She first gained prominence for her starring role as Amy Juergens in the ABC Family teen drama series The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2013).

[4] At the age of five, she began working in commercials, including advertisements for Leapfrog, Hertz and a Honda minivan, appearing in more than sixty TV spots before she turned eleven years old.

She told The Hollywood Reporter that her parents only agreed to allow her to work professionally if she promised to adhere to three rules: "I had to stay the person they knew I was; have fun; and do good in school".

In order to graduate with her class while starring in an ABC Family TV show, which she booked in the middle of her junior year, a teacher would go to her house once a week and bring all the work she missed at school, which she would do at home or in her trailer on set, in-between takes.

[6][7][8] She considered studying Interior Design at New York University (NYU) but never had the chance to, as her acting career became more demanding since she signed on to star in The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Following this, Woodley appeared in numerous guest roles in other television series, including Everybody Loves Raymond, My Name Is Earl, CSI: NY, Close to Home, and Cold Case.

Woodley was cast as the main character, Amy Juergens, in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2013), about a 15-year-old girl who learns she is pregnant.

[23] Woodley starred in the film adaptation of Tim Tharp's novel, The Spectacular Now, as Aimee Finecky, an innocent, bookish teenager who begins dating the charming, freewheeling high-school senior Sutter Keely (Miles Teller).

Director Marc Webb told The Hollywood Reporter that the cut was "a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship," and that everyone loved working with Woodley.

Critic Moira MacDonald commended her by saying, "Woodley's depiction of Kat is low-key, natural, and utterly unaffected; as she has in every role, she makes the character her own, with her scratchy little voice and level gaze.

Her performance once again received critical acclaim, with Daniel M. Kimmel of New England Movies Weekly writing, "Woodley does solid work here as she's done elsewhere, and continues to be someone to watch."

[48] In an interview with MTV, Woodley clarified that she had every intention of doing the final Divergent installment but she wanted to see its rightful end, and to her, that meant finishing what she, the cast and crew set out to do from the beginning and that is making Ascendant a full-length feature film.

[51] Owen Gleiberman's review said that Woodley "gives a performance of breathtaking dimension: As the movie goes on, she makes Lindsay supportive and selfish, loving and stricken.

"[52] Starting in 2015,[53] Woodley took a break from filming for nearly a year and considered quitting as an actor, stating in a later interview that she "had hit a wall with acting" and "felt it was time to do something different".

[54] In 2017, Woodley starred as a sexual assault survivor, alongside Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, in the HBO critically acclaimed drama series Big Little Lies directed by Jean-Marc Vallée.

[55] Sarah Rense of Esquire called Woodley's performance "underrated" and "brought a quiet complexity", adding that "she was the most realistic character" and her "cool demeanor interrupted by sudden, short outbursts - just seemed so real to anyone who thinks more than they talk".

[67][68] The film was poorly received with a critical consensus that reads, "Endings, Beginnings smothers its talented ensemble cast's committed work in a carelessly constructed, aimlessly dawdling story".

[70] In 2021, Woodley had a supporting role in Kevin Macdonald's real-life Guantanamo Bay drama film The Mauritanian alongside Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim and Benedict Cumberbatch.

[74] She next starred in and executive produced the romantic drama The Last Letter from Your Lover alongside Felicity Jones, based on the bestselling book by Jojo Moyes.

Directed and co-written by Argentine filmmaker Damián Szifron in his English-language debut, the film is centered on Woodley's character, Eleanor Falco, a talented but troubled cop who is recruited by the FBI to help profile and track down a mass murderer.

[78] Rex Reed of Observer said, "Woodley plays it on the verge of mental and physical exhaustion, rubbing the pain from her eye, giving every scene a little something extra" and further stated that she "adds another laurel to her already impressive resume".

[79] She next starred opposite Jack Whitehall in the sci-fi comedy Robots, which is a film directorial debut of the screenwriting duo Anthony Hines and Casper Christensen.

[84][85] She next starred in Philippe Lacôte's mystery thriller Killer Heat (2024), alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Richard Madden, set in Crete, Greece.

[106] In 2010, she and her mother co-founded the nonprofit organization All it Takes, a youth leadership program that aims to educate young people to practice empathy, compassion, responsibility, and purpose in hopes to foster sustainable, positive change for themselves, others and the environment.

In October, after a month and a half of active participation with other protesters, she was arrested for criminal trespassing in Saint Anthony, North Dakota south of Mandan.

[129][130] As a member of the organization and a known environmental activist, Woodley became one of the speakers at a National Town Hall in 2018, titled "Solving Our Climate Crisis", hosted by Our Revolution founder Bernie Sanders.

It ultimately gave her the opportunity to introduce the 100 by '50 Act, a bill that calls for the United States to aggressively reduce carbon pollution and achieve 100% clean and renewable energy by 2050, sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley.

[150] In 2020, Woodley partnered with Karün, a certified B Corp that creates high-quality eyewear using recycled waste like fishing nets, ropes, and metals collected by local rural entrepreneurs.

[156] In 2023, Woodley joined Greenpeace in Paris, demanding the United Nations create a strong and ambitious Global Treaty that will effectively end plastic pollution.

[158] In 2023, she also appeared in the Italian docufilm Materia Viva focused on Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) alongside Susan Sarandon to talk about their care and activism for the environment.