Though Madeleine Madden has only just premiered her first American production—this summer’s family blockbuster Dora and the Lost City of Gold—her family’s legacy of activism in her native Australia precedes her. The 22-year old actress comes from a dynasty of freedom fighters: her great-grandmother Hetty Perkins was an elder of Australia’s Arrernte tribe, and her grandfather Charles Perkins was an activist and played a key role in the 1965 Freedom Ride, which sought to end discrimination against Aboroginal people in New South Wales.

“When we were kids we were never left out of these discussions about the world. We were always involved and asked what our opinions were,” Madden notes of her politically-charged upbringing. “Having a kind of political voice and views from a very young age has been amazing and has really opened my mind. It has also been difficult when you’re kind of finding yourself as a person and you want to get out in the world and start doing things and making a change.”

When Madden was only 13-years old she delivered a televised address to the nation on the future of Indigenous Australians. Though she may have taken a more artistic career path, the influence of her ancestors is not lost on her.

“I feel like there is a legacy that my grandparents and my mom and dad have left, that my family has made. I want to uphold that history and do my bit for my community,” she says earnestly.

In fact, Madden—a Freedom Fighter 2.0 in her own right—feels a stronger call to action, now more than ever. “We’ve always been raised that if you have a platform to generate change and raise awareness, then that’s what you need to do,” she says. Her Instagram reflects just that: her page is riddled with posts about issues spanning from climate change and literacy, to violence against women and the experiences of Indigenous Australians.