There are many ways to be a celebrity in 2025, and most of them involve TikTok, staged paparazzi walks, and high-profile friends. Sadie Sink presents a more unique angle: Just do the work.
As an actor, she is singular. The 23-year-old’s résumé is filled with the types of projects others would spend their entire career working toward. She was an invaluable addition to Stranger Things when she joined the Netflix series in season two as Max, the skateboarding badass whose obsession with Kate Bush’s “Running up That Hill” turned the song into a number one hit 37 years after its release. Swifties have enthusiastically embraced her as one of their own after Taylor Swift handpicked the star for her “All Too Well” short film. She won over hard-to-please cinephiles with a nuanced performance opposite Brendan Fraser in the Darren Aronofsky drama The Whale. Harder-to-please theater fans still remember her turn in the title role of Annie for its 2012 Broadway revival, and she received a Tony nomination this year for the buzzy play John Proctor Is the Villain, a revisionist take on The Crucible.
And yet Sink has managed to deftly and delicately sidestep all the usual trappings of fame despite having more than 24 million Instagram followers and being beloved by two of the most fervent fandoms that exist (140 million Netflix accounts watched the last season of Stranger Things, while “All Too Well” has 109 million views on YouTube).
Even more unusual: Rumors about her dating life or any on-set drama are nonexistent. Once, the celebrity gossip account Deux Moi posted about her…having a picnic in Central Park. All this to say, she does the job, and she does it well while keeping the rest a mystery.
But, as I’ve learned, there are many sides to Sadie Sink, who acknowledges that the demands that come with her job aren’t always about the work.
“It’s so hard nowadays with social media,” Sink tells me. “There’s a lot more asked of actors—and that insight into their personal lives. It’s so present.”
She gets why people are curious, and she worried for years that her decision to refrain from sharing would harm her career, but putting those walls up early has clearly paid off for her both emotionally and professionally.
Sink isn’t completely unknowable, of course. Her friends, family, and colleagues are just as protective of Sink’s privacy as the star herself, but they are willing to help paint a fuller picture of what she’s like in her off-hours. They describe Sink as funny, kind, and thoughtful. She is the sort of friend you text your deepest, darkest secrets to without fear of judgment or, worse, a leak to the press.
From her brother, actor Mitchell Sink, I learn about their childhood in Texas, where they’d put on scenes of High School Musical and Wicked for their family. Their dreams of Broadway were so big that it convinced their parents to move the entire family to the New York City area to support the pursuit. They’ve come a long way since those days performing in their living room, but not that far. Mitchell jokes that he and his sister should have started a Love Island podcast, with the amount of commentary and riffing they do about the show.
“She’s so driven, so focused, and super passionate about everything she does,” he says. “But at the end of the day, she’s my sister, and she’s very silly, very goofy, and ridiculous. Seeing both sides of that is really fun.”
Says Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin on Stranger Things, “There’s an initial assumption that she might be introverted, and I don’t know if that’s the case because she’s an absolute blast in group settings. It’s so easy to find yourself in a really good conversation. She’s a good friend to have.”
The two have known each other since childhood, when they were on Broadway at the same time alongside Mitchell and their Stranger Things costar Caleb McLaughlin. Matarazzo doesn’t remember their first meeting but thinks it was probably on the playground where all the theater kids would hang out between shows. “She’s always felt older than her age,” he says. “Anytime I was around her, I was like, Oh, she’s such a good hang; she’s so chill. But also, I’ve got to get my shit together; she seems so put-together.”
Oscar-winning actor and star of the 2025 comedy-drama Rental Family Brendan Fraser was similarly struck by her maturity from their first meeting; he played Sink’s father in The Whale. “She seemed reserved, intelligent, polite, friendly, and just together,” he says. “She’s got impeccable timing as an actress and talent, clearly, in spades. I won’t speak for her—she may or may not concur about that because she’s humble—but I know that she never gets comfortable or relies on her natural abilities. She’s honing her craft take by take, and she has the ability to get better the more that she plays a scene.”
The best insight into who Sink is—besides Sink herself—might come from her castmate, close friend, and sometime roommate Maya Hawke. The two lived together in Atlanta while filming the last two seasons of Stranger Things, which returns for its final chapter on November 26. They spent their free time doing “grandmotherly activities,” says Hawke, such as making big pots of soup and stews together, discussing the best kinds of gluten-free bread, watching Modern Family as they knit and crocheted curled up on the couch, and taking walks to the yarn store.
