Storm Reid is happily wearing many hats. The actress, budding producer, and rising sophomore at the University of Southern California is not only one of the most beloved characters on the insanely popular, Emmy-nominated HBO show Euphoria, but has roles in the upcoming Searching 2 alongside Nia Long, is running her own production company, A Seed & Wings, and is a full-time college student living on-campus.
We speak to her just as the 2022 Emmy nominations have been announced, and unsurprisingly, she’s elated to hear how one aspect of her hard work is paying off professionally.
“It’s such a blessing to be a part of Euphoria in general, but to be able to be
recognized is even more special,” Reid told ESSENCE exclusively. “I’m just really going on the wild ride that Euphoria has taken me on the last few
years.”
Fans have been clamoring for more of Reid as Gia Bennett, Rue’s sister who is quietly fighting her own feelings about the main character’s intense drug addiction and increasing distance from the family in the wake of their father’s death. Reid says that even though she’s not on the show as much as some would like, she knows that her character leaves a necessary mark.
“I think even though we don’t see Gia a lot, I think when we do see her, it’s so beautiful and so nuanced,” Reid said of her character. “She is really portraying the experience of a person, a young woman furthermore, that is experiencing having a family member who is going through a lot battling addiction and mental illness. And she’s also trying to grow up herself.”
“I think that’s why the show is so loved because it’s relatable,” Reid continued. “And yes, it’s entertainment, so the situations are heightened. But at Euphoria‘s core, it’s to just have progressive conversations and try to bridge the disconnect between Gen Z and the older generations.”
While pouring her heart and soul into her character on Euphoria and shooting other film projects, Reid has been matriculating as a full-time student at USC, living on-campus and going to class daily. Between class, homework, midterms and finals, on top of modeling, events, filming and rehearsing, it’s a juggling act that would challenge even a seasoned adult, much less a 19-year-old just finishing her first year of college.
“I mean, it’s challenging,” Reid said of her balancing act. “I think I found that if I thought about everything that I had to do within a week, I’d get extremely overwhelmed and feel like I couldn’t get through the week without having major anxiety. But I think I found out early, for my peace of mind, it really helped for me to realize that I just have to take it one day at a time and take baby steps, and give myself grace.”
“I am trying to accomplish furthering my education and just being a regular, normal teenager at school, experiencing life, but then also, running a production company and acting and being the face of brands. It becomes a lot and sometimes feels like I bit off a little more than I can chew,” she admits. “But, I always have to remind myself: I wouldn’t be in a position to be doing these things if I couldn’t handle it.”
While juggling her newly-chosen Cinematic Arts major (for film production) and African American studies minor and her upcoming projects – she’s starring alongside Nia Long in the upcoming sequel to 2018 screenlife sleeper hit Searching, Searching 2 – Reid has turned her on-campus apartment into her personal baby blue sanctuary, as she joyfully flaunts in the launch of Amazon’s Off To College collection, a cribs-syle tour called Dorm Roomz. Take a look:
For rising sophomore Reid, the collaboration was a no-brainer.
“I always try to align myself with campaigns and brands that make sense and that are authentic to me,” she said. “The Dorm Roomz video series is a really cool opportunity that I got to be a part of because not only will it help launch Amazon’s Off to College collection, but it also shows a little bit of my personality. My on-campus apartment plays as my sanctuary, my study hall, my entertainment space. I love entertaining and having my friends over for movie nights, or we just all pile up in my room and study.”
When it came time to make selections of what Amazon items to fill her space with, it became pretty easy for Reid to pick. Just about anything that came in her favorite hue was an instant add-to-cart.
“I’m obsessed with anything baby blue. Whether I needed it or not
for my dorm room, as I was shopping for my first apartment, I bought a lot of
baby blue things,” she laughed. Case in point, her baby blue microwave that matches her apartment theme to a tee. “But I’m also a big music lover and music was a big part of my first year, because I think it’s just an escape and a little bit of a getaway from academics and just bringing myself back to earth a little bit. There was lots of Beats purchases, a lot of speaker purchases. And then, of course, they have the essentials. The microwaves, the pencils, the things for my kitchen, and hangers. Everything that I needed, I was able to
find on Amazon.