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2025Film & TVThe Winter 2025 IssueRachel Sennott: Hollywood crushAs the star of Shiva Baby and Bottoms, Rachel Sennott raised the bar for comedy exploring what it means to be young, broke and extremely online in the 2020s. Now, she’s running the show with I Love LA, an ‘Entourage for internet It girls’ reflecting
ShareLink copied ✔️December 2, 2025Film & TVThe Winter 2025 IssueTextDominique SisleyPhotographyAlyssa KazewStylingLara McGrathRachel Sennott — The Winter Issue 2025
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This story is taken from the winter 2025 issue of Dazed. Buy a copy of the magazine here.
This summer, a video of Rachel Sennott began circulating online. It captured the actor, comedian and writer in a trance-like state: bikini-clad, shades on, her body thrusting powerfully at Troye Sivan. The pair are dancing at Charli xcx’s wedding in Sicily, front and centre by the DJ decks, the late afternoon sun glowing behind them. Despite the intimidating guest list, the 30-year-old looks blissed-out and at ease. “Love u Rachel,” Julia Fox would comment on her Instagram, days later. “I adore this woman,” Charli xcx would echo, sharing a photo of Sennott to her Story.
Sennott hadn’t been this social in a while. Until recently, she’d been holed up working on the most significant project of her career: I Love LA, a new HBO series on which Sennott serves as both showrunner and star. Although she seems calm today – speaking from her office in Burbank, the morning sun casting a soft halo around her bare face and cream cardigan – the pressure has clearly been immense. “I’ve been in a hole for an entire year making the show,” she says, her eyes widening cartoonishly. “I need to remember how to talk to people at parties. You know when you’re like, ‘I’m being weird right now’? I’m getting my social skills back.”
From her career so far, you wouldn’t expect Sennott to be nervous about anything. Born in Simsbury, Connecticut to a “loud” Irish-Italian family, she got her start on the east coast standup circuit. Her humour was earthy and fearless, focused on dating, working and surviving New York as a zillennial. On YouTube, she posted surreal sketches about internships and broody women (in one, she has sex with a puppet); on Twitter, she won a loyal following for her blunt, confessional style (“Going on a date tonight with $11 in my account let’s hope he’s not a feminist lol”). But her biggest breaks came through collaboration: while studying at NYU, she met actor and screenwriter Ayo Edebiri and filmmaker Emma Seligman, which led to her breakout role in Shiva Baby (2020) and her first co-written feature, Bottoms (2023).
Rachel wears wool jumper by Jacquemus, ring worn throughout her own, Clash de Cartier gold bracelet CartierPhotography Alyssa Kazew, styling Lara McGrath
I Love LA is inspired by Sennott’s own move to Los Angeles in late 2020. The show centres on Maia, an uptight, ambitious 27-year-old talent manager played by Sennott, her nihilistic former roommate Tallulah (Odessa A’zion) and their circle of friends as they attempt to scramble up Hollywood’s slippery career ladder. The show has been heavily hyped, with critics drawing comparisons to previous cult HBO shows Girls and Sex and the City months before it was even shot. (Sennott jokes that it’s more like “Entourage for internet It girls”.)
Friendship is a central theme of the show. While the characters are often self-absorbed, buckling under the weight of their own ambition, they are nonetheless bound to one another by real, sticky affection. Those bonds feel convincing because of Sennott’s genuine love of people. This warmth may be why Charli xcx tapped her for last year’s 360 music video, cementing her status as one of the internet’s “hot girls”. But Sennott – shrill and shakily downing red wine – stands out among Charli’s clique, with an off-kilter openness that makes her instantly likeable. “Rachel is a true genius and one of the best people I’ve met,” her I Love LA co-star, Jordan Firstman, tells me. “The world she creates around her in her life and on set is so fun, free, creative and open.” Even mid-interview, it’s easy to get pulled into her sunny orbit. Every time you ask a question, she volleys it back to you, throwing out a warm “Toootally” or “Love!” every few minutes. “I got really lucky,” she says of the people in her life. “Whenever I’m feeling low or not confident, I look at my friends–the baddest bitches in the world–and I’m like, ‘OK, they’re friends with me, so I must be doing all right.’”
Cotton and satin shirt John Lawrence Sullivan, lace bra and briefs Agent
Provocateur, cotton bra, suspender and briefs worn underneath Aditi SonarPhotography Alyssa Kazew, styling Lara McGrath
How are you, Rachel? How do you normally start the day? Talk us through your routine.
I’m a big routine girl. The second I don’t have my routine, I crash the fuck out. When I’m writing, I wake up at like 5:30am, I have my coffee, my bone broth, go to the gym or take a walk, then come to the office and try to have a little moment alone. But honestly, I’m a control freak, and this year has been the end of my Saturn return. I don’t know if you’ve been through yours yet…
…I’ve been through mine; it was hell. I want to know about yours.
