Lizzy Greene: A Sunflower Amongst Dandelions
If you are currently under eighteen or maybe just hold a special place in your heart for the green-slime shenanigans of Nickelodeon, you are undoubtedly very familiar with Lizzy Greene. The young actress, just seventeen, starred in Nickelodeon’s Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, & Dawn for four years before transitioning to a pivotal role on ABC’s A Million Little Things. Amassing over three million followers on Instagram and over half a million subscribers on YouTube, Greene is dominating both the small screen and the social scene.
Photographer: Karolina Turek | Makeup: Kym Davidson | Stylist: Emily Gray
Blazer: Lanvin | Belt: Chanel | Necklace: Fendi | Earrings: Balmain
From Dallas to Los Angeles to Vancouver, Lizzy Greene continues to dominate whatever domain she enters. “Spontaneous, optimistic, [and] hardworking,” Greene has always loved the art of performing, both on stage and on screen. “I started theater when I was in second grade and I really just wanted to be on Broadway,” the actress begins. “I did shows with our little theater group in Dallas and found a family of people who all shared the same interests I did.” After performing for a few years at the local theater, Greene was signed by an agency and began auditioning for television. “One thing led to another and I was swept up into a Nickelodeon show, then onto ABC, and the rest is yet to come!” Greene gleams. “I still have many moments where I think, ‘How the heck did this happen?’”
Landing her first starring role in Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, & Dawn at the age of eleven, the actress spent four of her formative years filled with sitcom hi-jinx and the honing of her comedic craft. Growing up in the public eye, however, has not been that difficult for Greene. “It’s been pretty cool because a lot of my fans and supporters have grown up alongside me,” shares the actress. Following the Nickelodeon show’s final season in 2018, Greene was offered the role of Sophie Dixon in ABC’s hit drama A Million Little Things, starring alongside notable actors like David Giuntoli (Grimm), Romany Malco (Weeds, 40 Year Old Virgin), James Roday Rodriguez (Psych, Dukes of Hazard), and Stephanie Szostak (Dinner for Schmucks, Iron Man 3).
“My transition from a kid’s show to a drama was timely, but also quite difficult,” reveals Greene. “The first few months I was on the show I was really learning how to act all over again, as it was not only a single cam, but also with a lot more serious subject matter.” Armed with training and determination, the actress learned from her peers, adjusted to the new situation, and prevailed. “I learned so much from my costars — and I describe it as like going to acting class every day. Most of my crew mates have done this for so long and it really shows through their craft,” admires Greene. “So, I’m always happy to take advice from them, as well as give them advice on social media,” laughs the modern day influencer.
While Greene might advise her costars on social media management, the actress shared one of her favorite days on set where her costars guided her behind the wheel, literally. “I was shooting a scene in season 1 with Romany and James. I was fifteen and learning to drive in the script. And though I had my permit in real life, I’d never driven such an expensive car, much less with cameras and a crew of people inside,” Greene reminisces. “So there were many moments where the two of them were legit teaching me things between takes and there were also some moments where I made a few laughable mistakes. Shoutout to James for jumping into the driver’s side a few times to fix them,” Greene laughs. “I did successfully parallel park between a Tesla and a Mercedes, which was nerve racking to say the least. Definitely one of my favorite shoot days.”
When she is not practicing to be the next road racer, Greene is always exploring an artistic avenue. “I’m drawing every minute of my free time,” the actress admits. “My family always jokes that I can’t have any form of paper in front of me without drawing on it.” While the actress has an affinity for the arts, her real passion parallels her paramount success as an actor-on-the-rise. Working in a range of entertainment genres and alongside covet-worthy cast mates has been “crazy and exhilarating” proclaims Greene. “I’ve been very lucky to have met some incredible actors and work with some amazing people.”
With all of her early successes, Greene has certainly learned many lessons along the way. “You learn to hustle and not take things personally, because a lot of what you go out for you don’t get. If you can learn to take rejection with pride, and turn the frustration into drive, you will only get better,” imparts the flourishing talent. “To my aspiring actors,” she further advises, “I always recommend to read scripts from your favorite movies and shows because you can see how the actors and filmmakers interpreted the text and brought it to life.”
Dress: Catherine Regehr | Earrings: Chanel
“Some other tips I give is to never rush (unless it’s a character choice), use everything around you when you act, and to treat silence as if it’s precious,” Greene continues. “A quote from Uta Hagen’s book, Respect for Acting, is that ‘you’re never done.’ When you act, there is no beginning or end, there is only the ‘now.’” The “now” for many people, including Greene, has either been put on hold entirely or derailed indefinitely due to the global pandemic. For her mental health and choice of self-care, the actress used to frequent yoga and barre classes, often attending every night. Now that lockdown measures are still affecting the normalcy of everyday life and events, Greene has been focusing more on her art and on running. “Both are really therapeutic for me, as one allows me to be creative and the other allows me to de-stress my mind,” shared the starlet.
