• Celebrity
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle News
    • Build Your Legacy
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Events
    • Black Women in Hollywood
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • LEVEL UP: Entrepreneur Summit (DEC 2020)
    • Power Tools
    • SHE GOT NOW
    • Girls United Summit
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Dear Black Men
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Festival
  • Subscribe
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Shop Essence

Follow Us

Skip to content
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Shop Essence
  • Celebrity
    • Celebrity
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Fashion
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Beauty
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • AVEENO® Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle News
    • Build Your Legacy
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
  • News
    • News
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Events
    • Events
    • Black Women in Hollywood
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • LEVEL UP: Entrepreneur Summit (DEC 2020)
    • Power Tools
    • SHE GOT NOW
    • Girls United Summit
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Dear Black Men
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Festival
  • Subscribe
Courtesy of Hulu
Home · Entertainment

Lexi Underwood Shines Oh So Bright in "Little Fires Everywhere"

By Regina R. Robertson · March 26, 2020March 29, 2020
"We clicked immediately," said the rising actress on working with Kerry Washington on Hulu’s new miniseries.

Wait, have you met Pearl Warren?

She’s the new kid in town—Shaker Heights, Ohio, to be exact—and despite her bohemian mother’s impulse to pick-up-and-move, constantly, Pearl seeks to have some normalcy, some stability, in her young life. She also yearns to experience the simple pleasures of adolescence, like decorating her bedroom, staying-up on trends and just chilling with her friends. That’s not too much to ask, right?

Lexi Underwood as Pearl Warren in Little Fires Everywhere. Photo courtesy of Hulu.

“We’re such kindred spirits,” says Lexi Underwood, who, at 16, is just a year older than her only-child character on Little Fires Everywhere. The first three episodes of the eight-part series premiered on Hulu last Wednesday. “I’m an artist, I’m a poet, I’m a little shy and I’m resolute in knowing what I want, just like Pearl. I wrote poems, as Pearl, and even created a playlist of songs that she might listen to on a daily basis or when she’s feeling sad or happy or in love.”

Based on Celeste Ng’s bestseller of the same name and starring Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon, Little Fires Everywhere, popped up on Underwood’s radar a year prior to casting. “A friend of mine told me about the project and that Miss Kerry and Miss Reese would be producing and starring in it. My friend thought I should audition and told me write it in my Notes and I still have that note in my phone!”

Little Fires Everywhere‘s Kerry Washington and Lexi Underwood. Photo, courtesy of Hulu.

When it came time to audition—a process which, by her own admission, was “super-fast”—she did chemistry reads with her fellow, young castmates and then, began reading the novel. “I thought, ‘Okay, if I read the book, then book the job, it’ll be like I started prepping early. If read it and don’t book the job, at least I got to read a pretty phenomenal story,’” she remembers.

The series features a plethora of characters and as many intertwined storylines, and while the on-screen tension between Washington and Witherspoon can cause shivers, Underwood’s scenes with Washington, who portrays her mother, Mia, escalate from tender to explosive in record time—and then, back again.

Reese Witherspoon, Lexi Underwood and Kerry Washington.
Photo courtesy of Lexi Underwood.

“We clicked immediately, so the bonding scenes weren’t too hard,” she says of working with Washington, “but when it came to the harder scenes, I got super-nervous.” Then, between takes during a particularly emotional exchange between the two actresses, Washington offered Underwood some words of advice. “Miss Kerry looked at me and said, ‘Do it like Olivia Pope would.’ In that moment, my whole life was made!”

A native of Washington, D.C., Underwood’s name and face might seem new to some, but her credits suggest otherwise. From Criminal Minds and Raven’s Home, to The Good Doctor and Family Reunion, she’s been putting in work since venturing out west nearly five years ago. A multi-hyphenated talent (she acts, writes, sings, dances and plays the flute and piano), Underwood credits her parents for introducing her to the arts at an early age. By the time she hit double-digits, she was auditioning. At 11, she was starring on Broadway as young Nala in The Lion King and joined the show’s national tour in 2015.

Lexi Underwood attends Little Fires Everywhere press day on March 12. Photo courtesy of Hulu.

While she’s certainly looking toward the future—mainly seeking out diverse stories to tell via her aptly-named company, Ultimate Dreamer Productions, which she launched last year—Underwood remains overjoyed about being a part of the series, as well as how it’s being received. She’s also adjusting to having so many eyes on her work. “I’ve never experienced this before and I’ve never live-Tweeted before, which was different and so fun! This is a dream role and I’m just…grateful.” 

Share :
TOPICS:  Entertainment television hulu lexi underwood little fires everywhere
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2021 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now