New. Now. Next

An eloquent actor (of Black-ish and Grown-ish fame) and activist, 18-year-old Yara Shahidi is the future – inspiring a new generation to raise their voices and be counted

- Julia Felsenthal

‘Quite honestly, I’m a square,’ says Yara Shahidi. ‘Maybe an octagon. Or a rhombus.’ That’s in comparison to Zoey Johnson, Yara’s character on Black-ish, and now on Grown-ish. The new spin-off follows Zoey as she leaves behind the sheltered confines of Johnson family life and moves into the dorms at fictional Cal U, where she encounters cocaine, Molly, weed and hook-up culture, and develops a minor problem with the ADHD medication Adderall. ‘I’m completely progressive,’ Yara elaborates, ‘but in terms of the things Zoey’s tried versus the things Yara plans on trying – very different. If anything it really solidified that I won’t be doing Adderall.’

The actor is in a transitional moment. Last June, she graduated from high school and announced that she’d be taking a gap year before attending Harvard. Now she’s spending the months until college starts playing a character already enduring all the awkward ups and downs of a freshman’s first semester.