So I’m very much a ‘control’ person; I need my routine, and my Saturn return basically took the control completely out of my hands. It taught me that sometimes the most beautiful things happen when I’m not gripping so tightly. It started around this time last year, when I was waiting to see if the show would get picked up. While I was waiting I had to say no to other things, which was scary. I also went through a breakup and started smoking cigarettes – like, oh girl, get it together, please. Then I started this job, and I’ve never done the showrunner thing of approving stuff or making decisions fast. Usually, with every decision that I make, I do pros and cons, I call like 11 different people. But I just had to trust my gut. I feel like the Saturn return shakes up your life, and then things fall where they’re supposed to fall.
I feel like it’s getting harder to trust your gut. We’re exposed to a lot more noise and opinions now, which can drown it out. What has helped you with that?
Yeah, it’s so crazy. I try to walk a lot with no music and just let my thoughts release themselves. There’s such a stream of them, and some are pointless. At the beginning of the walk, the thoughts are like, ‘The shirt you wore yesterday was weird. I wonder if my mom is mad at me.’ And then 30 minutes in, you start getting more in tune with your intuition. But it takes time.
I’m an intense person. I’m an anxious person. LA softens me a little, but I’m still a stressful person to be around
Where did I Love LA come from? What did you set out to do with it?
Tallulah is sort of a representation of me when I lived in New York in my early 20s. I was pretty unhappy, anxious and feeling out of control of my life. There’s also this thing that happens with your friends at that age – like, I’m so lucky, I have the most amazing group of friends, and I feel like I would be dead in a ditch without them. But I feel like, when you’re in your 20s, you’re all in this group together: you’re in college, out of college, living in the same place. Then, as you get to your late 20s, things start to move. All of a sudden, one friend is moving to London, someone’s getting engaged, someone’s partying every night, and you feel this shift. I think, again, this was one of my lessons of letting go: it’s OK for people to be doing different things. But it’s hard not to compare yourself.
How have your feelings about LA changed since you moved there in 2020?
When I first came, there were really bad fires, the sky was brown, I was living in a small studio apartment in North Hollywood and I was doing a job I didn’t feel good about. It was also Covid, so it was super isolating. I just felt really lonely and like everyone was abandoning me, which they weren’t. Then, as I got more comfortable, I found my neighbourhood and my friends, and I started to feel better and better. The best I’ve ever felt in LA has been the past year, when I was making this show. Every day felt like a movie; it really felt special and magical.
Has LA changed you as a person?
I’ll always have that east coast vibe in me. I’m an intense person. I’m an anxious person. LA softens me a little, but I’m still a stressful person to be around. It’s just made me settle into a more sustainable, more adult version of myself.
Cotton and wool shirt Dsquared2, bra stylist’s own, Juste un Clou gold
and diamond bracelet and Clash de Cartier gold, onyx and diamond bracelet CartierPhotography Alyssa Kazew, styling Lara McGrath
Have you got into any fun alternative healing practices since you’ve moved there? What’s the best and worst thing that you’ve tried?
Rachel Sennott: The worst thing I tried was a colonic. It was a disaster. I did it before I went on a plane. I’ve had stomach issues my whole life, and everything I’ve tried to do to make it better always makes it worse. I’m not going to get into details, because it’s disgusting. As for the best thing, I feel like there are so many beautiful walks, hikes and neighbourhoods to explore in LA.
Nature is good. Have you ever spoken to a dead person?
Rachel Sennott: Definitely, I’m on my psychic shit. Oh my God, when I was going through my Saturn return, I was actively being scammed by like, five psychics and two astrologers, because I felt so out of control. I had one psychic who was telling me to break up with my boyfriend; another was telling me to move to Kentucky. I was getting so many different takes. Also, when you go to a psychic, I feel like the best part is that they tell you something, and then you check in with your intuition and ask yourself, ‘Is that actually true or not?’ But I was just getting too much input.
I also feel like with shows about ‘Gen Z’, the attitude can be, ‘Look at these stupid people on their phones.’ And I just don’t feel that way
You were brought up Catholic, right? How did that work with your comedy, which was pretty bawdy when you started out?
Rachel Sennott: I think I was definitely repressed growing up. And I’m not trying to blame my parents or anything, I just think I’ve always been the kind of person who’s super impressionable. When I was young and went to church, they’d say, ‘Don’t have sex till you’re married, or you’ll rot in hell,’ and I took it completely seriously. Because of who I am, I just absorbed all of it. Then I went to NYU, and it was like the opposite world; everyone was saying everything I ever believed was a lie. Suddenly, I was like, ‘I need to be sexy and free.’ That’s when I started doing standup, and my comedy then was very much a reaction to how I grew up. Now I feel like I’m in a new chapter where I can feel free in my sexuality without trying to prove anything. My humour comes from what I genuinely feel. When I first started writing and performing, everything felt very black and white, villains versus heroes. But now I try to approach myself and my characters with more nuance. None of them are perfect, but I love them all. I think for a long time I saw the world through that Catholic lens – you’re either good or bad – and now I see it more like, you’re not good or bad, you’re human. You’re a little bit of everything.
That makes a lot of sense, having seen I Love LA. I thought it was going to be about this really toxic group of friends, but as it goes on you realise they’re flawed in the same ways we all are.
