Jordan Alexander
Jordan Alexander, photographed by Dana Scruggs. Styled by Alexander- Julian Gibbson. Givenchy dress, $2.450, shoes, $1,250, shop similar at givenchy.com; Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti mesh necklace, $30,000, tiffany.com.

The 28-year-old star of HBO Max’s much-discussed Gossip Girl revival has had quite a year—perhaps the most monumental for her yet. As she tells Grazia USA contributor John Russell, her life in September 2021 could not be more different than it was a year ago. After taking some time off from acting to focus on music in her mid-20s, she’s gone from relative obscurity to rising starlet seemingly overnight!

“This period of time, in terms of change, can account for maybe five years of change [compared to] what I was used to previously, when things were changing at a very slow rate,” she says.

Gossip Girl has changed as well. While the original series focused on the glamorous lives of a clique of privileged, mostly white teens on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, this new incarnation is a much more diverse show. The characters are still insanely wealthy, but they’re browner, queerer, and much more politically engaged than their predecessors. All of which makes Alexander the face of a very different kind of teen drama—and that suits her just fine. The biracial Canadian singer-songwriter/actor is proudly queer and has never once considered “keeping her private life private” for the sake of her career.

“It’s just so funny,” she explains, “When people are like ‘Keep your private life private,’ I’m like, ‘Straight people don’t.’”

The fearless, outspoken Alexander is on the cusp of fame. With the final six episodes of Season 1 set to debut in November, Gossip Girl was recently renewed for a second season, and there are bound to be many more opportunities ahead for her to shine. It goes without saying that this is a pivotal time for the young actress—and an incredible moment to get to know her.

Don’t miss Grazia USA’s snapshot of Jordan Alexander just as her star is rising. Read the full profile in the magazine, at select newsstands nationwide on September 23.