When Auli'i Cravalho was cast in Disney's "Moana," the teen and her mom were living on food stamps.

Cravalho, who voices the titular chieftan's daughter in "Moana," said in a recent interview with "People" that the pair were squeezed into a one-bedroom apartment in the Hawaiian city of Mililani when she got her big break.

"I slept in the bedroom, my mom slept on the couch," Cravalho, who was 14 when she was cast, explained. "She gave me everything."

Her parents, who divorced when she was a child, tried to help her keep a level head, warning her that there was a chance that "Moana" wouldn't turn into a hit.

"My parents were like, 'Listen, if [Moana] doesn't go anywhere, you need to finish high school. You need to do the dishes. You need to fix your bed. Don't let it get to your head,'" she told the magazine.

After the movie became a success, Cravalho said she could sometimes "be a little s---" about doing her homework after a long day spent promoting the film. Her mom "nipped that in the bud real quick."

"She was the one to discipline," she said. "That was some tough parenting in allowing me to grow as a human, but also looking me in the eye and saying, 'You need to be kind and you need to be kind to me.' It was at those moments that I realized, 'Okay, I can't give all of myself [to the work.]'"

"Moana" has since gone on to become the most streamed movie ever, with a sequel currently in theaters, and Cravalho received plaudits earlier this year for her performance in "Mean Girls."

While she said that "kids feel a little indebted" and "grateful" for their parents' sacrifices, the 24-year-old has worked hard to make it up to her mom.

"I bought my mommy a house," she said. "She's happily retired."

Cravalho is only the latest Hollywood star to use their success to help their parents. "Barbie" star Margot Robbie revealed last year that she used to keep careful track of the money her mom lent her while she was trying to make it as an actress.

"She'd take money out of the house mortgage and lend me money," she said at the time. "So I always knew, 'Oh, I've gotta pay that back.'"

"And one day, when I made enough money, I just paid that whole mortgage off completely," she continued. "I was like, 'Mom, don't even worry about that mortgage anymore. It doesn't exist anymore.'" 

"Thor" actor Chris Hemsworth paid off his father's debts with his Hollywood earnings, while Michael B. Jordan bought a mansion to share with his parents.

"It's every kid's dream, to buy their mom and dad a house," he said in a 2018 interview. "It was a bucket-list thing for me." 

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