celebrity-features

Over the course of our hour-and-a-half-long conversation, I come to learn that there’s no topic too light or too deep for Collins, and the range of what we covered is a testament to that. No matter what we discussed—be it the polarized reception of Emily in Paris, her mix-breed rescue Redford, or the importance of going to therapy—Collins brought a certain levity to all subject matter. They say that how you do anything is how you do everything, and I’m beginning to get the idea that Collins does everything with curiosity and openness.  Despite being born in the English countryside to performer Phil Collins and Jill Tavelman, Collins spent most of her formative years in Los Angeles, where she went on to earn a degree in journalism from USC. As a teenager, Collins wrote a column, NY Con...

Over the course of our hour-and-a-half-long conversation, I come to learn that there’s no topic too light or too deep for Collins, and the range of what we covered is a testament to that. No matter what we discussed—be it the polarized reception of Emily in Paris, her mix-breed rescue Redford, or the importance of going to therapy—Collins brought a certain levity to all subject matter. They say that how you do anything is how you do everything, and I’m beginning to get the idea that Collins does everything with curiosity and openness.  Despite being born in the English countryside to performer Phil Collins and Jill Tavelman, Collins spent most of her formative years in Los Angeles, where she went on to earn a degree in journalism from USC. As a teenager, Collins wrote a column, NY Con...

Over the course of our hour-and-a-half-long conversation, I come to learn that there’s no topic too light or too deep for Collins, and the range of what we covered is a testament to that. No matter what we discussed—be it the polarized reception of Emily in Paris, her mix-breed rescue Redford, or the importance of going to therapy—Collins brought a certain levity to all subject matter. They say that how you do anything is how you do everything, and I’m beginning to get the idea that Collins does everything with curiosity and openness.  Despite being born in the English countryside to performer Phil Collins and Jill Tavelman, Collins spent most of her formative years in Los Angeles, where she went on to earn a degree in journalism from USC. As a teenager, Collins wrote a column, NY Con...

Why she stopped working, whether it was by choice or by circumstance, is not entirely clear. What is clear is that life largely out of the spotlight has mellowed her. “Whenever you slow down, you realize that every little thing can make you happy in a different way,” Lohan says. She moved to Dubai in 2014, where paparazzi are illegal (“I found it to be a sacred space for me. I could do my own thing, and nobody bothered me.”), and married financier Bader Shammas, whom she calls the love of her life, earlier this year. Though she launched a podcast, The Lohdown With Lindsay Lohan, in April (“It’s refreshing to be the curious one”), we became largely accustomed to our greatest export in repose. But seemingly out of the blue came the 2021 announcement that Lohan would be returning to acti...

“I come from modeling, so I knew a lot of the designers—I know a lot of the designers—so it seemed, you know, easy to just call them and ask them if I could wear one of their dresses,” Kruger says of her decision to stop using a stylist in the early stages of her career. But it wasn’t all a matter of convenience. Rather, Kruger, like so many of us, is a fangirl when it comes to fashion. “I love watching the runways,” she says in an almost giddy way. “I go online, and I see all the collections, [and] I try to look out for new designers. I just love it.” Then, when an occasion arises, she rifles through her saved folders full of sartorial screengrabs, picks a look that she thinks could work, and asks the designer if it’s available. “Sometimes, it is; sometimes, it’s not. But that’s really ho...

The film takes an almost modern approach, causing the audience, at first glance, to question whether the characters could “pass” by any sense of the definition. “They look at Ruth and I and thought, ‘Well, those are two Black women, like passing for what?’ And I think that was really intentional for Rebecca. She wanted the audience to come in always knowing and assuming that you’re seeing two Black women, particularly for Ruth, that you’re never suspending your disbelief,” Thompson ruminates. While colourism is a familiar burden through BIPOC communities, outside of Black circles, “passing” in a new concept. Thompson even laughs while remembering that some people thought “passing” meant the actress had passed away when the posters for the film first came out. The curtain was pulled back on...

Although Alana’s vulnerability is simultaneously unexpected and striking, Stenberg’s version of the character is not a foil to Evan Hansen, the titular character and antihero protagonist reprised by the inimitable Ben Platt. Rather, Beck is a mirror, reflecting the usual coming-of-age trope: Appearances can be deceiving. “There are actually tons of people who feel similar [to Evan], and Alana reveals herself to be one of those people, even though you might not assume that about her,” she clarifies. The film, which is equally heavy as (if not more so than) the original show, debuted on September 24, but Stenberg and I caught up earlier in the month over Zoom. Between the New York Fashion Week frenzy and preparing for her trip to the Toronto International Film Festival, she talked with ...

Being the “first” can come with a lot of pressure, though. While representation seems to be growing in Hollywood and we’re starting to see more people of color on our screens, Lum is still one of the few Asian actors in the industry who are considered “household names.” She’s become the face of Asian representation. I imagine it would feel like a burden at times to have that pressure on you, but Lum takes it all in stride. “I’ve said this a lot—when you first start out, you don’t understand why you have to shoulder it for the community. You don’t understand why your choices will reflect this entire community of people that are very diverse, and you just want to be known for yourself,” Lum thoughtfully explains. “What e...

I caught up with Fox as she was waiting to board a flight (remember those?) for what’s now a busy press circuit promoting two upcoming films she has out this summer. Chalk it up to my fuzzy speakerphone or the fact that, for her, it was a travel day, but I picked up on a slight haziness in her voice. Whatever it was quickly dissipated as she described the atmosphere of our cover shoot that took place in L.A. just a few days prior. “I was pretty sick,” she admitted. “I thought, ‘Oh, God. I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to pull this off.’” Spoiler: She did. There’s a twinge of a Southern accent in her voice, a slight twang that flattens out the vowels. She spoke candidly, slipping in a “well, shit” or “oh, fuck” as casually as some people would unconsciously say “like” or “um.” You r...

From the sneak peeks I’ve seen, Julien is extremely well versed in fashion—those cast photos on the Met steps just drove me wild. But you can tell that Julien and several of the other characters are wearing really current fashion and designers. Julien is wearing knee-high Schutz boots with her Constance Billard uniform, and there’s that stunning Christopher John Rogers gown. How do you think these styling elements reflect Julien’s power of influence? Does it mean she’s literally a fashion influencer? That is the vibe. Julien has just such a natural air about her that she’s become almost like an accidental influencer. Like, she just happens. She’s also extraordinarily wealthy and well-connected. So you know, there’s that, but she just has this natur...

Although some might consider Day an activist (her chart-topping single “Rise Up” has become the unofficial anthem for Black Lives Matter, for instance), it’s not actually a term she identifies with. “It’s so funny to hear the word ‘activist’ because I don’t think of myself as one,” she chuckles. “I know that people would say that probably sounds very cliché and humble-but-not-humble, but I don’t. I want people to know that I love God, and I want people to encounter that when they encounter me. These ascribed titles, I don’t give them to myself, and, you know, Billie didn’t either. It’s just wanting to help people and wanting to serve more than anything. I’m a servant. That’s what it is, and that’s the best way I can describe it. In my mind, I have this beautiful picture of eternity, just r...