AS an actress, she’s got Hollywood at her feet – with bigwig directors lining up to work with her, and a slew of movies in the pipeline.
But Sydney Sweeney isn’t just resting on her laurels on set.
Sydney Sweeney has cemented herself as a Hollywood sex symbol[/caption]
She split from her fiancé Jonathan Davino in February[/caption]
Since then, she’s leaned into her pin-up status – even releasing a soap made from her bathwater for ‘dirty little boys’[/caption]
Instead, the very savvy star is cashing in on the side with enough money-making brand deals to fund a small nation, and she’s leaving no doubt as to what those deals all hinge upon: her irresistible sex appeal.
After all, while Hollywood is built on beauty, there are few stars who can fully embody that bombshell energy of yesteryear – in the guise of Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren – and become a brand unto themselves in the process.
Yet Sydney manages to toe that line – and it’s no coincidence that she’s fully embraced her sexiest, and most marketable, self yet in the wake of her relationship ending earlier this year.
According to brand and culture expert Nick Ede, the 27-year-old knows what her selling power is. And with her single status now confirmed to the world, she’s leaning into that bachelorette image.
Hollywood bombshell
“She’s a modern-day sex symbol – and it feels like brands are really buying into her,” Nick tells us.
“They want to be associated with her, and they love the fact that she’s single because it means she’s potentially obtainable to guys.
“Meanwhile, women feel like she’s more relatable because of the likely heartbreak she’s had, so they want to support her too.
“There’s lots of opportunities in this from a branding point of view – and with 25m Instagram followers, she’s got a lot of influence!”
Last week, the Euphoria star confirmed reports that had been circulating since February, that, after seven years, she’d broken up with fiancé Jonathan Davino.
Speaking to The Sunday Times Style magazine, she said she was now single, adding, “I’m learning a lot about myself, spending more time with my friends. And I’m loving it.”
She walked the carpet alone at the Met Gala in May[/caption]
And one thing she’s seemingly learnt about herself is that she’s a highly valuable commodity, who can command big figures from companies begging her to promote them.
Indeed, over the past few months – and coinciding with her break-up – Sydney has aligned herself with more brands than ever, fronting their ad campaigns and posting branded content to her social media.
Big brand deals
Some of her recent brand partnerships include the likes of MiuMiu, HEYDUDE shoes, Armani makeup, Samsung, Laneige, Kérastase, Ford and Dickies.
Meanwhile, her recent – very tongue in cheek – campaign for Dr Squatch, which saw her release a range of soap made out of her own bathwater, proves the fact that she knows her sexy image sells.
Joking that the idea was born from “dirty little boys” who “wouldn’t stop asking” for her used bathwater, Sydney cheekily posed for the men’s soap company in a bathtub.
Would she have done so willingly if she were still engaged? Possibly.
But she couldn’t fully represent that attainable fantasy to her mostly male market with a ring on her finger.
She owns herself and she owns the way she looks
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede
“When she was still in her relationship, it didn’t really feel like she was being so overtly sexual with her social posts, and she wasn’t doing as many brand collaborations,” says Nick.
“But now that she’s single again, and she’s not getting married, it feels like she’s come out of that spell. Now, she’s out there, and she’s owning it.
“I think that’s what’s great about her – she owns herself and she owns the way she looks.
“She’s a bit like Sabrina Carpenter – they both own their sexuality and it’s up to them what they push and what they don’t push.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Sydney has leaned into her desirability to earn the big bucks.
In 2023, she starred in the romcom Anyone But You – but it was the press tour to promote the movie that had fans running to the cinemas, as they couldn’t get enough of Sydney’s “are they – aren’t they” chemistry with co-star Glen Powell.
The pair have both been open about how they harnessed the rumours surrounding their relationship to feed fans’ frenzy, and ultimately guarantee box office success.
To that end, they happily flirted for the cameras and cosied up together on red carpets – despite the fact that Sydney was still coupled up with Jonathan at the time.
Clearly, the actress isn’t afraid to ham it up for the cameras – and also blur the lines between film and reality.
As Nick tells us, she’s “not pretentious nor prissy” when it comes to press and publicity, and she enthusiastically embraces her image as a pin-up.
Starring in an ad campaign for Miu Miu[/caption]
She’s also promoted Kérastase alongside fellow pin-up Emily Ratajkowski[/caption]
Leaning into the romance rumours with Anyone But You co-star Glen Powell[/caption]
She even fashioned a T-shirt last year that read: “Sorry for having great t**s and correct opinions” across her chest – in response to some complaints about her sexualised image.
