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Still from Insurgent (2015)
Character · by Priya Nair

Tris Prior: Who She Is, Who Plays Her and What Happens to Her

Tris Prior, whose full name is Beatrice Prior, is the heroine of the Divergent films, played by Shailene Woodley in Divergent (2014), Insurgent (2015) and Allegiant (2016). She is sixteen years old when the story opens, grows up in the selfless Abnegation faction and chooses the brave Dauntless faction at her choosing ceremony.

Image: TMDB

Who Plays Beatrice 'Tris' Prior?

Who Is Tris Prior?

Tris Prior is the central character of the Divergent saga, a girl from a walled future Chicago who does not fit the faction she was born into. She appears in all three films: Divergent (2014), directed by Neil Burger, then Insurgent (2015) and Allegiant (2016), both directed by Robert Schwentke. Shailene Woodley plays her in each one and is billed first every time.

The name needs a short explanation, because the credits use more than one. She is born Beatrice Prior, and the first film credits her as Tris, the shorter name she adopts when she joins Dauntless. The two sequels credit her as Beatrice 'Tris' Prior. If you search for Beatrice Prior, this is the same person.

In Divergent (2014), Chicago is divided into five factions, each built around a single virtue: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless and Erudite. Tris has grown up in Abnegation, the selfless faction, but she does not feel at home there. At her aptitude test the administrator, Tori, finds that she matches several factions rather than one, secretly changes the record and warns her to hide the result. That mixed result is what makes her Divergent, and it drives every film that follows. At the choosing ceremony she leaves her family and picks Dauntless.

For a comparison of how the books and the films treat her, see Divergent books vs movies. For the wider ensemble, the Divergent characters index lists everyone else, and the Divergent factions page explains the five groups she moves between.

Beatrice 'Tris' Prior Films

Tris Prior's Story Arc Across the Divergent MoviesSpoilers

Tris moves from a nervous initiate to a fugitive and then to the person who tells the whole city the truth about itself. Each film gives her a different job, and the arc is easiest to follow one film at a time.

Divergent (2014). Tris renames herself and begins Dauntless initiation, where trainees are ranked and the lowest are cut and left factionless. Her instructor, who goes by Four, pushes the recruits hard, and an aggressive rival named Peter targets her. She struggles at first, then improves through fear simulations in which she can often think her way out, a sign of her Divergent mind. Four notices this and helps her hide it. While Jeanine Matthews, the Erudite leader, stirs up distrust of Abnegation, Tris passes initiation. Dauntless members are then injected with a serum that places them under remote control, and Jeanine uses it to send them against Abnegation. Tris's mother and father are both killed in the assault. Four, controlled by the serum, nearly shoots Tris before she brings him back to his senses. The two reach the Erudite headquarters, where she defeats Jeanine's forces and halts the attack, then flees the city by train with a small group that includes her brother Caleb.

Insurgent (2015). Jeanine takes control of the city and brands the Divergent as enemies. Her allies find a box marked with the symbols of all five factions, which only a Divergent of exceptional ability can open, so Tris becomes the target. She runs with Four, Caleb and Peter, meets the Factionless led by Four's mother Evelyn, and stands trial under truth serum in Candor, where she admits she killed Will, a friend of Christina. When Dauntless forces attack, Eric and Max capture her. She gives herself up to stop Jeanine pushing Dauntless captives toward a deadly ledge, then goes through a series of dangerous simulations meant to unlock the box. Peter helps her fake her death so she can reach the simulation room. She passes the final test and opens the box, which plays a message showing that the city and its factions are an experiment.

Allegiant (2016). After Evelyn closes the wall, Tris and Four free Caleb and escape with Tori, Christina and Peter. Tori dies when Edgar's guards pursue them. Soldiers rescue the group and take them to the Bureau of Genetic Welfare, led by David, who explains that Tris is the first to show the result the Bureau's experiments wanted. She agrees to help him, then breaks with him and returns to Chicago with Caleb and Christina. She stops the amnesia gas, destroys the gas hub with Caleb's help and broadcasts the truth about the Chicago experiment to the world.

Tris Prior's Relationships: Four, Caleb, Christina and Others

Tris's closest ties are with Four, her brother Caleb and her friend Christina, and each of them is tested by the plot. Her other relationships, with Peter, Jeanine and David, are defined by conflict or by a bargain that goes wrong.

Four. Four Divergent is played by Theo James and starts as her Dauntless instructor. He is Divergent too and helps her hide it. The relationship is also tested: under the control serum in Divergent (2014) he nearly shoots her, and in Allegiant Tris chooses to stay with David while Four learns that the Bureau is taking children and wiping their memories.