“She’s thoughtful and intentional,” Hawke says. “She takes her time with people and gets to know them. And when you get over that line with Sadie, it’s the warmest, most delightful, funny, goofy, cuddly, supportive, generous, tricky, smart, clever, makes-you-laugh-until-you-cry, curled-up-on-the-carpet-in-front-of-a-fireplace feeling. There’s a real specialness to that because she doesn’t show that part of herself to everybody.”
After the final episode of Stranger Things goes live on New Year’s Eve, the future gets only brighter for Sink. She’s currently based in London filming a movie so top secret that she instantly shuts down any line of questioning about it. (It’s reportedly a “significant” part in Spider-Man 4, opposite Tom Holland.) She’s taking on the role of executive producer for the first time, too, for the film adaptation of John Proctor. Next year she'll make her West End stage debut in Romeo & Juliet, followed by a reported role in the next Avengers movie.
Maybe that future will include sharing more of herself with the world. Maybe it won’t. “That’s for her to gatekeep,” Mitchell tells me. “She can decide what to share with the world, and what she doesn’t want to.”
“The interesting thing about being friends with a very private person is that I really don’t want anyone to know anything about Sadie that Sadie doesn’t want them to know,” Hawke echoes. “I imagine that Sadie will tell people when she wants.”
For now, what Sink is ready to share is more than you might expect. She’s clear about what she wants for the future and willing to go deep on past insecurities. She even—well, I’ll stop here. Let’s let Sadie tell us herself.
Glamour: What do you think of London? How are you liking it?
Sadie Sink: I really love London. It’s grown on me a lot. At first I was really missing New York, but now that I’ve figured out the Tube, I’m good. I feel like, Okay, I’ve got experience.
What do you do on a day off for fun?
I’ll sit in the garden. I’ll read. Honestly? I really love going to the grocery store, so I feel like I’m just constantly shopping.
Do you like to cook?
I’ve been getting really, really into cooking. Most of this year I was doing a play, and I never cooked because I didn’t have the energy for it. Now I’m operating at a much slower pace, so I’m cooking a lot, which is great. And reading more. I hadn’t read at all this year until I came here and finally had the mental capacity for it. And then I found a good yoga spot. I love Barry’s Bootcamp too. I’m obsessed with it.
It sounds like you’re getting to do a lot of quiet, self-care activities.
Yeah, which is so nice because I didn’t really get much of that this year. Or, I thought I was, but every single day I was surrounded by people. And not just a handful of people—a huge audience of people. It was just so much socializing. Everyone’s always like, “Are you bored alone in London? You don’t really know anyone there.” But honestly, I am thriving. I could do this for the rest of the year.
What do you do when you’re homesick?
I usually go to SoulCycle because there’s always a SoulCycle in most major cities. That always makes me feel at home. I don’t even regularly go to SoulCycle in New York, but I used to go a lot when I was younger. That was the first thing I did when I went to London. I was like, Okay, just go to SoulCycle. You’ll feel right at home. And it did. It helped a lot.
I want to talk about John Proctor. I don’t know the last time I saw something that captured the experience of being a teen girl so perfectly. In what ways did you relate to your character, Shelby?
I immediately knew I wanted to play Shelby. What’s so great about it is that even though I loved Shelby—I loved that character and all of her complexities—I loved all the other characters just as much and felt like they were girls that I knew. Their dialogue, their banter, just felt like conversations I had been a part of. It didn’t dumb down any of the girls at all, which is sadly really hard to find. Either writers will make teenage girls wildly too mature, or they go the opposite direction and they’re too naive.
How was it returning to Broadway and live theater after several years away?
It was always something I wanted to do. I was a kid when I first did it, so I don’t know how much I can remember of it, honestly, or how present I was. Obviously, this was much different. I was really, really nervous. I think the longer I stayed out of theater, the more I began to fear it. I didn’t know how I would react being on stage again. I genuinely thought—we were in tech week, and I remember thinking, This could all crash and burn; there’s a huge chance that I will not be able to even go on stage. But I did.
A lot of that has to do with the fact that it was an ensemble piece. It was amazing to rip that Band-Aid off again and approach theater from a more collaborative lens. Because as a kid, you can make choices but…you hit your marks. So having conversations and all the theater exercises and the work that goes into rehearsals was amazing to have after coming out of TV, which is very fast-paced.
For the film version, you’ll be producing for the first time. How do you feel about it?
