{"id":35972,"date":"2021-09-24T13:35:17","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T13:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=35972"},"modified":"2021-09-24T13:49:15","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T13:49:15","slug":"the-golden-age-jordan-alexander","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/the-golden-age-jordan-alexander\/","title":{"rendered":"The Golden Age: Jordan Alexander"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Jordan
Schiaparelli headpiece, price upon request, available at Schiaparelli boutique-salons; Tiffany & Co. Knot Drop Earrings in Yellow Gold with Diamonds, $5,000, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BY JOHN RUSSELL\u00a0<\/strong>
\nPHOTOGRAPHY BY DANA SCRUGGS
\n<\/span><\/span><\/strong>STYLING BY <\/span>ALEXANDER-JULIAN GIBBSON<\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of ink has been spilled over Jordan Alexander\u2019s hair. Or, you know, the current lack thereof. Just about everyone who has interviewed the 28-year-old star of HBO Max\u2019s Gossip Girl<\/em> over the past few months has asked about her signature shorn look. And here I am, the latest hack to bring it up. Except, I\u2019m trying to get at something else; namely, what it\u2019s like to have this very personal choice about her appearance constantly questioned, commented upon, and made into some kind of avatar for her entire personality.<\/p>\n

For generations, women\u2014and especially Black women\u2014have labored under the heavy weight of critiques, expectations for, and literal manipulations of their hairstyles. Alexander shrugs it off. \u201cThat was happening before people were interviewing me,\u201d she says over Zoom from her Brooklyn apartment. \u201cI would literally be working in a shop and people would be like, \u2018Oh my god, you cut all your hair off ! What did you look like with hair?\u2019 I got asked that last night: \u2018What did you look like when you had hair?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

(Slightly depressing fact: If you type \u201cJordan Alexander\u201d into Google, the second autofill is \u201c…with hair.\u201d As if that were nearly the most interesting thing about her.)<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I\u2019ve done it, it has been a topic of conversation, kind of no matter where I am. Which I find so fascinating because I feel like it\u2019s not that uncommon?\u201d she continues. \u201cIt\u2019s quite common for Black women, and I think women in general are feeling freer to do it. But yeah, all types of people ask me about it. Most of the time what happens is: \u2018Oh my god, you cut your hair! I\u2019ve always wanted to cut my hair!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jordan
Marc Jacobs bodysuit, $1,600, bergdorfgoodman.com; Vintage gloves; Schiaparelli boots, price upon request, available at Schiaparelli boutiques; Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti Snake earrings in 18k gold, $2,700, tiffany.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To Alexander, these conversations just show how pervasive\u2014and restrictive\u2014beauty norms can be. With so many avenues of creative expression to explore, it\u2019s something she decided not to make time for.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, This is a lot of work! It\u2019s a lot of work to have hair!\u201d she explains. \u201cAnd feeling pressured like you have to. I mean, it\u2019s one thing if you enjoy it. Some people just enjoy that experience. It\u2019s a connection to yourself, potentially a connection to your heritage, you know? But it\u2019s a lot of work. It can be a lot of money as well. Like, I don\u2019t even buy shampoo.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pauses, smiles mischievously: \u201cI\u2019m gonna take back what I just said.\u201d And then we have a good laugh about all the celebrities who have inexplicably come out as non-bathers recently. \u201cI think bathing is important!\u201d she insists, laughing.<\/p>\n

This is Jordan Alexander in early September 2021: relaxed, unguarded, quick to laugh, excited about life, eager to just chat. I happen to have caught her on a randomly auspicious day: She\u2019d just wrapped the very first season of the Gossip Girl<\/em> reboot the night before. There was a party afterward outside of Brooklyn\u2019s Steiner Studio, where the show is filmed. \u201cThey just put food trucks in the parking lot, set up karaoke, there were balloons. It was so amazing,\u201d she says. \u201cWe took a massive group picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2014the day she and I are speaking\u2014also marks one year since Alexander arrived in New York to quarantine before filming began on the revival of the soapy teen drama. It goes without saying that a lot has changed since then. Apart from moving to a new city in a different country (Alexander is Canadian) she\u2019s living on her own for the first time. She\u2019s filmed a highly anticipated television series during a global pandemic, and in the months since Gossip Girl<\/em> premiered in July, her public profile has increased exponentially. She\u2019s gone from relative obscurity to It Girl in a matter of months.<\/p>\n

