Sydney Sweeney recently reflected on the emotional weight she carried as a teenager while her parents faced financial issues and, ultimately, a divorce. The actress opened up about the period on a recent podcast, revealing how she internalized her parents’ hardships during her early pursuit of an acting career.
Sydney Sweeney talks about her parents
Sydney Sweeney recently opened up about the pressure she placed on herself as her family’s life changed to support her Hollywood dreams. Appearing on the December 1 episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, the Christy star spoke about her family’s move from Spokane, Washington, to Los Angeles when she was young.
Sweeney recalled throwing herself into any opportunity that could help build her resume. “I was just doing anything that I could to have a resume built, gain connections, and make sure that my parents didn’t give up on me,” she said. While she enjoyed parts of childhood, she admitted she was juggling more than most kids her age. “Growing up in a small town, when you come to L.A., like most of you probably know, prices in L.A. are crazy. Not anything like where I came from,” the Anyone But You star added.
The shift proved overwhelming for her family. Sweeney revealed that her father lost his job, and financial pressures rapidly increased. “My family filed for bankruptcy when I was 16. They filed for divorce, and I felt like a lot of it was my fault because I had brought them to the city [and] uplifted their entire lives, and I blamed myself for a long time,” she said.
Although Sweeney had appeared in shows like Heroes and Criminal Minds as early as 2009, her breakthrough didn’t arrive until nearly a decade later with roles in Everything Sucks! and Sharp Objects. During her teenage years, she believed that success would allow her to reunite her parents. “So I put a lot of pressure on myself of needing to succeed and achieve all these things so I could put different things back together,” Sweeney stated.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
