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American actress, model, and singer Hailee Steinfeld sat for an interview with Refinery29 on April 18, 2025, where she discussed how her latest film, Sinners, brought her “closer” to her multi-racial roots.
“It's not often necessarily about yourself all the time. It's about the character. But with 'Sinners,' I was constantly thinking about my situation, my family, my ancestors, my grandfather in each [scene] we were in, and talking about... This role has brought me closer to myself, to my family, and my family history,” Hailee said.
Steinfeld comes from a mixed-ethnic background, where her father is Jewish, her mother is Filipino Christian, and her grandfather is half-Black and half-Filipino. She was born and raised in California.
The Golden Globe nominee told Refinery29 that she spent hours talking to her mother, learning about their family heritage, and more, while preparing for her role as Mary in the 2025 film, Sinners. She added it helped her make sense of things in her own life, especially understanding her ancestry.
Set in the 1930s in Mississippi, the Southern vampiric gothic horror drama Sinners shows Hailee Steinfeld’s character struggling between her mixed racial identity, grieving for her dead mother, and feelings for her childhood friend turned long-lost lover, Stack, played by Michael B. Jordan.
All you need to know about Hailee Steinfeld’s parents
Hailee Steinfeld was born to interior designer Cheri Domasin and personal trainer Peter Steinfeld in Tarzana, Los Angeles, on December 11, 1996. The couple had tied the knot in May 1992.
Hailee grew up in the Agoura Hills and Thousand Oaks neighborhoods of LA alongside her elder brother, Griffin (born in January 1994), who owns a solar panel cleaning business and is a former race car driver.
"I’m especially close with my brother, and we only get closer as we get older," the ‘Pitch Perfect 3’ alum told People in 2023, about her bond with Griffin.
Hailee Steinfeld’s mother held a number of jobs before becoming her manager and an interior designer. In 2020, during a Mother’s Day interview with Allure, Cheri shared about her past life.
“I have my cosmetology license... I got my license, and that really wasn't my thing. [After that] I became a flight attendant and I met your dad, and then I went in a whole different direction,” she shared.
Cheri also mentioned that getting married to Peter and decorating their house got her interested in the field of interior design. Hailee has also been open about her mother’s contribution to her career. In 2010, she told Vanity Fair that when she went and asked her mother if she could pursue acting, Cheri made her “study for a year.”
Likewise, in 2020, Steinfeld appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and shared that working with her mother had more pros than cons, as nobody had her back more than Cheri.
“There are very few downsides. She’s been working with me my whole career… She is incredible, and my best friend, so I drag her everywhere with me,” Hailee stated back then.
As for her father, Peter, he is now a celebrity fitness trainer and founder-owner of the wellness company, Better Shape-Up. His list of clients includes Madonna, Glenn Frey, Ozzy Osbourne, and Larry David, as per his website. He moved to California in 1978 and studied business and nutrition at California State University in Northridge.
In 2018, Hailee Steinfeld told Access Hollywood during an interview that his father helps her to stay fit and in shape and acts as her “cheerleader and major supporter,” especially before her tours.
In fact, she trained under her father before filming the 2021 Marvel series Hawkeye, where she played the role of Kate Bishop. In this context, the actress shared in an interview for Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye: The Official Collector Special how her dad helped her with her stunt training and archery lessons.
“Before I went out to Atlanta to shoot, I was also training in L.A. on the stunt side of things with my dad, who is a personal trainer. We spent months on all sorts of different styles of fighting and hand-to-hand combat,” she said.
Hailee Steinfeld added:
“Once I had my first archery lesson, we started getting into exercises and circuits of training that would help me with those muscles.”
Notably, Peter also tried his hand at acting and featured on three episodes of the late 1980s comedy show Married… with Children. His other acting credits include an episode each in Happy Days, Sisters, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He also appeared in Hailee’s music video for her 2017 single, Most Girls.
During her 2023 sit-down with People, Hailee Steinfeld shared that she would not be who she was or where she was if it were not for his parents and brother. She mentioned her family kept her in “check every step of the way” and made “so many sacrifices” for her career, for which she was “forever grateful.”
The Oscar nominee also credited her family for helping her speak up for herself, especially her mother and grandmother, who were “incredible” women, both personally and professionally.
In a 2019 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Hailee Steinfeld shared about her ethnicity and that she’s a “little bit of everything.”
“My grandfather [Ricardo Domasin] was half-Filipino. I've since been to the Philippines, which is so wonderful to be in a place where you share some of the same DNA with the people you're surrounded by, and to be connected to so many people,” she observed.
The 28-year-old added:
"My mom was raised Christian, my dad is Jewish — we celebrate it all. Yeah, it's a bunch of stuff in between."
Hailee Steinfeld’s latest film had an ‘impact’ on her
Besides Refinery29, Hailee Steinfeld also recently appeared for a chat with People, published on April 11, 2025.
"It had such an impact on me personally. Therefore, I feel like the least it can do is make an impact on those who watch it. I think it affected all of us so personally and so deeply, and I do believe that you feel that and you see that when you watch this movie," she told the outlet.
Steinfeld added:
"I'm so grateful for the deeply personal connection that each of us have [to the material], mine being with my family history, with my grandfather, who I wish was still here to answer all the questions that I have that this movie raised for me and making this movie raised."
Similarly, during an April 2 appearance on Good Morning America, Hailee noted how the role had been unlike any other she had played, and the character of Mary challenged her in ways she had never been challenged.
She also doubled down that part of her research included “understanding my own family history a bit better, which I am grateful for,” which ultimately made her “feel closer” to her roots, including her late grandmother.
Earlier this month, Hailee Steinfeld told Blavity that Sinners led to big and amazing “conversations” in her family and their history, which she wished had happened sooner, but was grateful that they were happening now.
She explained how she felt closer to her mother and grandfather and understood how his life might have “looked like growing up” as well as the family dynamics, adding she was “honored” to be part of Sinners that served her in a way she did not know she “needed so bad.”
Sinners released globally on April 18, 2025, and is currently running in theaters. The Ryan Cooglers directed film stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles, alongside Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, and Delroy Lindo, among others.
