In the mid‑2020s, few actors have captured public fascination like Sydney Sweeney. Born in Spokane, Washington in 1997, she began acting as a teenager and broke through with roles in HBO’s Euphoria and The White Lotus. Her trajectory makes her the latest ‘it’ girl, a label used since the 1920s.
But an examination of Sweeney shows just how much expectations have changed for the 21st-century ‘it’ girl, although misogynistic pressures still exist. Not only an actor but a business brand, Sweeney has quickly escalated her skillset to that of an entrepreneur, while also facing backlash – more recently – for her involvement in a major advertising campaign for American Eagle Jeans, which has drawn criticism for what some have perceived to be an unsubtle nod to eugenics.
