Sydney Sweeney Details How Her Rise to Stardom Led to Her Parents Going Bankrupt, Divorcing

In a new interview with Glamour as part of their 2024 Women Of The Year issue, the Anyone But You actress shared how her rise to the top negatively impacted her family.

Growing up on the Washington-Idaho border, a young Sweeney always knew she wanted to be a star, and after convincing her parents — with the help of a detailed PowerPoint presentation — they began driving her down to Los Angeles for auditions. The grueling, 38-hour back-and-forth trip often resulted in little work for Sweeney, with many in her small town urging her to “stop breaking your family apart” with the constant journeys to that “hell-ridden city” and get a “real job” instead.

In the end it paid off for Sweeney, but it came with a price — after moving to Los Angeles when she was 16, her parents divorced, and eventually filed for bankruptcy.

“There was a moment where I stopped wanting to go home, which made me really sad because I felt like a failure,” Sweeney said of those early days.

“I knew that I could never actually fail because, I mean, on a very broad scale, my family did lose everything,” she added of striving to make it despite those setbacks, “They did get a divorce. Whether or not that was because of coming here, it definitely was a catalyst for it. So I knew I had to succeed in some capacity so that it wasn’t for nothing.”

Sweeney went on to struggle during those early days as she went out for auditions and finished high school, driving her grandparents old Volvo while her L.A. classmates showed up to school in Mercedes Benz’s and BMWs.

“For 20 years I was this person,” the Euphoria star said. “It’s just been in the last five years that my life has changed and grown. Most of my life, I was a completely normal person. You guys didn’t see it because I wasn’t famous.”

And it really was in the last five years that Sweeney’s star began to shine, with the young actress landing small, but standout roles in The Handmaid’s Tale, Sharp Objects and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, before breaking out in hits like Euphoria and The White Lotus.

Now, with a few more movies under her belt, the aforementioned Anyone But You and Immaculate, and her own production company Fifty-Fifty Films, which has several projects in the works, Sweeney has gone from rising star to “It Girl.”

“It’s a weird feeling when people are like, ‘Oh, you’re successful,’ or say, “You’ve made it,'” Sweeney said. “It doesn’t feel like that because there’s so much more I want to accomplish and achieve. I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of what I’d like to do in my life.”

While her family may have taken a hit as a result of her career, Sweeny is as ambitious as ever and has every intention to “keep working,” with their struggles inspiring the 27-year-old starlet to get a firm grip on the money she has now and where it goes.

“I come from a family where I saw my parents lose everything, and I am terrified of that. That fear will always be instilled in me. I’m a huge saver. I don’t just go and spend money. I like to invest. I like real estate. I like making, hopefully, smart choices with the money I’m making. But I don’t think I’ll ever actually feel comfortable,” Sweeney said.

She also is adamant about taking care of her family, adding, “I’m a very successful, independent woman who’s worked really hard. I’ve accomplished and bought everything myself, and I provide for myself and my family.”