The rise (and rise) of Sydney Sweeney: How the Euphoria star has gone from a conservative rural upbringing and tiny TV parts to a racy cameo in The Rolling Stones new music video
She started with a humble upbringing in a rural town on the Idaho border.
But in just a few years, thanks to her All-American image, Sydney Sweeney has become the cream of Hollywood, rising from bit parts to huge roles in TV blockbusters Euphoria and The White Lotus.
At just 25, she is now one of the most sought after actresses in the industry with a huge younger audience and a whopping 15 million Instagram followers.
While Sydney has years of acting success in her future, her career has reached a staggering new height with a cameo in The Rolling Stones‘ new music video.
So, as fans laud Sydney‘s ‘perfect’ performance in The Stones’ new hit, MailOnline takes a look at her rise to stardom:
An unassuming background
Humble: Sydney was born to a criminal defence lawyer mother (pictured centre) and hospitality professional father, and she grew up in Spokane, a city in Washington
While Sydney’s stellar TV roles prove she’s always had acting in her blood, her background is far from that of a star dreaming of the Hollywood sign with hours of drama clubs and stage schools behind them.
Born to a criminal defence lawyer mother and hospitality professional father, she grew up in Spokane, a city in Washington on the border of Idaho.
Speaking of her upbringing, she said in 2022: ‘It’s a different way of life out there. It’s very simple. Family is everything.’
Sydney, who was her class’ valedictoria, threw herself into a slew of extracurricular activities, and was on her school’s football, baseball, snow slalom ski and robotics team.
She also juggled wakeboarding, golf, softball, skiing, and dirt biking, and was even a member of an academic club called Math Is Cool.
Conservative upbringing
Faith: Sydney has previously detailed how she grew up in a religious family, but doesn’t practice any particular faith herself
Drama: Her family were also hit by a ‘wildfire’ of controversy when she posted snaps of her mother’s birthday party guests wearing MAGA-inspired hats
Sydney has previously detailed how she grew up in a religious family, but doesn’t practice any particular faith herself, saying in an interview: ‘I came from a religious family but I’m open to all religions.’
She also previously shared that due to her parents’ conservative views, she nearly turned down her breakout part in Euphoria due to his graphic nature.
In 2021 she said: ‘What’s crazy, and this is going to sound really bad — is when I first got sent the audition, I was too nervous to go do it.
‘I grew up in a smaller town with my family, who are a little more conservative, and I was like, ”They’re going to kill me if I do something like this.”
Her family were also hit by a ‘wildfire’ of controversy when she posted snaps of her mother’s birthday party guests wearing MAGA-inspired hats.
She was accused of being ‘right-wing’ in August when she shared snaps which featured a male guest wearing what appeared to be a Blue Lives Matter shirt – and others wearing MAGA parody hats at the Spokane, Washington event.
The Euphoria star told British GQ: ‘Honestly I feel like nothing I say can help the conversation. It’s been turning into a wildfire and nothing I can say will take it back to the correct track.’
In August Sweeney slammed ‘absurd’ claims regarding her family’s political ties when fans accused the actress of being right-wing.
She said on social media: ‘You guys this is wild. An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention.
‘Please stop making assumptions. Much love to everyone ❤️ and Happy Birthday Mom!’ she concluded.
A racy Rolling Stones cameo
Sexy! Sydney’s star reached stunning new heights this week when she made an appearance in the music video for The Rolling Stones’ new song Angry
Sizzling! She put on a sizzling display in the video as she slipped into a leather crop top and matching skimpy shorts
Wow! Sydney was also one of few stars in attendance at the Venice Film Festival this year, meaning she drew plenty of eyes with her glamorous looks
Sydney’s star reached stunning new heights this week when she made an appearance in the music video for The Rolling Stones’ new song Angry.
She put on a sizzling display in the video as she slipped into a leather crop top and matching skimpy shorts.
The video, directed by Francois Rousselet, sees Sydney miming the lyrics to the single as she strikes a series of dance moves in the back of a car driving through Los Angeles.