\"Jordan
Givenchy cape, $13,685, givenchy.com; Fleur Du Mal bra, $98, fleurdumal.com; vintage gloves, stylist\u2019s own; Brother Vellies boots, $1,100, brothervellies.com; Tiffany & Co. Knot Drop earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, $5,000, Tiffany Knot Double Row hinged bangle in yellow gold with diamonds, $20,000, Elsa Peretti Diamonds by the Yard continuous necklace in 18k rose gold, $20,500, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny how time works,\u201d she muses. \u201cDepending on what happens, it\u2019s either like a very eventful moment or, you know, just another couple of months. My life, last year and this year, has changed more than it has in my entire life. So 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Gossip Girl<\/em>, Alexander plays Julien Calloway, a wealthy teen influencer for whom life moves incredibly fast: sponcon, fashion shows, gala benefits, scandals galore. But prior to being cast in the role, life could not have been more different for the actress. Alexander grew up in and around Vancouver, the second of three daughters. She and her family moved around a lot, which meant that she changed schools frequently. Whereas Julien has her clique of loyal friends and hangers-on, Alexander had to get good at walking into unfamiliar situations. \u201cI feel like it kind of prepared me to be an artist,\u201d she says. \u201cLike a nomadic artist. You\u2019ve got to be ready to pick up your entire life in a week and move to New York, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of DUMBO Hall\u2014the show\u2019s stand-in for Brooklyn\u2019s exclusive, members-only DUMBO House\u2014Alexander and her friends frequented pubs and hung out outdoors. Her first job, which she loved, was at a taco restaurant. She waxes poetic remembering the view from Vancouver\u2019s SkyTrain. There was the usual teen drama\u2014she unwittingly kissed a friend\u2019s secret crush in the 11th grade, and the next day everyone in her class had conspicuously moved their desks away from hers\u2014but there was nothing that even remotely compares to Gossip Girl\u2019s<\/em> baroque scheming and tabloid intrigues. As for performing, Alexander just thinks it suited her personality. \u201cI\u2019m pretty outgoing. I don\u2019t get shy,\u201d she says. She\u2019s also never been afraid to try something new. She began playing guitar after seeing a friend playing and writing songs and thinking, I wanna do that! \u201cI\u2019d sign myself up for little singing competitions and things like that,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

\"Jordan
Givenchy dress, $2,459, shoes, $1,250, shop similar at givenchy.com; Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti mesh necklace, $30,000, Tiffany Knot Double Row ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $5,200; Tiffany Knot Ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $1,700, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One such competition earned her a spot playing Toronto Pride. She and her then-girlfriend had moved to the city and Alexander was focused on music. She and her sisters had appeared in commercials here and there as kids, and for a while she\u2019d pursued acting as a young adult. But she was over it. \u201cI just kinda switched lanes,\u201d she explains. \u201cThat\u2019s kinda how I like to do things. If I feel like doing something, I\u2019m gonna do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her older sister was not over it. She insisted that Alexander needed to get back into acting and began sending her Instagram photos to agents in Toronto. \u201cWhich definitely probably isn\u2019t what you\u2019re supposed to do,\u201d Alexander says with a laugh. \u201cI don\u2019t know that I\u2019d recommend that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It worked out. She landed a role opposite Juliette Lewis and her future Gossip Girl<\/em> co-star Emily Alyn Lind on Facebook Watch\u2019s \u201cSacred Lies.\u201d Then came Gossip Girl<\/em>, and New York City, and photo shoots, and people recognizing her on the street. \u201cSometimes people are confused,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re like, \u2018Are you…\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018Possibly? It depends on what you\u2019re talking about. Did we meet in real life or is it something I did?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jordan
Dolce & Gabbana top, $945, available at Dolce & Gabbana boutiques; Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti mesh scarf earrings in 18k gold,$2,500, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She says the newer, browner, queerer show is reflected in the fans she meets, which is gratifying because representation, diversity, and social consciousness are all incredibly important to Alexander. She\u2019s part of a new generation of performers, many of whom have never even considered staying closeted for the sake of their careers. If anything, she insists, being queer has given her opportunities she may not have had otherwise\u2014playing Pride for instance. It\u2019s a hopeful, optimistic perspective in the context of a world that\u2019s more dangerous than ever for queer people, and especially Black ones.<\/p>\n