I’ve always been curious about producing, but it was only something I wanted to do if I felt like I could take it on. I don’t want to just slap my name on something as a producer just because I can. I actually want to learn how to do it and do it right and work with people who are willing to educate me on it. This felt like the right fit because, obviously, I know a lot about the play. I lived in the heads of Shelby and all of these girls. It’ll be nice to work with Kimberly [Belflower, the play’s author] again; we were obviously so aligned on the play and the message of it.
Did doing live theater after wrapping the final season of Stranger Things help with transitioning out of something you’ve been doing for so many years?
It was honestly a really good bookend, if that makes sense, because I started out in theater, then left to do Stranger Things. Stranger Things ended, and I went back to theater. It was nice to have gone through the entire journey of Stranger Things and end right where it all started for me.
Ending Stranger Things was so emotional. I was thinking about it yesterday because I was on the phone with my mom, and we were talking about the last day on set. It was brutal. To go from that and then straight into rehearsals for something new was exactly what I needed. I needed to numb myself with something different and scary and a new challenge. It was nice to have that distraction. And now that we’re doing press for Stranger Things, I’m getting sad again.
Did you feel like you needed to say goodbye to Max? What’s your relationship to her now that the show is ending?
It’s weird. Honestly, if I really care about a character that I’m playing, I get really emotional on the last day of filming. Like with John Proctor, the last time I played Shelby, I wept. I weep about saying goodbye to cast members and all of that, but there’s also a huge part of me that’s just so sad to say goodbye to the character. For Max, I wasn’t actually sad. I think it’s because I’ve played her for so long. How can I say goodbye to her? She’s not going anywhere. It felt less of a goodbye to Max and more of a goodbye to the show.
You’ve filmed Stranger Things for almost a decade, and during some really formative years. Now that you’re in your 20s, what do you think is going to stick with you the most from the experience?
It’s going to change. The more perspective I get, different things will pop up. Right now, what I feel the most is how much I’ve grown as an actor. I really hate watching myself, but I’m able to go back and watch work that I’ve done on the show in season two because I was so little. I think of how nervous I was, and how I didn’t know if I was a good actor. I didn’t know if people were going to like the character or me or if I fit in. Now I’m like, I was doing a great job! That was an important lesson to learn of how much—we all do it—I really, really judge myself. No matter how much experience I have, I always have a lot of self-doubt. Now I can look back and know I should be proud of that.
You said the last day was super sad. Any memories stand out?
Oh, it was horrible. It was awful, just so emotional. It felt like we were genuinely grieving something, which we were because it’s a huge chapter of our lives. It’s bigger than even high school or college or the friends that you make there. It’s bigger than that because nothing else is like this. We’re so connected on so many levels, and then also have this really singular experience. I still have these people and everything, but we have to say goodbye to what brought us together. It was like saying goodbye to your childhood.
When you joined Stranger Things in season two, it was already an established hit, and you were obviously a much younger actor at the time. Now, for the final season, did you have more agency with Max’s story and how it would end?
It’s always there if you wanted, and I know a lot of other actors would do that. Matt and Ross [Duffer] would always welcome input and try to incorporate it into the show. I never really did that on Stranger Things. Maybe that’s because I was never taught that growing up. I was always like, You do what’s written, and that’s that. Which isn’t bad. I just really trust Matt and Ross, and they’ve obviously seen me grow up as an actor and know my strengths and where I’m needed best. I trust that they know Max too. If I ever do feel strongly about something, I would say it, but I haven’t. I’ve loved what they’ve given Max, and it feels right.
I watched the first three episodes but had to agree to about a million embargoes to even see those. What can you tease about Max and what people will see this season?
It’s very unexpected. It answers all of those questions of, Wait, what? How? It’s interesting to see where she is, and what she’s been up to, but it’s still very true to her.
As I was signing my life away on those forms, I was reminded of how big a machine Stranger Things is. There’s so much to keep secret. Was there any pressure with that? Do you feel any relief to not always be on guard about revealing spoilers?
Honestly, not as much as you would think. It’s pretty easy to keep a secret, at least for me. I can keep a secret. I don’t have to talk about it. Also, sometimes, it’s been a while since we shot that season, so I can’t remember to be honest. I was watching the first four episodes of this season and was like, Oh, that happens.
I do feel reminded of how big it is around times like these, when I’m doing press for the show. Once we start gearing up for the show to come out, then it’s like, Oh yeah, this is Stranger Things; a lot of people watch it. We all forget that so much because it feels different when you’re there making it.
How was it growing up with that much attention on you? Was it easy to stay normal? Hard?
