Kaya Rose Scodelario born on 13 March 1992 is a British actress and model. She is best known for her role as Effy Stonem in the E4 drama Skins.With no prior acting experience, at the age of 14, Scodelario was cast in the 2007 first series of Skins as Effy Stonem. Upon Scodelario's arrival to the auditions she felt she was too young and became discouraged, but a producer stopped her before she could leave and asked her to read for the part. While Scodelario's role had minimal speaking lines in the first series, her character developed considerably in the 2008 series, before she eventually became the central character in the 2009 series after the cast had been replaced with a new generation of characters. This made Effy the only main character to appear in series 1 to 4 of Skins.
On 12 March 2009 it was announced on the official Skins website that a fourth series had been planned, for which Scodelario along with her co-stars, were to reprise their roles. Filming began in July and Scodelario revealed that 18 November 2009 had been her last day of filming the series and that she would miss being on the show. Scodelario left after the fourth series, making way for the third generation of characters.
For her performance on Skins, Scodelario was nominated in the category for Best Actress at the TV Quick Awards in 2009.
Scodelario made her film debut in the science fiction-thriller film Moon, which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, garnering positive reviews. In her second film, titled Shank, she plays a teenager called Tasha. The film was released on 26 March 2010. In addition, she appeared in the 2010 remake of the Clash of the Titans as Peshet.
Scodelario was previously signed with Models 1 and has modelled for various magazines, including Teen Vogue, Nylon, Instyle UK, Elle UK, Dazed & Confused, Vogue and i-D. She also appears in the music videos for Stay Too Long, She Said, Love Goes Down, and Writing's On The Wall by British musician Plan B. She can also be seen in the music video for Old Isleworth by The Ruskins.
In April 2010, Scodelario confirmed her casting as Cathy in a new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights directed by Andrea Arnold.Principal photography started in September and concluded in November 2010. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2011 to generally positive reviews, and Scodelario was even hailed as a "heart-wrenching revelation". Wuthering Heights will also appear at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, London Film Festival, and the Zurich Film Festival. The film will be released in the UK on November 11.
2011 brought in more film projects for Scodelario. She signed on to star in a new British thriller, Twenty8k, in the role of Sally Weaver. Filming lasted six weeks during April and May 2011. The film is expected to be released in spring 2012. In late June, Scodelario announced via her Twitter that she has signed on to star in Now Is Good with Dakota Fanning. The film is based on Jenny Downham's novel, Before I Die, which centers around a teenage girl with leukemia who creates a list of things to do before she dies, including losing her virginity. She portrays the character, Zoey. Production was shot in seven weeks in July and August.
Furthermore, Scodelario is currently attached to Stay With Me, which will be directed by Tim Fywell. The film is based upon Lesley Glaister's novel, Now You See Me, and she will be portraying the role of Lamb. Production is currently scheduled to begin in February/March 2012. She is also apparently attached to Invisible, which is written, directed, and produced by Robert Cavanah, who will also star in the feature. Scodelario will portray the role of Lola, a teenage runaway trying to escape her enforced prostitution. The film is based upon Si Wall's screenplay, Drinking Chocolate.
Scodelario is fluent in Portuguese, her father was English, and her mother is Brazilian. Her parents were divorced and Scodelario was brought up by her mother, subsequently adopting her surname. She was bullied in early childhood and dealt with low self esteem, so her passion for drama became an outlet for her. She has revealed in her twitter account that she has been struggling with dyslexia saying, "Watching a interesting doc on BBC Three about dyslexia, something that I have struggled with my whole life. It really affected my self-esteem."
She still has a strong connection with Brazil. All her mother's family lives in Itu, a city in São Paulo state, Brazil, and she usually spends some time there.
Scodelario revealed in an interview that she dated Skins co-star Jack O'Connell for about a year before splitting in June 2009, though they remain good friends. She has been in a relationship with Elliott Tittensor since late 2009. Their relationship became more prominent when Scodelario supported Tittensor during a court case he was facing.
From 2008 to 2010 Scodelario lived alone in a flat in North London, stating that it is important for women to be "independent and strong".
She was voted 13th in the UK edition of FHM's 100 World's Sexiest Women 2010
source:wikipedia
