Celebrity
How Alexandra Shipp Went from Live-In Nanny to Actress on the Rise
The Love, Simon star talks high school memories, her dream role, and the unusual beauty treatment she got on the set of X-Men.

14 June, 2018
Tristan Kallas
10 November, 2021
Youâre not imagining things: Alexandra Shipp really is one of those actresses who seems to be, well, everywhere. In just the past few years, sheâs gone from playing Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse to Abby in Love, Simon, and even appears in the Netflix series Dude. So before her career *really* blows upâsheâs also got both X-Men: Dark Phoenix and the Shaft reboot slated for next yearâitâs time to get to know all about this actress on-the-rise. We met up with Shipp at The London West Hollywood to find out what she was like growing up, the crazy beauty treatment she tried while playing Storm, and the time she worked as a live-in nanny.
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Acting Is like Therapy for Her
âThereâs something about taking on someone elseâs story and getting in someoneâs skin; it can be quite therapeutic at times. I grew up with a single mother, and sometimes, when I get to play those roles where the father and daughter do all kinds of stuff when theyâre younger, that strikes a chord in me. That allows me to feel those things and see what thatâs like, and know that Iâm lucky to be in the life that Iâm in. Iâm lucky that I get to portray all these other lives.â
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Love, Simon Changed Her Life
âI think itâs definitely changed my life, just in the sense that Iâm able to start smarter conversations about high school stories. I get to have conversations about what we should do in moments when [young people] come to us and want to share their truth with us. How do we react? How do we support them? How do we love them? No movie has ever done that. This is the first time a studio has, and I get to be a part of that conversation. Thatâs a dream job.â
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She Wasnât âThe Popular Girlâ in High School
âWhatâs so funny about my character [in Love, Simon] is that sheâs so opposite from me. No one would try and set me up in high school; I didnât have guys clamoring for my attention or asking my friends, âHey, is your friend single?â When I was doing this movie, it was fun because it was written in the script that everyone was already into me. So I was like, âOK, let me make this girl non-quintessential pretty girl. Let me make her funny, caring, and loving. And original to herself.â Sheâs a bit of a nerd. Sheâs a bit of a weirdo. Sheâs also got a really great heart. I liked playing her because I would do something weird and people would go, âWow, that Abby, sheâs so hot.â And Iâd be like, making a weird face or whatever [laughs].â
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Her Friends Mean Everything to Her
âWhen I first moved to L.A., I didnât have any friendsâI could not make one friend to save my life. Then, I met some girls, and they took me under their wing. It was really cool to feel like I had a coven, in a sense, and weâve just kept it going ever since. One of the girls in the picture [on Instagram] is my one friend from high school who I still keep in contact with. I just love her; sheâs the love of my life. Friends are important. I love my friends so much. I want to take care of them when theyâre sick. I want to be there when their children are born. Theyâre the family we get to choose.â
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You Can Also Catch Her in Dude on Netflix
âItâs not just about weed! Itâs about lifelong friendships that you create and build on. Those people youâve known your entire life that youâve gone to school withâthey know your first kiss, your first dance, they know so much about youâand youâre graduating high school and you wonât see them for months. Itâs so different from when you got to see them every day. Itâs set in present-time California, so weed is legal and these girls are really, really smart, and theyâre getting to their last two weeks, so itâs really kind of like the end of the school year when they can take their hair down and smoke before class. And itâs written and directed by Olivia Milch, who is this insanely beautiful human being inside and out, and sheâs an incredible writer and director. I havenât worked with a female director in a while, and it was so much fun working with her.â
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Yes, She Knows She Looks Young
âI like to joke around and say itâs because I got all this melanin from my daddy! I have a young face, but I think itâs important to bring a level of maturity to rolesâespecially roles with high school studentsâbecause I wish I could have been like Abby in high school. I wish I could have had those types of boundaries and self-awareness of who I am and what Iâm dealing with, but also have the understanding that I can have my own existential problems and still be able to grow and live within that.â
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She Canât Share Anything about X-Men: Dark Phoenix
âIâm really excited about that. I got to do some really cool stuff for it. I just canât wait for people to see it. I wish I could elaborate, but Fox would kill me.â
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And She Doesnât Like Keeping Secrets
âI would like to think I was good at keeping secrets, but I donât want to keep secrets. Do you know what I mean? If I have to keep a secret, I will, but I hate doing it. Iâm just one of those people who are like, âLet me tell you everything.ââ
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She Had to Get Head Facials While Playing Storm
âThey would shave my head every day, and then theyâd put foundation on it. And theyâd put glue on it, then put a wig on it. My skin started breaking out on my head. I had to get head facials. It was so funny. Itâs pretty much the same thing as when you go to an aesthetician and get a facial, but with your head, itâs just a lot more necessary. They have to do the whole thing, and luckily on X-Men I had an amazing makeup team and hair team. They made sure that my skin was good.â
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Her Goal Is to Read All the Storm Comics
âI made sure to read as many comics as I could get my hands on. I still read comics about herâevery time I see a comic store, I stop in and I look for their Storm comics to see if thereâs one I donât have. I want to make sure that I know everything so that when that mega Storm fan comes up to me and wants to discuss Storm, I can have a discussion with them.â
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She Has a Process for Getting Into Character
âI like to work on the physicality first. Say Storm, for instance: I had to figure out how she walks, how she talks to certain peopleâwhether itâs people that she loves, people that sheâs ordering around, or people that she respects. Your tone changes within that. And also, at the time, I got the role at 23, and I told myself that I wanted her to be 17, but to be street-smart and to understand what itâs like to a street kid growing up Cairo. So I watched different movies from back in the â70s and â80s and I went off of how those kids were carrying themselves, running through markets and stealing things here and there.â
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She Has a Dream Role in Mind
âI think that my dream role would definitely be playing someone whoâs fighting for injustice for children. I read this script the other day about a girl who was fighting for kids who get taken away and put into the system, CPS. Sheâs kind of like a social worker, but sheâs also kind of like a Harriet the Spy, where she does it on her own time. The story went differentlyâthatâs how it started, but even just reading that initial breakdown of the character, I was like, âThat is something that I can really get into.â Something where Iâm helping kids and showing that these kids who get put into these systems are really kind of alone. And if there was more compassion, and understanding, and maybe shining a light on that, I think that would be something that this world could really use.â
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She Was Once a Live-In Nanny
âI was a live-in nanny when I was 18, 19. It was for this director and his wifeâthey had this adorable little girl, and I loved them. I still chat with them every now and then. Theyâve moved away. I love kids. Iâve always worked with children.â
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