Actor, activist and aspiring director Amandla Stenberg has just signed with The Society Management, the modelling agency that represents their best friend Willow Smith and fellow Dazed cover models Kendall Jenner, Molly Bair, Natalie Westling and Yasmin Wijnaldum.

It’s the first modelling contract Stenberg has signed, but by no means the first time they’ve posed for the camera. As well as starring on the cover of the autumn 2015 issue of Dazed, they’ve featured on the cover of Teen Vogue, Interview and Elle, and appeared in the campaign for Stella McCartney’s new fragrance POP along with Grimes, Kenya Kinski-Jones and Lourdes Leon.

Stenberg has come a long way since playing Rue in The Hunger Games, being hailed as “the voice of her generation” after their school project about cultural appropriation “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows” went viral. While they’re still acting, their real passion now lies behind the camera – in fact, they recently enrolled on NYU’S Film programme. 

“I feel like there’s a lack of representation for different kinds of people, and so I want to provide that,” they said in a recent interview with Dazed. “Especially focusing on stories that feature and star women of colour – that’s very important to me. Or people of colour, no matter their gender, maybe they’re non-binary, that would be really dope.”

18 and already a superstar, we can expect great things from Amandla Stenberg.

Head here to read Willow Smith, interviewed by Stenberg, talking about gender fluidity, Chanel and the beautiful chaos of her generation.