her Jewish and Filipino background, Steinfeld said she never considered her connection to Black identity until this project required a deeper exploration of her ancestry.

In Sinners, Steinfeld plays Mary, a white-passing woman in 1930s Mississippi grappling with grief, identity, and racial ambiguity. Preparing for the role led her to long conversations with her mother, where she learned that her maternal grandfather was half Filipino and half African American. The process gave Steinfeld insight into a previously unexamined part of her background.

“This role has brought me closer to myself, to my family, and my family history,” said Steinfeld. She credited director Coogler for encouraging her to reflect on personal experiences to shape Mary’s complex identity. “A lot of [my portrayal of Mary] had to do with Coogler. The way that he wrote her and the conversations he had [helped] guide me.”

Steinfeld’s portrayal draws from this complexity, as she brings to the screen a character torn between cultural worlds and personal discovery. The experience, she said, pushed her beyond the surface of performance, leading her to consider the implications of heritage and how it shapes identity in unseen ways.

Steinfeld said the role made her eager to take on even more nuanced characters. As her understanding of her own background grows, so too does her ambition to portray stories that reflect the layers within real life.