It’s Time to Meet the Real Sydney Sweeney

“I hope you like cookies and ice cream,” Sydney Sweeney says as we cozy into a red leather booth at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in Burbank, the studio-filled neighborhood just north of Los Angeles. A chain restaurant is an unlikely locale to find one of Hollywood’s brightest stars—but the 26-year-old actor selected this spot for us because of one specific dessert item. (The three people who come up to us and breathlessly ask, “Are you Sydney Sweeney?” can’t believe she’s there either.) 

“I started coming here with my family when I was really young,” Sweeney recalls. “I am a huge cookie and ice cream fan, and they make this thing called a Pizookie that I love.”

After we order two chocolate chip Pizookies topped with vanilla ice cream, Sweeney touches on her childhood in northwestern Idaho, calling herself a “tomboy” who wasn’t tapped into the beauty world. “The women in my family didn’t really wear makeup,” she says. “I grew up putting sunscreen on your face and body, but that was about it. It wasn’t until I came to LA that I learned about skincare and makeup.”  

If she’s wearing makeup today, I wouldn’t know it. We’re here today to celebrate Sweeney’s new role—a promotion, actually. Prior to our meeting, Sweeney spent the day on set with skin care brand Laneige, being slathered with her favorite products like the Water Bank Moisturizer, Lip Sleeping Mask, and Hyaluronic Eye Cream. She’s been the US ambassador for the Korean brand since 2022, and as of today, she’s taking on global duties. The elevation comes at an exciting time for the actor, who has the rom-com Anyone But You in theaters and Marvel’s Madame Web due out next month; Sweeney is the first Laneige face to represent the brand across all its markets worldwide, a reflection of her growing star power. She says she loves that Laneige embraces her exactly as she is, au naturel. “It’s the most clean-face version of me,” she says of the beauty brief for today’s shoot. 

As we talk, our pizza-cookie mash-ups arrive warm from the oven. Following a cheers-ing of the skillets the desserts are served on, it’s time for a taste test. Sweeney awaits my feedback, and I feel like Padma Lakshmi, reviewing a contestant’s experimental dish on Top Chef. But of course, cookies and ice cream, it’s delicious. Phew.