Grace Rolek
American actress and musician
Grace Sakura Rolek (born October 10, 1997) is an American actress and musician. Rolek is also the bassist for the band Starling.
As an actress, she features across numerous TV and film roles as Steven's best friend and eventual girlfriend on the Cartoon Network animated series Steven Universe and its two follow-ups, Steven Universe: The Movie and Steven Universe Future. As a musician, Rolek worked as a vocalist on the Steven Universe. In 2024, she became the bassist for four-piece alternative rock band, Starling. They went on to release their first EP in 2024 the same year, and toured with She's Green as their opening act. In 2025, the band released their second EP "Forgive Me."
01Career
Acting
Rolek is known for voicing Connie Maheswaran on Steven Universe, as well as for appearing in Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, radio host for Appalachia radio in Fallout 76, and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. She also made voice acting appearances in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five and Horton Hears a Who!.
She made several public appearances as a guest of many fan conventions and gatherings, such as Cartoon Fair in France, Florida Supercon in Miami, and Beach City Con in Virginia Beach.
In addition to voice acting, Rolek made her directorial debut on her short film Mailboxes with fellow Steven Universe crewmate Zach Callison.
Musician
In the 2010s, Rolek began writing and recording music. While working as a voice actor on Steven Universe, she featured as a vocalist on the official soundtrack, which was her first venture into music. In 2023, friend Kasha Souter-Willett required a bassist for her solo project, and Rolek agreed to start playing bass for her. A year later in 2024, this grew from a solo project to become the band Starling. Gitai Vinshtok and Erik Sathrum Johnson joined as the two additional members, and the band was officially formed in 2024.
Starling has since gone on multiple tours in the United States, opening for numerous acts. This has included indie rock band She's Green, and other acts including trio Cryogeyser and shoegaze band, Glixen.
Starling has released two EPs since forming. In September 2024 their debut EP "2324" was released independently, with the second EP "Forgive Me" following shortly after in June 2025 through the label Sunday Drive Records.
02Personal life
Rolek is of African-American, Italian, Polish, and Japanese descent.
Rolek is bisexual.
03Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | George Lopez | Sara | Episode: "E.I.? E.I. OH" |
| 2006-2008 | Lou and Lou: Safety Patrol | Louise | Voice, main role |
| 2008 | Handy Manny | Nelson | Voice, episode: "Bake Sale/Camping Tools" |
| 2009 | Special Agent Oso | Molly | Voice, episode: "To Grandma With Love/Gold Flower" |
| 2013-2019 | Steven Universe | Connie Maheswaran | Voice, main cast |
| 2020 | Steven Universe Future | Connie Maheswaran | Voice, 6 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | U.S. Air Marshals | Little Girl | Short film |
| 2004 | Mulan II | Additional voices | Direct-to-video |
| 2005 | Tarzan II | Additional voices | Direct-to-video |
| 2005 | Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind | Additional voices | 2005 Disney dub |
| 2005 | Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children | Marlene Wallace | Voice |
| 2005 | Kronk's New Groove | Additional voices | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | Meet the Robinsons | Additional voices | |
| 2007 | The Killer | Girl in Blue | Short film |
| 2008 | Horton Hears a Who! | Additional voices | |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five | Shy Bunny | Voice, short film |
| 2009 | An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong | Additional voices | Direct-to-video; uncredited |
| 2009 | Imagine That | Additional voices | Uncredited |
| 2009 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Additional voices | |
| 2011 | Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown | Lucy Van Pelt | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 2015 | So Wildly | Chloe | Short film |
| 2018 | Mailboxes | Gertrude | Short film; writer and director |
| 2019 | Steven Universe: The Movie | Connie Maheswaran | Voice, television film |
| Year | Title | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII | Additional voices | |
| 2012 | Guild Wars 2 | Helena | |
| 2017 | Steven Universe: Save the Light | Connie Maheswaran | |
| 2019 | Steven Universe: The Phantom Fable | Connie Maheswaran | |
| 2019 | Steven Universe: Unleash the Light | Connie Maheswaran | |
| 2020 | Fallout 76: Wastelanders | Julie |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Grace Rolek”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Grace Rolek by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0
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