Power On, KIERNAN!

ELOQUENT, well-versed and UNAPOLOGETICALLY herself, KIERNAN SHIPKA effortlessly transitions from playing one powerful role to another, from the INDELIBLE Sally Draper in Mad Men, to the FEARLESS half-witch, half-mortal Sabrina in the dark coming-of-age adaption of a classic, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. AZZA ARIF talks to the young actress about growing up in the public eye, embracing the NEW AGE of Hollywood, and what being EMPOWERED means to her

- Azza Arif

“Being empowered means being the boldest version of yourself, speaking your mind, and being the most uninhibited version that you can be, and doing whatever the hell you want!” But within reason, of course, adds Kiernan Shipka, with a laugh. The future of Hollywood is in good hands—with young star power like her setting the tone for what the new on-screen world will be, while fearlessly speaking up and shining light onto important issues that we struggle with on a daily basis. They have become that figure of representation for those who have not had many opportunities to voice out for themselves. That power of representation is vital. “I feel like I—and everyone in my industry—kind of has a pretty good handle, especially in my generation of young people, about speaking out about what is important, and equality and being inclusive and celebratory of different walks of life. To me, that’s telling stories.” Kiernan continues. “And I really lucked out with falling into these very female-driven, empowering shows for women. Mad Men championed women whilst simultaneously highlighting the extreme inequality that women were facing at that time, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is an extremely progressive show, and what I like about our show is that it doesn’t make a big deal out of its progressiveness, and it just is, and that normalises it, which I think is a beautiful thing.”

Seeing ourselves represented in popular culture on the big and small screen is vital in helping us see what can be achieved, and making the world seem even more accessible. “For me, being involved with projects that champions all sorts of walks of life is important and essential for me, because I want everyone to be able to see themselves in a character,” she tells us. “I want people to watch TV shows and movies and feel like they can do anything; I think that is really important.”