Gossip Girl Star Tavi Gevinson Answers Vogue’s 73 Questions

[Interviewer] Tavi, hey.

Hi.

[Interviewer] I m here to ask 73 questions.

I know.

[Interviewer] All right, let s get into it.

Can you tell us where we are?

Just out of Gossip Girl, if you wanna come in.

[Interviewer] Let s do it.

What s the best thing about being back on set?

Being around people.

[Interviewer] What do you do in between takes?

Apologize for literally anything.

[Interviewer] What s the strangest way

you ve seen yourself described in print?

Pint-sized.

[Interviewer] Do you know where you fall

on the chaotic-neutral chart?

Probably like cool and beautiful.

[Interviewer] What s the most surprised you ve ever been?

[Interviewer] When I woke up during jaw surgery.

[Interviewer] What s the most important vintage piece

that you ever bought?

Ha-ha, this vintage Prada skirt on eBay.

[Interviewer] Very nice.

What s the strongest reaction you ve had to a fashion show?

A lot of Rodarte shows have made me cry.

[Interviewer] What was your philosophy

on getting dressed when you were 11?

More is more.

[Interviewer] What s your philosophy

on getting dressed today?

Enough is more.

[Interviewer] Okay, that s good.

How do you start to put an outfit together?

[Tavi] Choose one thing that I m excited about

and go from there.

[Interviewer] You were only 11 when you started your blog.

How did you come up with the name Style Rookie?

I read fashion blogs with names

like Style Bubble, Fashion Robot, Fashion Pirate.

So I just kind of copied that construction

and was like, I don t know anything, so rookie.

[Interviewer] You wrote about wearing bags as hats

and hangers as necklaces.

What s the most absurd object you used for an outfit?

Coat hanger as a necklace was a lot and dangerous,

but I wore like a lot of tights as belts.

[Interviewer] What was the moment that you knew

there was no turning back?

Birth.

[Interviewer] What was the most beautiful

piece of fan mail that you ever got?

I actually have it right here.

It s a jacket inspired by the book

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

and this woman Stephanie made it for me

because she knew I loved the book.

It s crazy, like, she made all of this

and her website is godsavethemisanthropes.com.

[Interviewer] It s really cool.

Now, you were 15 when you started

the online teen magazine Rookie.

What s your favorite article

that was ever posted on the site?

How to structure your days if you re depressed.

[Interviewer] And what was your favorite piece

that you wrote?

It was really sad, but my goodbye letter

I m probably proudest of.

[Interviewer] What is the worst thing about the internet?

Rampant misinformation.

[Interviewer] What s the best?

My community of flat Earthers.

[Interviewer] What was the most surprising thing

about editing a magazine?

That I could do it.

[Interviewer] What does the world need to know

about teenage girls?

Leave them alone.

[Interviewer] What independent publications

would you recommend to former Rookie readers?

Polyester Zine, gal-dem, Another Gaze journal.

[Interviewer] Now Tavi, do you still write every day?

I try to.

[Interviewer] What is your go-to cure for writer s block?

Write it as an email to a friend.

[Woman In Mask] Oh, we need you on set in 49 questions.

[Tavi] Oh, sure, yeah.

[Interviewer] So do you keep your phone next to you

while you re working?

No, I lock it in a case safe.

[Interviewer] And what question keeps you up all night?

Have I been building a house of cards?

And I don t mean a hit Netflix show.

[Interviewer] And what was the first play

that you were ever in?

Oliver.

[Interviewer] I love Oliver.

And who did you play in Oliver?

An orphan/Fagin s boy. I was eight.

[Interviewer] Ah, buzzsaw.

What was your favorite musical as a kid?

Wicked.

[Interviewer] And what s your dream role in a play?

Saint Joan.

[Interviewer] Can you do one of the lines

for me right now?

Life is like a box of chocolates.

[Interviewer] Now, Broadway s been closed for a year.

What s the best thing people can do

to support the theater right now?

Donate to The Actors Fund.

[Interviewer] What s the biggest difference

between performing in a theater versus on camera?