Letting her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders, Sydney also sported a pair of star print tights in the video along with a pair of black boots.
As she moves through the streets, the billboards show moving images of the band performing over the years.
Her performance in the video was well received by fans, with several taking to X/Twitter to praise the star.
One fan wrote: ‘Sydney Sweeney deserves all the love,’ while another added: ‘Sydney Sweeney looks dope in this.’
A third wrote: ‘She’s perfect for this,’ while another said she and The Rolling Stones ‘make a great pair’.
Sydney was also one of few stars in attendance at the Venice Film Festival this year, meaning she drew plenty of eyes with her glamorous looks.
Arriving as a guest of Armani, she made a slew of red carpet appearances at the event, catching the eye in a range of designer gowns.
Her Hollywood beginnings
Youngster: Sweeney got her start in Hollywood guest starring on many television shows including Criminal Minds, 90210, Kickin’ It, and Grey’s Anatomy (pictured in 2011)
Back in the day: She made several small appearances in 90210 which starred the likes of Matt Lanter, AnnaLynne McCord and Shenae Grimes
Sweeney got her start in Hollywood guest starring on many television shows including Criminal Minds, 90210, Kickin’ It, and Grey’s Anatomy.
At the start of her career, she also made appearances in movies Angels in Stardust, Vikes, and Dead Ant.
In 2017, Sweeney was in the television show In the Vault which lasted one season.
Shortly after in 2018, she played Emaline in the Netflix TV show Everything Sucks! The show followed a group of high school kids in the 90s in Oregon.
The 10-episode series parodied the teen culture of the 1990s. Set in the real life town of Boring, Oregon, it centered on a group of students at Boring High School.
The plot centered around the friction between the A/V Club and the Drama Club.
Netflix cancelled the series after one season, but Sydney was the breakout star of Everything Sucks! and on her way to the stardom she enjoys today.
She made several small appearances in 90210 which starred the likes of Matt Lanter, AnnaLynne McCord and Shenae Grimes.
She was also was in one episode of Grey’s Anatomy during Season 11 of the popular TV show.
She was a guest star on an episode called Don’t Let’s Start in 2014 where she played Erin Weaver.
Her star is on the rise
Nice one: After getting her foot in the door she began to land some bigger roles, firstly in the second season of the enormous hit The Handmaid’s Tale
Huge: Then she appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s dramedy Once Upon a Time in Hollywood alongside Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie
After getting her foot in the door Sydney began to land some bigger roles, firstly in the second season of the enormous hit The Handmaid’s Tale.
The series is based on the book of the same name by Margaret Atwood and is set in the dystopian world of Gilead, where women have their autonomy taken away from them.
Sydney appeared in seven episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale season two as Eden Blaine.
Introduced in episode five Eden is a young girl who is assigned to be a child bride for Nick Blaine (Max Minghella).
However, Nick’s affection for June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), affects his and Eden’s arranged marriage.
Consequently, Eden ends up falling for a young Guardian named Isaac (Rohan Mead). Together, Eden and Isaac attempt to escape Gilead only to be caught and captured by the Gileadean authorities.
The two are immediately sentenced to death and, in Sweeney’s last appearance on The Handmaid’s Tale, Eden and Isaac are shoved into an abandoned swimming pool with weight strapped to their waists.
For her part, in a 2018 interview with Three If By Space, Sweeney discussed how difficult it was to leave after only a few episodes.
‘There were many tears and lots of hugs given. There are so many great times that I will take with me. Not being able to work with these people anymore was so sad.’
Next up, Sydney took on the role of Alice in the HBO miniseries Sharp Objects, which was based on the Gillian Flynn novel of the same name.
She played Alice, a roommate whom Amy Adams’s character meets at a psychiatric facility.
Her character was originally supposed to have a smaller role, but the director kept bringing her in for more scenes.
The she appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s dramedy Once Upon a Time in Hollywood alongside Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie.
And while her part was small – it marked a major milestone working on a big budget, splashy film with a legendary director and A-list stars.