It’s something that I’ve been able to think a lot about now. There’s more perspective on it. Looking back on my teenage years, growing up on the show, I was really protected by the people around me. And by myself too. I think I was super protective of who I was. It definitely was hard in all the ways you would expect it to be hard, but the biggest thing, looking back, was that when things were hard, when there would be certain pressures, or I’d be overwhelmed, I felt like I couldn’t talk about it because it was such an amazing thing that was happening. Of course it was, and I wouldn’t change anything, but sometimes you don’t feel like you can have any complaints or struggles, which I think is common for lots of people even if you’re not in this line of work.
So even if I was struggling with anything or feeling any kind of pressure, I didn’t really have an outlet for that. Now I do. I know that I do need that and need to talk about these things. I look back and see how it shaped who I am now. When everything’s moving so fast and all these great, amazing things are happening, I don’t think anyone ever really stops to think, Okay, wait, how are you doing? Or, I didn’t at least. I was like, I’m fine. I’m great. I still am. But there’s already a lot of pressure as a teenage girl—growing up in front of a lot of people, of course that’s going to bring on a couple added things.
Do you have examples of how you would protect yourself?
When I was younger, at first I felt the pressure that in order to be successful, you had to be really good at interviews. You had to be memeable and really charismatic. I felt that so heavily when I was younger, like, Oh my God, I have to be funny. I have to be relatable, otherwise people won’t care. Right? That’s the formula. And for whatever reason, I couldn’t do that. There was always this huge guard up that I didn’t want to talk about my personal life. I didn’t want to be super open on social media, or anything like that. It actually all made me very nervous. That was maybe a subconscious protection that I had that I’m very grateful for now because, yeah, I was protecting myself. In my head, at the time, I thought I wasn’t doing enough.
Because you have been more private, is there something about yourself or your background that you think would be helpful for people to know?
I guess it’s important for people to know that it’s kind of a miracle that I’m doing this, that I fell into this. I’ve talked about how I don’t come from a creative family or anything. The journey to get to where I am now wasn’t calculated in any way. It was this random, natural progression. I come from a very small town. My parents are both teachers, seven kids in my family, and we were always cramming into tiny apartments when we moved up to New York and everything.
I mean, that’s no small thing to move your whole family. At what point did it become, for your parents, “Okay, we’re really doing this”?
We’d been going back and forth from Texas with my mom or my dad, and my brothers would come and visit. But as crazy as it was, Texas to New York, and then eventually New Jersey, it was a huge culture shock, but one that my family really needed and was hungry for. Where I grew up, nobody really leaves. To get out of that and experience New York and all the different cultures and lifestyles and people was very, very important. To get out of that bubble was ultimately for the better for everyone.
Switching gears, you’re now in London for Spider-Man. It’s not your first rodeo doing a project with a massive fandom, so did you feel more prepared for this?
I can’t really say anything. [Smiles.]
Okay.
About anything.
About anything?
About anything.
So let’s go with this: What’s next after that? Are there any bucket-list things you want with your career?
I definitely want to do more theater. That’s on the list. And then, I don’t know. Anything. I’m really interested in working with directors that I want to work with, that’s important, but more so it’s character-driven. I’m super open to everything. One thing that is important is to leave high school for a bit. I’m not opposed to going back when I need to, but as a 23-year-old, I’m obviously feeling more connected to stories that are about characters my own age. That’s more exciting to me, and it’s hard to find. The early-20 age range is not as easy to come by. I’m reading a lot of books, and there are so many about that age, specifically, but you rarely see it in film and TV. It’s hard.
With theater, is there a role or a show you would die to revive or be a part of?
Ooh, yes. I’m really interested in Shakespeare right now because that feels like a pillar. If you conquer that, then I don’t know. I think it would unleash something in me, on a personal level. That’s exciting to me. I definitely have the theater bug right now and want to do it as much as possible.
Would you do a musical?
No. No. I wouldn’t. Annie was it. That’s all people are going to get.
Speaking of Annie, your red hair is such a signature. Would you ever dye it?
No. I’ve thought about it, but I’ve never dyed my hair. Anyone who has red hair knows the ups and downs of your relationship with it. Sometimes you’re like, Yes, I love my hair. It’s the best thing ever. And then sometimes you’re like, Oh my God, I hate it. I just want to change it. But no matter where you stand, what you hear your entire life as a redhead is to never dye your hair. “People pay so much money for that hair.” So I never have, and I don’t think I will. I like the idea that my hair isn’t dyed. I don’t have any piercings or tattoos or anything...I like the idea of never doing anything.
