If you’ve watched Bottoms or survived the claustrophobic tension of No Exit, you’ve definitely wondered about the girl with the ethereal face and the "I’ve lived three lives" energy. Havana Rose Liu is everywhere right now. She's the Chanel ambassador who somehow feels like a Brooklyn DIY artist you’d meet at a warehouse party. But for someone so visible, the internet gets weirdly confused about the basics. Specifically, Havana Rose Liu age and where the heck she actually came from.
Honestly, people love to guess. Some think she’s a teenager because of her role as Isabel (the ultimate high school crush), while others see her in high-fashion editorials and assume she’s a seasoned 30-something.
The reality? Havana Rose Liu was born on September 30, 1997.
As of right now, in early 2026, she is 28 years old. She isn't the "teen sensation" the tabloids sometimes paint her as, nor is she a newcomer who just fell off a turnip truck. She’s a New Yorker through and through, born and raised in Brooklyn, and she’s been grinding in the creative scene for way longer than her "breakout" moment suggests.
Why Everyone Is Obsessed with Havana Rose Liu's Age
In Hollywood, 28 is a weird age. You're too old for the "Disney kid" pipeline but young enough to play a college student or a young professional. Havana occupies this "forever cool" space. Part of the confusion about her age stems from her look. She’s mixed-race—her father is Chinese and her mother is of Irish descent—and she has this timeless, chameleonic quality.
But it’s also about how she carries herself.
She didn't start acting until she was in her early 20s. Most "stars" are pushed into the spotlight at 14. Havana? She was busy being an actual person first. She went to NYU. She studied the intersection of art, activism, and wellness. Basically, she had a whole-ass life before she ever stepped in front of a movie camera.
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The "Anti-Nepo Baby" Label
There's been a lot of chatter lately about her parents. Her folks are David Liu and Carley Roney. If those names sound familiar, it's because they founded The Knot (the wedding website).
Does that make her a nepo baby? Kinda. But not in the "my dad is a director" way.
She grew up around film—her parents both went to film school—but she actually resisted acting for years. She thought it was "too expected." Instead, she was out in Washington Square Park skipping around in vintage dresses, which is where she eventually got street-cast.
A Career That Didn't Happen Overnight
People think she just appeared in 2023. Not even close.
If you look at the timeline, her "ascent" was actually a slow burn that happened while the rest of the world was stuck at home during the pandemic.
- 2018: She was a full-time student at NYU, doing performance art and running a jewelry line called Tiny Breast (it was a project about body reclamation and cancer awareness).
- 2019: Graduated from NYU. At this point, she was mostly modeling after being scouted on the street near campus.
- 2020: Landed the cover of Vogue Italia. This was the "Wait, who is she?" moment for the fashion world.
- 2021: Made her film debut in Mayday.
- 2022: The big pivot. She starred in No Exit as Darby, a recovering addict. It was dark, gritty, and proved she wasn't just a pretty face from a magazine.
By the time Bottoms came out in 2023, she was 25 turning 26. She was already a veteran of the New York creative scene. She’s a dancer, a singer, a painter, and a designer. When you see her on screen, you’re seeing someone with a decade of artistic experimentation under their belt, not just a girl who went to a couple of auditions.
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Is she actually 22?
There’s a weirdly persistent rumor online that she was born in 2000 or 2001. You’ll see it on some of those "Famous Birthdays" style sites that just scrape data from 2015. It’s wrong.
Havana has been very open about her NYU graduation (Class of 2019). Unless she graduated college at 18—which, hey, she’s smart, but that’s not the story—the 1997 birth year is the one that sticks. This matters because it changes how we view her work. She’s not a "Gen Z starlet" in the way Olivia Rodrigo is; she’s a late-millennial/early-Gen Z cusp creative who actually remembers a world before TikTok was the only way to get famous.
The 2026 Outlook: What’s Next for the 28-Year-Old?
Right now, Havana is in that "pre-superstar" phase. She’s doing the indie darlings, the high-fashion covers, and the quirky comedies. But 2026 is looking like the year she goes "Global Blockbuster" big.
She’s recently moved into more "prestige" territory. Think A24, think leading roles in psychological thrillers. She’s also become a fixture at Paris Fashion Week. There’s this specific brand of "cool girl" that New York produces—think Chloë Sevigny or Natasha Lyonne—and Havana is the 2020s version of that.
The most interesting thing about her right now isn't her age, though. It's the fact that she doesn't seem to care about the "traditional" path. She’s still doing performance art. She’s still involved in activism.
Summary of the Facts
If you're just here for the quick hits, here's the lowdown on Havana Rose Liu:
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- Birth Date: September 30, 1997.
- Current Age (2026): 28.
- Hometown: Brooklyn, NY.
- Education: NYU (Class of 2019).
- Heritage: Chinese and Irish descent.
- Height: Roughly 5'5".
How to Follow Her Career Now
If you’re trying to keep up with what she’s doing, don’t just look at IMDb. Most of her best stuff is actually happening in the "intersections" she likes to talk about.
Check out her older performance art pieces. If you can find the archives of her NYU work, it’s wild. She once did a piece where she and an ex just stared at each other through plexiglass for hours. That’s the kind of intensity she brings to her roles.
Watch Bottoms again. Seriously. Her comedic timing as Isabel is underrated because she’s playing the "straight man" to the chaos around her. It takes a lot of maturity as an actor to let others be the loud ones while you hold the center.
Look at her jewelry/design work. She’s a "multihyphenate" in the truest sense. She isn't an actress who has a hobby; she’s an artist who happens to be acting right now.
The big takeaway? Stop worrying about whether she’s "too old" or "too young" for a role. Havana Rose Liu is 28, she’s at the top of her game, and she’s probably the most interesting person in any room she walks into. Whether she's on a red carpet in a custom Chanel gown or dancing through Washington Square Park, she’s doing it on her own terms.
To stay ahead of her upcoming projects, keep an eye on A24’s release schedule for 2026. She has a few "unannounced" projects in the pipeline that are rumored to be career-definers. If you want to see her range, go back and watch The Chair on Netflix—it’s a small role, but you can see the "star power" even then.