Rachel Sennott: Yeah, I also feel like with shows about ‘Gen Z’ – and I say that in quotes because I’m very much a zillennial cusp queen – the attitude can be, ‘Look at these stupid people on their phones.’ And I just don’t feel that way. When I look at my younger siblings, I see people who had to do high school or college on Zoom, who lost those formative years. One of my sisters went to college for a year, then Covid hit, and she had to move back home and was miserable. I totally got it, because I had just graduated and felt the same way. It’s such a chaotic time, and it can make you feel nihilistic or hopeless, but that doesn’t make people bad; it just means they’ve been through a lot. Even with the show, where we joked it’s like Entourage for internet It girls, we wanted to show that those characters are dealing with real stuff too. Hopefully, we’re looking at every character with empathy.
All clothes Dolce & Gabbana, nylon tights Calzedonia, patent leather pumps Jimmy ChooPhotography Alyssa Kazew, styling Lara McGrath
Do you think modern life is inherently corrupting? When you look at the way things are now, do you ever think, “How can any of us be good when we have to deal with all this?”
Rachel Sennott: I see older people on podcasts saying, ‘You just need to mess around in your 20s,’ and I’m like, who are you talking to? Because for [young people] it feels like we’re already behind. Any time I’ve accomplished anything, it’s never felt like enough. And it’s not that I’m complaining – I’m really lucky – but it’s been one thing after another. Right as I entered the workforce, Covid hit. Then a chaotic presidency. Then another. Then industry strikes, forest fires, AI – everything feels unstable. There’s never a sense of, ‘I’m good.’ It’s more like, ‘What’s next?’
It creates this constant feeling of being untethered, insecure, and everyone just trying to feel OK. Each character in the show represents a different response to that: Dylan’s the moral one who sees the system is broken and won’t play the game; Maia’s on the hamster wheel, working herself to death; Tallulah’s more nihilistic; Alani’s trying to find calm and beauty; and Charlie’s a mix of Maia and Tallulah – he’s on the wheel, but he’s seen some things. So, to answer your question, I don’t know. Sometimes it feels like we’re on a sinking ship and everyone’s just trying to get one more job on the ship before it goes down.
You’ve spoken before about people being mean online, and I know that you deleted your Twitter account because it became a bit too exposing. Do you worry about becoming more sensitive or inhibited as you get more famous?
Rachel Sennott: I think it’s really good to have people who check you. Like, first of all, my family calls me out every damn day – they humble me. We’ll go on a trip together, they’ll be taking pictures of me, and they’re like, ‘Ew, this D-list celebrity is sleeping on the plane,’ and I’m like, ‘Please stop.’ I also think just having people who give you good feedback, who challenge you, who have other perspectives than your own, is huge.
Chiffon dress and lace tights Valentino, silver bracelet Acne Studios, leather sandals Valentino GaravaniPhotography Alyssa Kazew, styling Lara McGrath
OK and finally, I have some quickfire questions, based on your birth chart. You’re a Scorpio rising. What’s the best way to get revenge on someone?
Rachel Sennott: Best revenge is getting to a place where you don’t care any more. Obviously easier said than done, but once you’re at a place where you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I have no enemies’ – other than, of course, myself on a bad day, [when] I’m my fucking worst enemy – then you’re free.
Cancer moon: When was the last time you cried?
Rachel Sennott: I didn’t cry while making this show because I was so stressed out, and then in the past two weeks, I’ve been crying every day. I think it’s like I finally unscrewed the cork from the past year, and now I’m just crying at nothing, but it feels really good. I feel like there was a lot pushed down, and it’s all coming out.
Libra Mercury: What’s the secret to the perfect, sexy selfie? I feel like you’ve mastered this…
Rachel Sennott: Know your angle, know your pout, lock into the face that you love. A good selfie is when you want to send it to like three people right away. That’s how you know you’ve got something good.
Libra Venus: What’s one thing you’ve learned about love?
Rachel Sennott: You need to write down what you want. I did that after my last relationship; I wrote out what I wanted so I’d know it in the back of my mind. And don’t write people off before you get to know them. If you go into a date thinking, ‘I just want to find out who this person is,’ it can be fun. I know it all sounds basic as fuck, but honestly, you never know how you’re going to meet someone.
Finally, Virgo sun, the overachiever: What’s one thing that you want to do in your career that you haven’t had the chance to do yet?
Rachel Sennott: I want to play a character who’s really different from me – someone who lives in a different time period or in a totally different way. I still draw on myself a lot, and I’d love to push past that and do something new. And I’d love to direct a movie.
Hair Kelly Peach at Walter Schupfer, Management using Oribe Hair Care, make-up Zaheer Sukhnandan using M.A.C, nails Michelle Tran at Saint Luke Artists, set design Cody Rogers, photographic assistant Will Koning, styling assistants Mónica Gárate, Maia Burt, Sinéad Áoife Ní Tomás, production Katie Binfield, casting gk-ld, special thanks Casa Hazel
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