Whether it’s for her acting, her personal life, or her thirst traps, Sydney Sweeney is rarely out of the headlines. That’s been a blessing and a curse for the actress. On one hand, she can buy a house with a backyard for her dog, Tank. On the other, she can’t even go to her own mom’s party without it turning into a huge scandal. With the Euphoria, The White Lotus, and Immaculate star’s 27th birthday fast approaching (September 12!), let’s take a look back at some of Sweeney’s most memorable moments in the spotlight.
8. Syd’s Garage
Let’s begin with one of her non-acting pursuits. Sweeney is a gearhead who loves to repair vintage cars, a process she documents on TikTok. “I always believe in doing absolutely everything that you love,” she told Cosmopolitan. “It does not matter what other people think. There’s no limits to what we can do. You just block out everyone else around you and do what makes you happy. If it’s working on cars or absolutely anything else, we should just do it. Because at the end of the day, your happiness is what’s most important.”
7. New Hollywood Recreates Old Hollywood
One of the most iconic photos in Hollywood history is the one of Sophia Loren giving a side-eye to Jayne Mansfield’s cleavage. It even has its own Wikipedia page. In June 2021, Sweeney and her (very game) Euphoria co-star Maude Apatow recreated the pic, with Apatow as Loren and Sweeney dutifully smiling at the camera as Mansfield. Check it out here.
6. “The Bathroom Scene”
Is this Sweeney’s best scene on Euphoria? Yes, but even if you disagree, you have to admit that it’s certainly the only one that’s been parodied by Brian Cox.
5. Thirst Trap Photos
Sweeney’s most recent internet-breaking moment: her “thirst trap.” She once joked that she was sick of people paying attention to her breasts, when her “booty” deserved just as much attention. Well, all attention was on her backside in an August 2024 Instagram post with the caption, “i think they call this a thirst trap.” You can see the (purposeful) post here.
4. The Controversies
Whether fairly or unfairly, Sweeney has been at the center of two controversies. The first involves her nude scenes on Euphoria and whether she asked and/or demanded creator Sam Levinson to remove them (“We all get naked in real life. We show this character’s life and what they’re going through. Cassie’s body is a different form of communication for her”).
The other involves her personal life: in 2022, a lot of internet strangers got mad at Sweeney after she shared photos from her mother’s birthday party with guests in MAGA-style “Make Sixty Great Again” hats. “There were so many misinterpretations,” she explained to Variety. “The people in the pictures weren’t even my family. The people who brought the things that people were upset about were actually my mom’s friends from L.A. who have kids that are walking outside in the Pride parade, and they thought it would be funny to wear because they were coming to Idaho.”
3. Glen and Syd
OK, maybe it’s three controversies, although this one is the silliest.
There is never enough time to explain the entire kerfuffle involving Sweeney and Glen Powell, and whether they had an affair while making Anyone But You. So, here’s the short version: they didn’t. It was carefully orchestrated by Sweeney (who is engaged) to sell tickets, according to the Hit Man actor.
“The two things that you have to sell a rom-com are fun and chemistry. Sydney and I have a ton of fun together, and we have a ton of effortless chemistry,” Powell told the New York Times. “That’s people wanting what’s on the screen off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit – and it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart.”
Anyone But You made $220 million at the box office, an enormous amount of money for a rom-com.
2. The “Hooters” Sketch
Remember the time that Sweeney broke everyone’s brain? It happened!
Earlier this year, she hosted SNL for the first time, and one of the sketches had her playing a Hooters employee who gets tipped better than her fellow waitresses for reasons. It was harmless fun — and led to a job offer from the wings and beer chain — but it also led to people (mostly conservatives) claiming that Sweeney killed wokeness… or something. An actual headline: “Wokeness is no match for Sydney Sweeney’s undeniable beauty.” Weird!
Following the episode, she responded to the attention paid to her body. “There’s so many people out there who are like, oh, she’s famous because she showed her boobs,” she told GQ UK, adding, “You just learn the system. You can try and fight it but they just fight back. Even if you stand up for yourself, people are going to attack you for standing up for yourself.”
1. Sydney, The Actress
She might have “the best t*ts in Hollywood” (according to Sweeney’s grandmother), but there are a lot of attractive people making movies and TV shows. The reason we, as a society, can’t get enough of Sydney Sweeney is because: she’s a really good actress! It used to be that casting directors and producers didn’t take her seriously because, as she put it, “I took my shirt off,” but that’s changed following strong, varied performances in projects like The White Lotus, Reality, and Immaculate. Her upcoming slate is promising, too, including a Barbarella remake and a biopic where she plays the “female Rocky.” Sweeney should get a new sweatshirt: sorry for having a great career.