The internet loves a down-to-earth celebrity, and actress Victoria Pedretti – who rose to fame as Nell Crain on The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor – is the most recent star to join the elusive pack. Pedretti is also the powerhouse behind everyone’s favorite psychopath, Love Quinn from You, and people love Pedretti so much that Love has become their favorite character by association. A prime example of the “girl you’d meet in a club bathroom who’d instantly shower you with compliments” phenomena, Pedretti joins a lineup of other Gen Z-favored stars featuring the likes of Emma Chamberlain and Devon Lee Carlson. Now, Pedretti even has astrology TikTok obsessed with her; “She literally has all the best placements,” one user commented. But what exactly is it about Pedretti that made the entirety of Gen Z fall for her?
To start, she has a unique, no BS aura, and is unafraid to be raw and vulnerable (which comes as no big surprise when you learn that her moon is in Capricorn, and falls in line with Chamberlain and Carlson’s openness about issues like mental health and skincare). Her August 2021 “What’s Underneath” interview, a series from StyleLikeU in which interviewees take off an item of clothing for each question they answer, recently went viral on TikTok because of how intimate and open it is.
As StyleLikeU said in the interview, “Facades separate us, and being radically honest brings us together.” Pedretti offers radical honesty on a number of difficult topics typically seen as taboo in normal discussion, including poor self-image, toxic relationships, and emotional abuse. “Simplifying it or anything like that is doing a disservice to to myself and to other people, because nobody’s like that – we’re all messy as f*ck,” she said. This is so refreshing given that we usually only see her through the lens of her acting; each time she tears up we’re reminded that there’s so much more to her than becoming a Netflix it girl.
That authenticity is a magnetic attribute, and Gen Z agrees wholeheartedly. It’s so meaningful to see that not only other people have struggles, but that they have to navigate through the same struggles you do. “As I’m coming more into myself, I do find it very frightening,” she told StyleLikeU. “‘Cause what if I turn a little bit to the left and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, that was too much for me now, nevermind.’” She laughs it off, but anyone who has ever felt like they’re “too much” or that having or expressing their emotions is a weakness (spoiler alert: both are untrue!) can identify. Pedretti also shares that she feels most beautiful when doing activities she loves, rather than focusing on how others perceive her – something we should all associate beauty with, TBH.
Speaking to InStyle, Pedretti has even been open and honest about the downsides to fame, exploring the feelings evoked when people put celebrities on pedestals. “You don’t know me. I’m not perfect. And any idea that I am is misguided,” she said. “None of us are perfect. We all have flaws. We’re all, in some way, bad.” In a world where everyone is constantly showing their highlight reels and none of the behind-the-scenes, it’s nice to see a public figure who stands so strongly against that. In fact, she also touches on her Instagram in her StyleLikeU interview, explaining how she considers it to be “flattening,” as it puts her into boxes and isn’t an honest depiction of life.
Pedretti asks for interviewers’ names on red carpets (which, while it should be the bare minimum for interacting with other humans, is very rare for celebrities). And even though I don’t support getting involved in celebrities’ dating lives, I have been enjoying the internet’s angry/sad reactions to the news that Pedretti is rumored to be dating You costar Dylan Arnold (it’s all in good fun and doesn’t cross a line, anyways). It shows just how in love everyone is with the actress, even though they don’t know her at all. On top of all that, Pedretti has a laid back girl-next-door personality and sharp sense of humor (plus a really adorable laugh). She’s superstitious, passionate about what she does, and fangirls over The Great British Bake Off and Doja Cat. In other words, she’s just like Gen Z – even though she’s technically a Millennial. She feels like your cool older sister or the friend you always go to for advice. “I literally want nothing more than to be her friend. I feel like she’s a piece of stability that I need. She’s such an intricate, complex, and sensitive human being. I love her personality – the way that she’s allowed us to see her,” one fan commented on the StyleLikeU video.
I could go on and on about Victoria Pedretti. At the risk of sounding like a motivational cat poster, being unapologetically yourself is the best thing you can possibly do. Being vulnerable and open with others and feeling your feelings – rather than keeping them bottled up – is magnetic. It makes everyone around you feel infinitely more comfortable, even if all of those people are with you across a screen. Authenticity is Victoria Pedretti’s allure, and we should all take notes (I mean, hey, there’s a reason that Love still has so many fans).