Shailene Woodley is an American actress and left-of-center environmental activist best known for her roles in films such as the Divergent series and the HBO drama “Big Little Lies.” She cofounded the left-of-center advocacy group All It Takes and has participated in protests against energy-infrastructure projects, notably being arrested in 2016 while protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. Her activism has also included support for Democratic political candidates, particularly Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). She donated more than $15,000 to Democratic candidates between 2013 and 2021, including multiple contributions to Sanders’s campaigns and ActBlue. ^{1 2}

Background

Shailene Woodley was born in 1991 in Simi Valley, California and began acting with early roles including the 2011 film The Descendants and The Fault in Our Stars in 2014. Woodley developed an interest in environmentalism during high school, which led her to volunteer with organizations including Greenpeace and the Surfrider Foundation. ^{3 4}

In 2010, at age 18, Woodley co-founded All It Takes with her mother, Lori Woodley, as a nonprofit organization aimed at empowering youth through leadership training on topics including environmental sustainability and social equity. ³

Woodley’s 2021 engagement to NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers placed her in the midst of a controversy around whether he had received a COVID-19 vaccination. ⁵ The couple split up in 2022. ⁶

Activities

Woodley was arrested on October 10, 2016, at the Dakota Access Pipeline protest site in Morton County, North Dakota, on charges of criminal trespassing and engaging in a riot. She described being strip-searched and held for three hours during processing, and later reaching a plea deal in March 2017 that avoided jail time by requiring her to write a letter to the sheriff about respecting law enforcement. ⁷

In 2017, the Sierra Club honored Woodley at its 125th Anniversary Trail Blazers Ball for her environmentalist activism. She received the Environmental Media Association‘s Female Futures Award in 2016 for using her platform to advance left-wing environmental agendas. ^{8 9}

Political Activities and Contributions

Woodley endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during his 2016 Democratic presidential primary bid and spoke at a Students for Bernie event at Brown University. ¹⁰ She campaigned for Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Michigan, in 2018, praising his far-left platform alongside activist Linda Sarsour. ¹¹

Federal Election Commission records show that Woodley has contributed exclusively to Democratic candidates and committees. In the 2016 cycle, she donated $5,000 to Sen. Sanders, $2,750 to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and $1,000 to Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC). During the 2018 midterms, her contributions included $6,000 to Sanders, $2,500 to Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous (D), $250 to Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D), and $250 to Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum (D). In 2019 and 2021, she gave $2,750 to Sanders and $1,000 to former Ohio state Senator Nina Turner, a left-wing Democratic congressional candidate. ¹²

1. “Donor Lookup: Shailene Woodley.” Center for Responsive Politics. OpenSecrets.org. accessed December 7, 2025. https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=shailene+woodley.
2. “Shailene Woodley reaches deal to avoid jail over pipeline protest.” BBC News. March 27, 2017. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39408607.
3. “Shailene Woodley.” Britannica. November 11, 2025. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shailene-Woodley.
4. “Shailene Woodley slams media in midst of Aaron Rodgers controversy.” CNN. November 8, 2021. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/08/entertainment/shailene-woodley-aaron-rodgers.
5. “Shailene Woodley slams media in midst of Aaron Rodgers controversy.” CNN. November 8, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/08/entertainment/shailene-woodley-aaron-rodgers.
6. Lemoncelli, Jenna. “Shailene Woodley: Aaron Rodgers Relationship Was a ‘Toxic Situation.’” New York Post, December 3, 2024. https://nypost.com/2024/12/03/sports/shailene-woodley-aaron-rodgers-relationship-was-a-toxic-situation/.
7. “Shailene Woodley says she was strip searched after Dakota pipeline arrest.” ABC News. September 6, 2017. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/shailene-woodley-strip-searched-dakota-pipeline-arrest/story?id=49677868.
8. “Awards Roundup: Shailene Woodley to Receive Environmentalist Award, Ridley Scott Named American Cinematheque Award Recipient and More.” IndieWire. September 23, 2016. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.indiewire.com/awards/industry/film-awards-shailene-woodley-environmentalist-award-ridley-scott-cinematheque-award-1201729796/.
9. “Sierra Club’s 125th Anniversary Trail Blazers Ball to Honor Shailene Woodley and Michael R. Bloomberg.” Sierra Club. March 13, 2017. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2017/09/sierra-club-s-125th-anniversary-trail-blazers-ball-honor-shailene-woodley-and.
10. “Students for Bernie hosts actress Shailene Woodley.” Brown Daily Herald. April 2016. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2016/04/students-for-bernie-hosts-actress-shailene-woodley.
11. Woodley, Shailene (@shailenewoodley). X post. August 5, 2018. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://x.com/shailenewoodley/status/1026186748706152448.
12. “Donor Lookup: Shailene Woodley.” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=shailene+woodley.