What’s important to note is that – while bombshells of the past like Marilyn Monroe were beholden to others, including film studios and directors – Sydney is fully in control of her image.
On camera, she hasn’t shied away from her sexy looks in the past – especially with envelope pushing roles in Euphoria and the erotic thriller The Voyeurs.
But, given that – up until recently – she was engaged in real life, it was confined to make believe.
Now, her sexy image seems more real than ever, and brands are clearly buying into the narrative… which is, ultimately, Sydney’s bottom line.
Money minded
As the actress herself has explained, she’s driven to make a lot of money, which comes from her parents’ financial struggles during childhood.
When she was 16, her parents, Lisa and Steven, had to sell their home in Washington, forcing the family (she has one younger brother, Trent) to live in one bedroom together in a Holiday Inn hotel for eight and a half months.
Three years later, her parents filed for bankruptcy.
Since then, she’s been determined to make a better life – both for herself and her parents – and has grafted hard to up her earning potential.
Posing with her parents, Lisa and Steven, and brother Trent at the latter’s graduation[/caption]
She and Trent had to share a bedroom with their parents after they were forced to sell the family home[/caption]
Clearly, her efforts have paid off. While Sydney earned $2m to star in Anyone But You, she’s since upped her film fee to around $7.5m – earning her a reported net worth today of approximately $40m.
And she spends it well, admitting she’s “obsessed with Zillow” (America’s version of Rightmove), and has invested in a highly lucrative property portfolio that includes homes in Bel Air, Los Angeles, Florida Keys, and several more properties in the Pacific Northwest.
She also has a vintage car collection – which she last added to with a $68,500 Fiat Jolly.
Meanwhile, the savvy star has also cemented herself behind the camera in Hollywood, producing Anyone But You and her recent film Immaculate.
She’s also producing her two upcoming movies – The Housemaid, and an untitled biopic about the boxer Christy Martin.
However, as she herself has previously said, the acting and producing gigs only go so far – especially in today’s economy.
“They don’t pay actors like they used to,” she said in 2022. “And with streamers, you no longer get residuals”.
On brand
That’s where the brand deals come in. According to Nick, Sydney’s massive following – which eclipses most actresses working today – guarantees her a sizeable income from sponsored content.
That means that, the way things are going, she could easily double her fortune in no time.
“She could absolutely double it – I think she could be making hundreds of thousands per post,” he explains. “She’s wearing clothes from the likes of Miu Miu and jewellery from De Beers – ultra fabulous stuff.
“And she recently did a deal with Samsung Galaxy – deals like that can bring in six figures, definitely.
Yet another ad campaign – this time for Armani Beauty[/caption]
Posing for Samsung Galaxy – in a deal that could be worth six figures[/caption]
“With 25m followers, she’s up there with the Kardashians. Sydney’s really captured the zeitgeist.”
As for where she goes from here, the sky’s the limit for the star – who’s somehow achieved the impossible: straddling the worlds of old Hollywood and new-age social media.
Some stars in the past have tried and failed to be both commercial and respected in acting circles, but Sydney’s somehow struck that balance.
If she were a mediocre actress, she couldn’t have done this
Nick Ede
According to Nick, her brand comes down to some excellent strategising and talent management.
“If she were a mediocre actress, she couldn’t have done this,” he says. “Look at Megan Fox, who kind of ruined her career because her sexuality came before her acting.
“Sydney’s different – she’s got really great range, and also has that respect of Hollywood, which allows her to do these brand deals.
“She’s very clever – and the team behind her must be really clever as well. Everyone understands what she’s doing.
“She’s peppering the deals with movies and she’s not over-saturating in either arena – that means we’ll keep buying into her.”
As for where she goes from here, it seems the sky’s the limit for Hollywood’s ultimate It Girl.
She’ll soon be starring as boxer Christy – in a film that’s already being pegged for Oscar success.
Meanwhile, in the meantime, she’s proving she’s got enough self-awareness – and cheekiness – to cash in on her sex appeal.
It seems that, as long as people are happy to buy soap made of her bathwater, she’ll continue to sell it.
And – in the process – Sydney’s cleaning up very nicely indeed.
She adopted a dog, Sully, following her relationship split[/caption]
Sydney first sexed up her image starring as Cassie in Euphoria[/caption]
