SYDNEY SWEENEY has had a meteoric rise to fame and is drop-dead gorgeous – but that isn’t enough to impress one Hollywood producer.
Carol Baum, who lectures at a US university, said of the 26-year-old film star: “There’s an actress who everybody loves now: Sydney Sweeney. I don’t get Sydney Sweeney . . . She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so hot?”
Baum, who produced Eighties thriller Dead Ringers and Nineties hit Father Of The Bride, made the comments during a film screening.
She also told the audience that she had watched Sydney’s rom-com Anyone But You on a plane and found it “unwatchable”.
Representatives for Sydney, who also produced the 2023 film, starring Glen Powell, hit back: “How sad that a woman in the position to share her expertise and experience chooses instead to attack another woman. If that’s what she’s learned in her decades in the industry and feels is appropriate to teach, that’s shameful.
“To unjustly disparage a fellow female producer speaks volumes about Ms Baum’s character.”
Here we show why Sydney is rightfully one Hollywood’s hottest properties.
Swooney bod
‘She’s got style, elegance and sex appeal – the whole package’ – by Clemmie Fieldsend
LIKE blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe before her, Sydney knows what she is doing when it comes to fashion.
As a general red carpet rule she makes the most of her tiny waist and bigger bust in corseted or low-cut, figure-hugging dresses.
At this year’s Vanity Fair Oscar Party she slipped into a plunging, white satin gown that bore a striking resemblance to the Some Like It Hot star’s iconic dress.
The gown was actually worn by Angelina Jolie to the Academy Awards 20 years earlier.
So big shoes that Sydney successfully filled.
But the US actor hasn’t always been so confident with her curvy figure.
She told Glamour magazine that she was insecure about her “big boobs” in high school and planned to have a reduction once she turned 18.
Sydney is thankful her mum talked her out of the operation, saying her breasts are her “best friends”.
She is now an expert at tasteful décolletage, never flashing too much or wearing garish styles to grab headlines.
She’s just nailing it with glam gowns which complement her shape and, more importantly, make her feel good.
I love her dress code. She’s got elegance, style and sex appeal.
And, unlike Baum, she encourages other women to appreciate their looks – what’s not to like.
Sydney has said: “I find empowerment through embracing the body I have.”
That sense of self-awareness and maturity in your twenties isn’t something to be sniffed at. It doesn’t hit most women until they are in their forties, or even older.
Sure, she looks a knockout and scientifically near perfect, but it is the conviction that comes with embracing how she looks that gives her the wow factor.
And if she’s teaching that to younger or older women, then good for her.
Swooney face
‘Her proportions fit the golden ratio’ – by Miranda Knox
WHILE Baum reckons Sydney isn’t pretty, science says otherwise.
Experts claim the actress has a “golden ratio” face, meaning she is more attractive to the human eye.
Plastic surgeon Onur Gilleard, who has studied the science behind what makes a face aesthetically pleasing, says Sydney is practically perfect.
The co-founder of New You Harley Street says her facial features are symmetrical and closely aligned, with perfect harmony and proportion.
He says: “The ideal facial proportions, which can be applied both horizontally and vertically, are referred to as the golden ratio.
“The length of the forehead should match the length of the nose, which in turn should equal the distance between the bottom of the nose and the chin.
“Ideal lip dimensions include a width 1.6 times that of the nose and a ratio of the vertical height of the upper lip to that of the lower lip of 1:1.6.
“The ideal chin position is considered to be 1mm behind the vertical line dropped from the upper lip.
“Finally, high, well-defined cheekbones are a significant indicator of female beauty.
“When analysing Sydney’s face, nearly all of her facial features adhere to these golden ratios, which is why she is referred to as a ‘classic beauty’.”
Swooney roles
‘Versatile star’s name will be in lights a lot longer than Baum’ – by Dulcie Pearce
SYDNEY is not just a pretty face.
Having seen several of her big – and small – screen performances, there is no doubt that she has the ability to fill them.
One that really stuck with me was her portrayal of Reality Winner, a real-life whistle-blower, who released US government intelligence and whose five-year sentence was the longest ever imposed for the offence.
The entire film is a re-enactment of the FBI interview that took place in a sweaty, disused bedroom in Reality’s house.
Without a scrap of make-up, her hair tied back and wearing an unflattering outfit, Sydney is hypnotising in the role.
While the film didn’t do much at the box office, it won her critical acclaim.
And let’s not forget her scene-stealing turn as eye-rolling Olivia Mossbacher in the first series of Sky’s comedy-drama series The White Lotus.
The spoiled, vengeful daughter act earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series in 2022.
In fact, she was up for two Emmy Awards that year, having also been acknowledged for her role as promiscuous teen Cassie Howard in TV drama Euphoria.
And no genre is off limits, as the versatile actress plays a nun in this year’s gorefest, Immaculate, and was chosen to star in the music video for Rolling Stones single Angry, from their recent album Hackney Diamonds.
She may have dipped her toe in the world of Marvel, with the disastrous Madame Web, but at her age she is allowed a few duffs.
Not many, though, if women like Baum are on the warpath, doing down the looks and ability of her own sex.
But Sydney’s name will be in lights a lot longer.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