She played the role of Snake, who is a member of the Manson Family who lives on Spahn ranch with the rest of the girls who fell under the spell of the notorious serial killer.
Her big break
Iconic: In 2019, Euphoria debuted on HBO and instantly became a fan favorite and launched Sydney into the stratosphere
Breakout role: Sydney got her breakout role in 2019 when she was cast as Cassie Howard in HBO’s Euphoria
In 2019, Euphoria debuted on HBO and instantly became a fan favorite and launched Sydney into the stratosphere.
The show is the cable channel’s most-watched show after Game of Thrones.
Starring Zendaya, Maude Apatow, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Shafer, Angus Cloud and Sydney, the series redefined high school dramas for GenZ.
At first, she was told she wasn’t right for the role of Cassie – a sweet and popular girl who is deeply insecure and sleeps around. In fact, she was told not to bother coming into to even audition.
Her agent fought for her and she submitted a tape and the rest is history.
She was nominated for an Emmy for her role in the high school drama with rampant drug use and casual sex last year.
‘Of course I was hoping for Euphoria because I’m so proud of my character and I put a lot into it, but I didn’t think I was going to get it because of the other actresses who gave such incredible performances this year,’ she said.
And the actress admits she enjoys how crazy her character in Euphoria is.
‘I enjoy going crazy. So I kind of hope she’s still a little crazy. For Cassie, she needs to make amends,’ she told Variety.
Sweeney added that in the end, ‘I hope one day she loves herself.’ But for as long as she can Sweeney said she’ll continue to enjoy the character’s ‘craziness.’
Becoming a household name
Huge show: Next up she starred in HBO Max satirical murder dramedy The White Lotus
Next up she starred in HBO Max satirical murder dramedy The White Lotus.
Sweeney played cynical college sophomore Olivia Mossbacher, daughter of Mark Mossbacher (Steve Zahn) and Nicole Mossbacher (Connie Britton) in the series.
The show garnered Sydney her first Emmy nomination for her role as Olivia.
White Lotus’ creator Mike White heaped praise on Sydney after filming, saying: ‘She’s very likable and charming, but then you put her in front of a camera and – I don’t want to sound like some Old Hollywood freak – but she has these powers.
‘Certain actors have a certain kind of magic, and she is definitely one of them.’
Next up in 2023, Sweeney starred in Tina Satter’s thriller drama Reality, which premiered at the 73rd Berlin Film Festival, where she received critical praise for her performance.
Steph Green of IndieWire stated: ‘Not only is Reality inventively mounted and extraordinarily tense, but across 85 taut minutes, it proves something we already knew deep down: that Sydney Sweeney is the real deal’.
More recently she filmed a new movie with Glen Powell – a yet-to-be-titled romantic comedy which was shot in Australia.
Details on the plot of the R-rated flick are being kept under wraps but the film will also star Bryan Brown, Michelle Hurd, Hadley Robinson and Darren Barnet.
Coming up the actress has Euphoria’s third season in the pipeline as well as high-profile roles in the AppleTV+ series Echo Valley alongside Julianne Moore , Marvel’s Madame Web alongside Dakota Johnson and as the lead in the horror movie Immaculate.
Wedding bells
Exciting: Sydney remains happily engaged to her fiancé Jonathan Davino, despite sparking unsubstantiated affair rumors with her co-star Glen Powell (pictured)
Sydney remains happily engaged to her fiancé Jonathan Davino, despite sparking unsubstantiated affair rumors with her co-star Glen Powell.
While fans have speculated whether the her chemistry with the Top Gun: Maverick heartthrob, 34, spilled off-screen, an insider confirmed that she ‘is still’ with her husband-to-be, 37.
The source added that the costars ‘are not dating’ and that the Sharp Objects actress is back to living with Davino, a successful entrepreneur and businessman, since wrapping filming on her upcoming romantic comedy.
‘All is well between them,’ the outlet reported of the two-time Emmy nominee’s nearly five-year relationship, after accepting the restauranteur’s proposal last March.
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