BITTER SPLIT
‘We lost everything’ Sydney Sweeney reveals reality of fame and how it was ‘catalyst’ in parents’ divorce and bankruptcy
People in Sydney's hometown once accused her of “breaking her family apart and wasting all their money”
ACTRESS Sydney Sweeney has revealed how her pursuit of an acting career served as a “catalyst” for her family's downfall, culminating in her parents declaring bankruptcy and divorcing.
The 27-year-old has bravely opened up about how her parent’s “lost everything” while supporting her childhood dreams, which included 38-hour round trips for auditions and relocating to pricey Los Angeles.
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Despite her innate drive to become an actress, Sydney’s mum and dad didn’t grant her much screen time to watch films and TV shows.
“I’ve seen the staples of your childhood, but my parents were really against us being on electronics,” she says.
She became obsessed with the idea of becoming an actress at 12-years-old after seeing an audition notice for a local independent film.
Fast forward 15 years, she’s a leading lady in HBO show Euphoria, and has appeared in Hollywood blockbusters like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Anyone But You.
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It wasn’t smooth sailing, though.
Sydney’s parents would drive her and her younger brother on a 38-hour round trip from their home near the Washington-Idaho border to California for auditions.
Most of them would flump, and she’d be lucky to gain a spot as a featured extra.
People in her hometown would tell her to “stop dragging your family to a hell-ridden city” and accused her of “breaking her family apart and wasting all their money”.
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This went on for two years until the Sweeney family decided to relocate to the City of Angels when Sydney was just 13-years-old.
However, the cost of living in Los Angeles put immense strain on her parents, both financially and emotionally.
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By 2016, they had divorced and declared bankruptcy.
“There was a moment where I stopped wanting to go home, which made me really sad because I felt like a failure,” Sydney tells .
“I knew that I could never actually fail because, I mean, on a very broad scale, my family did lose everything.
“Whether or not that was because of coming here, it definitely was a catalyst for it. "
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5 Facts You Didn't Know About Sydney Sweeney
- The glamour puss has a passion for vintage cars and restoring them
- She's never tried coffee and at 12-years-old, swore to only drink water
- Sydney grew up in a rural lakeside home that has been in her family for five generations
- As well as English, she speaks Spanish and Russian
- She got engaged to businessman Jonathan Davino in 2023 but the pair choose to keep their relationship private
She adds: "I knew I had to succeed in some capacity so that it wasn’t for nothing.”
Sydney opened up about her experiences as a teenager after being named one of Glamour’s Women of The Year.
She wrote on Instagram about the award: “This recognition means the world to me, and I owe it to the incredible people who have supported me along the way.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in me during this journey.
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“Here’s to breaking boundaries and creating a brighter future for all women.
“We kinda rock!”
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