In Her Campus’s series Next Question, we rapid-fire interview talent Gen Z loves about what it’s like to rule over pop culture. This month, actress Chandler Kinney is in the hot seat to answer our burning questions.
“When did we lose our child-like wonder?” asks Chandler Kinney in an exclusive interview with Her Campus. “Where did it go?” As a Disney Channel icon, Dancing With The Stars finalist, and seasoned actress with a role in Prime Video’s upcoming Legally Blonde prequel series Elle, Kinney has spent years bringing joy to audiences on screen. Lately, she’s been focused on finding small ways to add that same joy into her own life — and to do that, she’s getting whimsical.
Kinney’s loving the whimsy trend on TikTok, where creators add silly bits of fun to the mundane everyday. “The whimsy girlies are putting ribbons and buttons on everything,” Kinney says. “They put the ribbons on their headphones. They’re scrapbooking. They’re adding sprinkles to their coffees. I’m like, yes, yes, and yes, that’s me.” And Kinney’s go-to act of whimsy right now? Whipped toothpaste.
Kinney has partnered with hello as their Chief Aura Officer (sick title), and yeah, her perfect, blinding smile is a firm qualification for promoting toothpaste. Still, she’s passionate for an entirely cooler reason. “My everyday morning routine is using their whipped toothpaste. It’s foaming and lush and luxurious. It’s like a party,” she says. Her morning routine is full of other simple, fun moments, too — from feel-good music to a daily call to her mom. “I think [my routine] just helps recenter my aura,” says the Chief Aura Officer herself.
The idea of whimsy extends far beyond Kinney’s morning routine. “Sometimes I forget that I also have to maintain a little bit of work-life balance and do things just for the sheer joy of it,” she says. So she’s picked up a hobby. “I’ve gotten really into line dancing,” Kinney shares. “It’s something that I literally just do because I get a giggle out of it, and I’ve gotten my whole friend group into it.” Yes, I asked, and that does include DWTS stars Ezra Sosa and Jenn Tran.
Fortunately for fans, Kinney’s commitment to finding joy doesn’t stop at her own life. She is giving audiences plenty to smile about, too: On July 1, she’ll be gracing our screens in Elle, the highly anticipated Legally Blonde prequel. “It’s very exciting, as an actor, to be a part of something that already has so much momentum behind it,” Kinney says. “Also, it’s a lot of responsibility.” But with the OG Elle Woods, Reese Witherspoon, on the team, Kinney is confident they did the series justice. “I might be a little biased, but I think we have something really special,” she says. “It’s very tonally on par with the movies. It has that high level of wit and humor. It’s cheeky. It’s a bit campy at times and self-aware, but it’s really funny and very heartfelt, and just gives people who have been a fan of the Legally Blonde movies an opportunity to dive deeper into the Elle Woods character.”
Kinney says the cast of Elle has been having as much fun getting into adventures off-screen as on. “We’ll go do picnics, or we sometimes literally rent out a studio and have a jam session on the weekend,” Kinney says. “I’ve never had a friend group who loves and values adventure. So we get up to some silly things.”
Whether she’s boot scootin’ on the dance floor, jamming with the cast of Elle, or adding a little luxury to her morning, Kinney isn’t focused on constant routine. Instead, she is learning to do things “simply because it puts a smile on my face,” she says, “and that’s enough.”
These responses have been edited for length and clarity.
What’s your go-to 2000s movie?
Legally Blonde, of course. It is a comfort film of mine, genuinely.
You starred in Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. What is the last thing you lied about?
Probably last night when I told my mom that I was gonna go to bed, and I didn’t. I went and watched some TV. She’s like, ‘Make sure you sleep before your interviews.’ And I said, ‘OK.’ And then I watched Off Campus.
Between K.C. Undercover and Z-O-M-B-I-E-S, you are a certified Disney Channel girl. Which Disney alums do you look up to?
I would have to say Raven Simone. I mean, come on. That’s So Raven. Cheetah Girls. Like, she was just that girly. She’s got it down. She knows what’s up.
What’s one thing on your bucket list for this summer?
Oh my gosh, I have so many. I want to go to a Renaissance fair. I’ve always wanted to. I’ve never been to one.
What song would you have liked to dance to in Dancing with the Stars, but didn’t get a chance to?
“Back on 74.” That was something I pitched to the producers on day one, and we really wanted to find a place for it, but we could not slot it in. Actually, can I give you one more answer? For Halloween, I ended up doing a Pretty Little Liars dance, because obviously I had to. If I didn’t do that, I really wanted to do the Monsters Inc. theme song. I wanted to be Mike Wazowski, and I wanted Brandon to be Sully. It’s never been done before. And I wanted to do a Charleston. Imagine. OK, I’m gonna put that out there, so someone else can take that idea.
In Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2, you play Willa, the Werewolf Pack leader. What mythical creature would you most like to be in real life?
I’m biased towards werewolves now, so it would probably be that. If not that, an elf. But like, Lord of the Rings-type elves. You know? I want to do archery on horseback.
What is guaranteed to make you smile?
When the sun is shining. I am a SoCal girl, so I love — I really do love — when the sun is out.