Whitney Peak Opens Up About Gossip Girl 2.0

Whitney Peak opens up about Gossip Girl 2.0, what drives her as an actor, and her constant quest for learning.

- Jeffrey Yan

Whitney Peak, the breakout star of the new Gossip Girl, is blowing up. As the lead in one of the buzziest television shows in recent years, the 19‑year‑old is having a moment. Born in Uganda and raised in Canada, Peak got her start as a teenage actress with small but memorable roles in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Aaron Sorkin’s Molly’s Game, opposite Jessica Chastain. When her agent told her that HBO Max was rebooting Gossip Girl, which aired from 2007 to 2012, the then 16‑year‑old sent in her audition tape. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

The producers were so taken by Peak that they booked her instantly—a rarity in an industry where thousands of hopefuls compete for the same role (especially one as high profile as this), often going through multiple tests. Peak leads a new diverse cast—the old show got plenty of retrospective flak for its blinding whiteness—as fan favourite Zoya Lott, the only main character who does not come from money and therefore, a proxy for the “regular people” watching the show; we experience the rarefied realm of the show’s uber‑wealthy Manhattan teens through her eyes and ears.

The first season was a hit and production is now under way for the second. It is in her newly adopted home city of New York that we’ve captured Peak for this portfolio, where her versatility shines through in pictures—emanating earthy glamour in the studio one moment; the next, exuding an effortless blend of uptown chic and downtown cool as she traipses through the busy streets. An old soul with a cherubic teenage face, Peak speaks to us about her ascendant journey.

What did you love most about working on Gossip Girl and what were some of the biggest surprises?