Still, she admits she\u2019s felt pressure to \u201ckeep her private life private\u201d and not make her work \u201call about being queer.\u201d She bridles thinking about it. \u201cWhat the hell? What the hell! I think people just don\u2019t understand how steeped in heterosexuality our society is. So they literally feel like any time somebody deviates from that, they\u2019re like, Oh it\u2019s all about that! No no no no. This society is all about heteronormativity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just so funny,\u201d she continues, \u201cwhen people are like, \u2018Keep your private life private.\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Straight people don\u2019t!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jordan
Alexandre Vauthier top, $288, alexandrevauthier.com; Louis Vuitton pants, price upon request, boots, $2,060, louisvuitton.com; Tiffany & Co. Knot Drop earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, $5,000, Tiffany Knot Double Row hinged bangle in yellow gold with diamonds, $20,000, Tiffany Knot Double Row ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $5,200; Tiffany Knot Ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $1,700, Elsa Peretti Diamonds by the Yard continuous necklace in 18k rose gold, $20,500, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jordan Alexander in September 2021: unafraid, unapologetic, and stirringly certain in her convictions and her identity. Unlike her influencer character, Alexander is less interested in projecting a perfectly curated version of herself than she is with connecting with people\u2014authentically. \u201cI know who I am. And if people don\u2019t understand that, or if they get a different version of me, I think that\u2019s OK,\u201d she explains. \u201cI don\u2019t really worry too much about t hat.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time the final six episodes of Gossip Girl<\/em>\u2019s first season premiere in November, Alexander will have left New York. She\u2019s heading back to Canada, eager to reconnect with family and friends after navigating the past whirlwind year more\u2013or-less on her own. She plans to spend time with her grandparents, to go camping with her girlfriend, model Shane Homan, and to go see movies with her sister. She\u2019s got an album\u2019s worth of new demos she needs to figure out what to do with. She mentions a recent audition, so it\u2019s possible there will be more acting roles on the horizon. (There certainly will be more Gossip Girl.<\/em>\u00a0HBO Max has announced they\u2019ve signed the show to a second season.)<\/p>\n

Good things are out there. Alexander knows from personal experience. She\u2019s spoken before about \u201cmanifesting\u201d her breakthrough role on Gossip Girl<\/em>, by which she simply means that she stopped beating herself up over small failures. She made herself aware of toxic self-doubt and made an effort to recalibrate. It\u2019s a process she recommends for anyone.<\/p>\n

\"Jordan
Kim Mesches dress, $5,000, kimmeschescreative.com; Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti mesh scarf earrings in 18k gold, $2,500, Tiffany Knot Double Row ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $5,200; Tiffany Knot Ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $1,700, tiffany.com. Hair by Dana Boyer. Makeup by Ernest Robinson. Manicure by Rita Remark.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI want other people, if they\u2019re interested or if it\u2019s something that resonates, to do this,\u201d she says. She started telling herself that she could do things, she does deserve good fortune. Call it affirmations. Call it improved self-esteem. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t like I was specifically like, I want this acting role. I moreso felt like, I am open to goodness, whether that be a kind stranger on the street or whatever. I\u2019m believing in that. I believe in goodness for my life. So it must have been that!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29097,"featured_media":36141,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[38,16],"yoast_head":"\nThe Golden Age: Jordan Alexander - GRAZIA USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A lot of ink has been spilled over Jordan Alexander\u2019s hair. Or, you know, the current lack thereof. 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