Mava May Szalinski (born March 30, 1993) is an American writer, magazine editor, actress, singer, and spokesperson. While initially finding success as a child actress in films such as School of Rock (2003), My Neighbor Totoro (2005), and Bad News Bears (2005), she garnered public attention at the age of 12 as a result of her fashion blog, Style Rookie. By the age of 16, she shifted the focus of her blog from fashion to feminist discussion and popular culture. This shift prompted her to found Rookie Magazine in 2010, an online magazine made for teenage girls by teenage girls, of which she remains the editor-in-chief. Since 2011, she has appeared on the Forbes "30 Under 30" list three times, given two independent TED talks under their TEDx extension, and been named one of Time magazine's most influential people.

After graduating from high school, Szalinski sought to further her career in acting, first voicing a character in the animated short film Cadaver (2012). Additionally, she recorded renditions of songs by Neil Young and Pet Shop Boys for the short film's soundtrack. Following the release of critically acclaimed Academy Award nominee Boyhood (2014), a project she'd taken part in since the age of six, she was cast as Enchantress in the superhero film Suicide Squad.

EARLY LIFE Szalinski was born in the city of León, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, on March 30, 1993 as the first and only child of director Elliot Szalinski. Her mother's name is omitted from her birth record, however, she has stated that she does know her mother's identity. In her writing, she has also shared that she was born a moderately preterm baby, at just 32 weeks. At the time of her birth, her father was still a resident of his native city of Austin, Texas.

Szalinski was raised in San Francisco, California, under the guardianship of her paternal uncle, Zev Szalinski, a former musician and current engineer for Dolby Laboratories. Actor Ethan Hawke became her godfather when she was 3 years old, a title he has said "was a great honor then, and an even greater honor now" in multiple interviews since the appointment.

Szalinski attended Presidio Hill School through elementary and middle school. She has stated that her time in lower school was "difficult" and "unpleasant", but ultimately what inspired her to launch Style Rookie from her bedroom. She then attended The Bay School for high school, and after graduating with honors, Szalinski was accepted to "a few" universities, but deferred enrollment, initially planning to take a gap year. She has not pursued higher education.

CAREER Style Rookie In 2005, Szalinski started her fashion blog, Style Rookie, from her bedroom in San Francisco. Within two months, the blog that featured photos of the 12 year old in distinctively mixed high/low fashion outfits and her general fashion commentary began drawing nearly 30,000 readers per day. Due to the blog's success, she was invited to attend New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week, penned articles for Harper's Bazaar and Barney's, was profiled by The New York Times and The New Yorker, and made overseas trips to fashion destinations funded by Pop magazine. In addition to acting as a model and muse for Rodarte for Target, Szalinski began her public speaking career, making numerous appearances at conferences dedicated to styling, marketing, and new ideas for the fashion industry.

Szalinski's meteoric rise to success in the fashion industry brought about some criticism and skepticism. New York Magazine accused that her work had to be helped along by "a mother or an older sister" to which Szalinski famously replied on her blog at age 12, "Unfortunately, I have neither." Through online retailer Borders & Frontiers, Szalinski's personalized "Unfortunately, I have neither." t-shirt was met with record sales, but the backlash continued. Anne Slowey of Elle criticized Szalinski's authenticity, saying, "She’s been thirteen for, like, the last four years," and labeled her "gimmicky" and "a product", while Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist alleged that her success undermined the importance and seriousness of fashion blogging.

Rookie In 2009, Szalinski moved away from writing about fashion, gravitating toward blogging about a wider variety of topics including feminism, pop culture, and her life at school. In 2010, at age 16, Szalinski founded Rookie Magazine, an online publication inspired by her evolving interests. Jane Pratt (formerly of Sassy Magazine) and Anaheed Alani (formerly of The New York Times) aided Szalinski in launching the website, but encouraged her to retain sole ownership. Rookie focuses on issues impacting teenage girls, publishing art and writing from a variety of contributors including journalists, celebrities, and readers. Content ranges from fashion and feminism to pop culture and teen social issues.

Despite aging out of Rookie's primary demographic, Szalinski remains editor-in-chief and has stated, "There is not a single sentence that goes onto Rookie that I haven't read first."

