What have you learned from working with amazing women like Oprah and Ava DuVernay?
I feel like they’ve gotten to where they are because they are good people, and they have good hearts and they have love and passion and humility for what they’re doing. I’ve experienced that firsthand with Ava DuVernay on A Wrinkle in Time and “When They See Us.” And then being able to work with Ms. Oprah [and] my big sister Zendaya. I feel like they are all very appreciative of what they’re doing and they’re trying to make a change and have those progressive conversations. So that inspires me the most, that they’re just good people and they have all this success but they are still grounded and humble.
How important is it to have your “Euphoria” co-star Zendaya as a friend and big sister as you navigate Hollywood?
We try to stay in contact when we’re not filming, and she invited me to her house for Christmas. We live close, so I just went to her house and hung out with her and her family — who I love — and we played some games, such as Black Card Revoked, so it was fun. Zendaya has been someone that I’ve looked up to forever. Working with her is amazing because she is older than me but she’s closer in age, so I’m able to lean on her for things that I’m going through as a young girl growing up in Hollywood.
You will be graduating from high school in a few months. Do you plan to attend college next fall?
I’m excited. I’m going to take a gap year and then figure out what school I’ll attend. I have a few on my list such as [the] University of Southern California. They have an incredible film school, and I would like to major in film and just learn the business more. And then, of course, I’m from Atlanta, so Spelman College is a great school. So, I’m considering that or maybe even Howard University to be around my people.
Story by A.R. Shaw
Images by Louis Cuthbert