I never pierced my ears or dyed my hair. I never got a tattoo. There’s something nice about the blank-slate-ness of it.
Totally. I think that’s my job too. Anything that I do hairwise, anything, is going to play a part. I think I always need to be this canvas, which is also something that’s so…. Nowadays, it’s hard to ignore how much people change looks and fashion, and all of that has blended into actors and the entertainment industry. Growing up in that, and actively being a part of that, is a little bit confusing sometimes because it’s like, Wait, what? Are we all supposed to look like this? Is this what everyone wants us to look like? I don’t want to do that, but everyone else is doing it.
How would you describe your personal style?
Right now it’s pretty safe. Nice pieces that make me feel good and comfortable. I’ll have fun. I can put on an outfit and like the way it looks and everything, but I’m not as bold with my choices as I maybe have been at one point. Two years ago I had these massive boots that my friend gave me. They had chains and pearls, and I would wear them everywhere. I wore them to the airport. Now I look back, and I’m like, Why? I would never do that now. Everyone would look at me, like, “Oh, there’s Sadie and her boots.” Fashion has that power—it reflected whatever phase I was in at that time, where I felt bolder and wanted people to look at me, or wanted to make some kind of statement. Now I wouldn’t do that anymore.
Your boot story reminded me—I read that a director once told you to get some life experience and be a kid before pursuing more acting roles. And then you booked Stranger Things. Now, at 23, do you feel like you’ve gotten some of that life experience?
I did, yeah.
Is there still more to do?
There’s definitely still more. That’s something that I constantly have to remind myself of. I really, really love what I do. I’m not crazy obsessive over it, but I’m just so content with what I do, which is an amazing place to be in. But it does sometimes feel like, Has this always been it? Am I too focused on this? When I was younger, I definitely did have that [life experience]. I went to public school for a year in between the last Broadway show and Stranger Things starting up. And on Stranger Things, I was around kids my age, so I still had that. Now it’s more of a question than it was when I was a kid, which is interesting. I feel like, Okay, wait, am I living life now too? I think I am; it’s just more adult.
How would your friends describe you?
I think “really driven.” Actually, my friend told me this the other day, and I don’t know why I was shocked to hear it. She said, “You’re so driven.” That’s just always been my way of being, so I don’t really notice that. I’d say driven, definitely mature, and relaxed. Pretty easy-going.
If I asked how your family would describe you, would the answer be the same?
No. I mean, some of them would be the same. They would still say I’m driven, but they would probably also say I’m really goofy too. That’s the best part about family—they get that side of you.
Since you’ve been reading a lot while in London, any books you’ve connected with recently?
I really like Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. This book called Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan. I reread The Secret History because it’s perfect. Right now I’m reading Boy Parts by Eliza Clark. A lot of complicated female characters is what I’m discovering.
Any music?
I’ve been loving Audrey Hobert. So good. I think she’s single-handedly saving pop music. And Lorde, obviously her new album has been on repeat. And who else? Oh, Laura Marling. Love.
You said earlier that you often cry when you say goodbye to a character. Is that your release when you end a project?
Yeah, I think so. It’s crying for a lot of different reasons. I could be crying because I’m relieved. With John Proctor, I don’t think I really ever allowed myself to be proud of what I was doing because I had to do it every single night. Once it was over, that’s all I could feel, like, Oh, I’m really proud of myself that I did this. That was a really emotional last day.
When’s the first time you realized, “I might be good at this?”
There are little moments that stick with me. I rarely ever feel good about what I’m doing, but I remember a director that I worked with on The Audience when I was younger gave me a really, really nice compliment about who I was as an actor. I was probably around 13 years old or something, and that stuck with me.
What was the first time you felt successful?
Oh, well, honestly, most recently. We were in the early performances of John Proctor, and seeing that people showed up was a really big moment for me. I was thinking, I don’t know how this is going to do. But people did show up. Seeing that I helped in getting the show where it needed to be and because of that, now people got to be introduced to the play. I really felt that. That’s when I felt like I can use my platform to bring forward the stories that I want to tell. That was a big moment for me.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Photographer: Arseny Jabiev @arsenyjabiev
Stylist: Anatolli Smith @anatolli
Hair: Lacy Redway @lacyredway
Makeup: Mollie Gloss @molliegloss
Nails: Mamie Onishi @nailsbymamie
Set Designer: Lauren Bahr @laurenbahrstudio
Producer: Jean Jarvis/Area1202 @area1202