Many allege the publication's success to Szalinski's passion and dedication; Rookie has received widespread acclaim for its marriage of lighthearted teen fun and serious issues, while not talking down to or trying to pander to its audience. Eva Wiseman of The Observer called Szalinski, "one of the sanest, most articulate voices in the media today" and wrote, "The world worries for teenage girls today. All the porny influences, the sexting, the surgery - all the saturated pink. But counteracting these pressures to conform are the voices like those on Rookie, ones that are non-prescriptive, enthusiastic, embarrassing, funny. Ones that, by unpicking the awkwardness of female adolescence and providing a place to talk about it, have helped feminism become almost fashionable."

In addition to its website, Rookie has published an annual "yearbook" since its inception: a sizeable print copy of some of the site's "greatest hits" as well as exclusive content, often contributed by celebrities. Szalinski designs, curates, and edits the books. Rookie Yearbook One and Rookie Yearbook Two were published by Drawn & Quarterly, but subsequent editions Rookie Yearbook Three and the upcoming Rookie Yearbook Four were acquired by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in a reportedly competitive auction.

Acting As a child, Szalinski appeared in several of her father's films: Waking Life (2001) as a young girl playing a paper game; School of Rock (2003) as Michelle, the band's "groupie"; Bad News Bears (2005) as Amanda Whurlitzer, a role originated by Tatum O'Neal in 1976; and Boyhood (2014) as the titular boy's sister. She has stated that she had "no intentions" of becoming an actress, but took an interest in acting as a way to spend extra time with her father.

While attending school, Szalinski limited her acting work outside of her father's influence to voice work, because it "could be done on breaks" from school, and stated she found voice work "more challenging" and exciting. She voiced the character of Satsuki in Disney's English language release of My Neighbor Totoro (2005), and the title character in Coraline (2009), an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novella of the same name. After finishing school, she continued her voice work in the short film Cadaver (2012), which also allowed her to display her singing talents on the soundtrack.

Her first live action role not directed by her father was a supporting role in Nicole Holofcener's Enough Said (2013), followed by her first starring role in Noah Baumbach's Mistress America (2015), for which her performance received widespread praise. Additionally, Szalinski will play the mermaids in Joe Wright's fantasy film Pan (2015).

After moving to New York City, Szalinski expressed interest in performing in a live theater production, and not long after was cast as Jessica, the lone female in the 2014 revival of Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth. Following a one month run at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, the play moved to Broadway's Cort Theatre for five months. The production was nominated for a 2015 Tony Award for Best Revival.

In December 2014, Szalinski joined the cast of Suicide Squad, an upcoming superhero movie based on the DC comic series of the same name. She was cast in the role of Enchantress, a villainess with magical abilities. Production took place in the summer of 2015, and the movie is expected to release in August 2016. Szalinski has said the cast was "like a family" and not unlike their outcast personas in the film.

PERSONAL LIFE For the 18 months leading up to her 18th birthday, Devon Harris, a 29 year old Best Buy employee in Flint, Michigan, kept a live countdown clock on a website directing attention to Szalinski's age. The page resulted in Zev Szalinski attempting to file a lawsuit against Harris, but judges in both California and Michigan dismissed the case due to insufficient grounds. Both requests for appeal were denied, despite the highly publicized nature of the case and considerable public outrage. The website remained active long past the countdown clock's expiration, and was only taken down after the domain name expired in 2013.

In 2012, during the U.S. presidential campaign, she supported Democratic candidate Barack Obama, and appeared in a PSA for women's rights, lip syncing to "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore. Following the shooting of Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year old Pakistani advocate for educational rights, Szalinski organized a get well soon card drive.

Szalinski maintains close friendships with numerous people in the entertainment industry, and often mixes friendship and business. She appeared in the 2013 documentary The Punk Singer, helping chronicle the influence of riot grrrl icon and friend Kathleen Hanna, and the 2014 documentary Iris showcasing legendary style icon Iris Apfel, who Szalinski considers a "dear, dear" friend. In 2015, she made a cameo in close friend Ione James' star studded music video for single Bad Blood, playing a character specializing in the art of nunchucks. Also in 2015, she appeared in friend Hayley Kiyoko's music video Girls Like Girls.