No one is as genuinely excited and pleasantly surprised by the success of Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia as its breakthrough star, Brianne Howey (when we speak, season one is currently claiming number-one on the streaming service). “We knew it would be popular for the young-adult crowd when we were making it, but we had no idea that everyone would like it,” the 31-year-old shares with the kind of uninhibited enthusiasm that mirrors her title character of Georgia. “It has been such a hard year, so to know that Ginny & Georgia gets to offer any sort of escapism, peace and laughter means the world.”
What’s it like being part of something that’s so popular during a collectively strange time?
Oh, my gosh. It’s incredibly meaningful. I’m so proud to stand with this cast, and to be a part of a show that is helmed by women. It’s a show by women, about women, but for everyone. I think that’s been the most exciting part. We knew that the YA demographic would definitely be into it, but what’s been most pleasantly surprising is that it goes far past the YA audience. There’s definitely a lot of escapism in the show. It was a great time for it to come out.
Georgia has a very specific look. How did you get into character?
When we first meet Georgia, she has her long, Dallas, Texas hair. And the second those extensions were popped in, it was like I was stepping into Georgia. Then, it was on to makeup: I had so much fun with all of her bright colors—the rosy cheeks, the bright lips, the longer lashes—which isn’t something I normally do, so embracing that was exciting. As the show goes on, Georgia goes through this style, hair and makeup arc. She’s such a chameleon, and she’s set on assimilating herself with the other moms. There’s this one scene from the pilot, where she’s standing with them and they’re eyeing her dress and she’s a complete fish out of water, which I love. Then we got to tone it down, reel it in and help her fit in with the chic style of this New England suburb.
It seems like you’re really into beauty and you are especially known for your brows. What are some of your must-haves?
I have a facial steamer, which has made such a difference in my skin—especially when I was filming in Canada, where it is really dry. It makes such a difference with skin texture, it helps everything feel plump, and it even seems to help reduce fine lines. I love that and I love my Clarisonic—that’s a must. And I definitely love my Jo Malone Grapefruit. I’ve always used it. It’s just so clean and I love their packaging, too.
I tend to leave my brows to the pros. Liz Zaldana is my eyebrows stylist; I’m obsessed with her. However, during COVID, there were times I was left to my own devices…so I’ve been experimenting a little bit with some at-home tinting. When they go a slightly darker shade, it helps them look a little bit fuller—especially when I was first starting to grow them out—and I love that look. When we wrapped, the makeup artist on Ginny & Georgia was like, “I’m going to send you home with this eyebrow color.” I remember thinking, “There’s no world in which I would ever try tinting by myself or take that risk.” But, then there we were, four months later into quarantine, and I was ready to try it. Luckily, I have watched the pros so many times. I was pleasantly surprised with myself, actually.
Can you share if we can look forward to a season two for the show?
Not quite yet! I wish I could, but not quite yet, unfortunately. We have to see what happens with Ginny & Georgia and see where the deck falls!