Caleb. Caleb Prior Divergent is her brother, played by Ansel Elgort. He escapes Chicago with her, sides with Erudite during Insurgent, and then helps her destroy the gas hub in Allegiant.

Her parents. Natalie (played by Ashley Judd) and Andrew (played by Tony Goldwyn) are both killed in the attack on Abnegation. In Allegiant, David shows Tris her mother's memories, which is part of how he draws her in.

Christina. Christina Divergent is played by Zoë Kravitz and stays close to Tris through the series. Their bond is strained when Tris admits in Candor that she killed Will, Christina's friend. Christina is still with her when they cross the wall in Allegiant.

Peter. Peter Hayes Divergent begins as her aggressive rival in training. In Insurgent he helps her fake her death, and in Allegiant he opens the vault so she and Four can halt the gas.

Enemies and mentors. Tori, played by Maggie Q, is the administrator who protects Tris at her aptitude test. Jeanine Matthews and Eric Coulter Divergent are her main opponents in the first two films, while Evelyn Johnson Eaton Divergent shifts from ally to danger as the Factionless gain power.

What Happens to Tris Prior at the End of the Series?Spoilers

In Allegiant (2016), the last film released, Tris ends the story as the person who exposed the Chicago experiment to the world. She breaks with David, returns to Chicago with Caleb and Christina, and helps stop Evelyn's amnesia gas before it erases everyone's memories. She destroys the gas hub with Caleb's help, then broadcasts the truth that Chicago was a genetic purity experiment run by the Bureau.

Caleb's explosion destroys David's hovercar, which breaks the cloaking shield and exposes the Bureau's hidden headquarters. The film closes on those events and leaves the Bureau's fate and life beyond the wall open for a planned final film, Ascendant.

That fourth film was never made. It was first planned as a theatrical release, then redeveloped as a TV movie and later a Starz series. Veronica Roth told Entertainment Weekly in 2023 that Ascendant would never be made and that the franchise feels complete. The Divergent Ascendant page tracks the status, and as of November 2026 no new Divergent film has been officially announced or dated. For where the three films sit in order, see Divergent movies in order.

Tris Prior's Best Moments: My Picks

In my opinion, the best moments for Tris are the ones where she solves a problem with her head, because that is what the Divergent label means in practice. These three are my picks, and they are opinion rather than anything the films state.

The fear simulations in Divergent (2014). Tris struggles at first in initiation, then improves through simulations in which she can often think her way out. It is the cleanest explanation of what Divergent means, shown rather than lectured, and it is the ability Four notices and helps her hide. Her early struggle makes the improvement more interesting to watch.

Giving herself up in Insurgent. When Jeanine pushes Dauntless captives toward the ledge, Tris surrenders to save them. It is the point where her Abnegation upbringing, the selflessness she thought she had left behind, comes back as a decision rather than a habit. That being said, the aftermath, with the simulations and the box, is what turns the choice into a plot.

The broadcast in Allegiant. After the Bureau has tried to use her and she has broken with David, Tris sends the truth about Chicago to the world. It is a quieter set piece than a train chase or a vault, yet it closes the question the first film opened: what are the factions for? If you are new to the series, watch these three scenes in order and you will understand her arc quickly. The rest of the saga is on Divergent movies.

Facts

FAQs

Who plays Tris Prior in Divergent?

Shailene Woodley plays Tris Prior in all three films: Divergent (2014), Insurgent (2015) and Allegiant (2016). She is billed first in each cast list. See the full Divergent cast for the rest of the ensemble.

How old is Tris Prior?

Tris, whose full name is Beatrice Prior, is sixteen years old when Divergent (2014) begins. That is the age she is at the aptitude test and the choosing ceremony.

Why did Tris Prior choose Dauntless?

Tris grew up in selfless Abnegation but did not feel she fit. Her aptitude test showed she matched several factions, and the administrator, Tori, secretly changed the record and warned her to hide it. At the choosing ceremony she left her family and picked Dauntless, the brave faction.

Why was Tris killed?

In the three films Tris is not killed. She is hunted in Insurgent because only a Divergent of exceptional ability can open the box Jeanine's allies found, and her test results show she can. She fakes her death with Peter's help to reach the simulation room, and she is the one who broadcasts the truth about Chicago in Allegiant. The character who dies in Allegiant is Tori, when Edgar's guards pursue the group.

How many fears does Tris Prior have?

The Divergent films do not put a number on her fears. What they show is that Tris struggles at first in the Dauntless fear simulations, then improves because she can often think her way out, which is a sign of her Divergent mind. Four notices this and helps her hide it.

What is Tris's friend's name in Divergent?

Her closest friend is Christina, played by Zoë Kravitz. Their friendship is strained in Insurgent when Tris admits she killed Will, a friend of Christina. Christina is still with her when they leave Chicago in Allegiant.