Cameras steal your soul.

[Interviewer] What s the craziest

stage door experience you ve had?

I did the play This Is Our Youth,

which has literally three people in it,

and I was signing Playbills at the stage door

and I reached for one woman s and she was like, Um, no.

[Interviewer] What s one movie

that every teenage girl should watch?

Teenage by Matt Wolf. And now we re at the high school.

[Interviewer] And what would the one-act play

about your life thus far be called?

Fleabag, and it is all plagiarized.

[Interviewer] What would you be

if you had a different career?

A stage mom.

[Interviewer] A lot about the show is under wraps,

but are you Gossip Girl?

[Tavi] Mm.

[Interviewer] What can you tell me about your character?

She s ambitious and looks like me.

[Interviewer] So if she s not Gossip Girl, who is?

There s a chance any of them are Gossip Girl.

[Interviewer] Would you rather have

Blair or Serena s closet?

Blair.

[Interviewer] What can you say

will be different about this Gossip Girl?

The children have Instagram.

[Interviewer] How has your life changed

since the show started?

I can no longer sign emails xoxo.

[Interviewer] Who would you say

is the real-life Gossip Girl?

Mark Zuckerberg.

[Interviewer] And what s your favorite quote?

[Tavi] Get informed, inspired, in touch, and involved.

[Interviewer] Music or podcasts when you re on a walk?

Primal screaming.

[Interviewer] What s the best thing

about living in New York?

Theater.

[Interviewer] Okay, now what New Yorker,

real or fictional, would you most like

to spend the day with?

Fran Lebowitz.

[Interviewer] And what would you do?

Try to get her to like me.

[Interviewer] What s the biggest misconception

about New York?

That the people are mean.

[Interviewer] How would you describe a true new Yorker?

Would not dare. They would hate that.

[Interviewer] Has acting made you a better writer?

Yeah.

[Interviewer] Has writing made you a better actor?

No.

[Interviewer] How do you stay focused

between all your creative projects?

Guilt.

[Interviewer] And what would you say to someone

struggling to get inspired?

Take the pressure off yourself. Go take a nap.

[Interviewer] What s the last great novel you read?

It s right here, in fact.

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood.

[Interviewer] What s the last great memoir you read?

The Ugly Cry by Danielle Henderson.

[Interviewer] Last great romance novel?

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel.

[Interviewer] Who s a writer who s pieces you always read?

Sally Wen Mao.

[Interviewer] Okay, Tavi.

What is your pitch for Shark Tank?

Okay, it s a undertaking business

only for actors called Last Looks.

It s not a lot of utility, but it s a pun.

[Interviewer] I saw that you deleted Instagram

off of your phone.

What app would you say that you use the most instead?

Venmo? Just judging people.

[Interviewer] What does a healthy relationship

with social media look like?

[Tavi] Throwing your phone in the ocean.

[Interviewer] What s the most

overused phrase on the internet?

I.

[Interviewer] What s the nicest compliment

you ve ever received?

That my dog and I look alike.

And what have we here? What a coincidence, wow.

[Interviewer] What s going on here?

This is a candle of my face by the artist Janie Korn.

[Interviewer] Wow, it does kind of resemble you.

Coffee or tea?

Coffee. Saturday or Sunday?

Sunday. Favorite word?

Laxative.

[Interviewer] Favorite Olivia Rodrigo song?

deja vu.

[Interviewer] What s the best place to bring a friend

visiting New York for the first time ever?

The Roosevelt Island Tramway has the cheapest view.

[Interviewer] What s your go-to karaoke song?

Light My Candle from Rent, both parts.

[Interviewer] So after Gossip Girl, what s next for you?

Let s see. Let s find out.

[Interviewer] Okay.

What card are we gonna get here?

[gasps] And...

There s no way around that one, huh?

[Interviewer] Oh, the death card.

And where are you happiest?

Constance Billard.

[Interviewer] Tavi, we did it.

That was question number 73. We re done.

Ah!

[Interviewer] Blow out that candle. Yep.

Ah, you got it. Thanks, Tavi.