The time in quarantine has affected more than just her exercise regimen. It has also affected her creativity, content creation, and her process as an actor — though, not necessarily in a negative way. “In quarantine, I’m sure all of us spent some time watching movies and TV,” the actress begins. “I specifically grew a lot in this time period because I felt as if I was doing film study on the performances I was watching. Since I had such a long hiatus from AMLT, I spent a lot of my time watching masterclasses and reading books and scripts from my favorite films. To those who are feeling a loss of inspiration, I feel you!” empathized Greene. “What helped me combat un-productivity was the planning and goal setting I made myself for every month. I daydreamed a lot, worked on multiple projects, really focused on school, and chatted with my team every now and then to keep the hard-working mindset alive,” divulged the actress. “Sharing your goals with others helps to keep you inspired and it also means that you can encourage each other to get to where you want to go. Just remember, there is never a victory without a leap or an idea.”
Greene has certainly made the leap from primarily acting to becoming a social media influencer to boot. Familiar with the life alterations of being an actor, the public forum of social media has not deterred the rising star from continuing to maintain her authenticity. And while the budding actress does boast quite the following, Greene does prefer to maintain a modicum of privacy. “I like to keep my private life private and since actors have such public lives to begin with, there’s something special about having some things to yourself,” Greene explained. As for any catty comments or malicious mentions, Greene understands that these kinds of attacks, unfortunately, “come with the job” and does not take them to heart.
“Being authentic is quite possibly the most important thing one has to remember in this business”
Cardigan: LIC-CE | Jeans: Versace | Heels: Christian Dior | Earrings: Balmain | Belt: Balenciaga
“Whenever I see a comment on my account that isn’t the kindest, I try to empathize with the person who wrote it,” Greene shared. “Since they don’t know me, nor do I know them, I try not to take it personally. But, it’s easy to get wrapped up in people’s perception of you. As long as you know who you are and where your heart is,” offers the actress, “you learn to smile and wave to comments like that.”
Smiling and maturely waving to the evolving pressures and expectations of the spotlight has allowed Greene to stay true to herself. “Being authentic is quite possibly the most important thing one has to remember in this business,” Greene states. “Your originality keeps you different from everyone around you and by choosing to not conform, you are rare. I know it’s cheesy to say ‘be yourself’,” the actor grins, “but choose to be a sunflower in a field of dandelions. Staying grateful and grounded is something my family has enforced in me my whole life — and that starts with being thankful for everything you are granted,” Greene exclaims with an air of humble gratitude. “Keep family and friends important, and never turn your back on those who care about you.”
Striving to be that sunflower amongst dandelions demands confidence — a quality which Greene unapologetically emits — and sacrifice. “I always say you have to sacrifice 90% to get 10,” the actress wisely begins. “Your work becomes a part of you and sometimes that means missing out on a lot of different milestones in life. However, I’ve been doing this since I was ten, so I’ve learned to love everything about the business. And while I do get a little tired of waking up at 4-5 a.m. all the time,” Greene cringed remising her often before dawn call time, “acting is everything to me and I hope to do it for decades to come.”
As busy as she will be with acting for the next several decades, Greene is currently painting her horizon as she gazes into her future endeavors. “This industry is great because there isn’t a bottle cap on creativity. I definitely see a portion of my career being focused on producing and film-making, as I have a few film ideas and remakes in mind at the moment,” the actress affirmed. “Fashion is also a large passion of mine as well, so let’s keep all the doors open!”
“choose to be a sunflower in a field of dandelions.”
Dress: Catherine Regehr
With open doors and an open mindset, Greene is the type of fashionista who will wear anything, as long as the styling is right. “I’m a big fan of mixing patterns and fabrics, layering different items, and mismatching jewelry, but the accessories are everything,” the actress confessed. “The shoes and jacket are the make or break pieces in my outfits.” For Greene, however, no outfit is complete without her mini Takashi Murakami LV bag. “It was a gift from one of my fav crew members on NRDD,” Greene heartened, “so it’s extra special.” In that bag? You will probably find her Jo Malone’s Velvet Rose and Oud perfume, the one beauty item the actress cannot live without.
With her acting career expanding, her original sense of style sharpening, and her social media influence growing, there is so much we can expect to see next for mature for her years, Lizzy Greene: “a venture into film, the release of some music, maybe a deeper dive into art, and a whole lot of surprises.”