on top of any outfit,” she shares. “My
outfit is the ice cream, obviously.”
And Brenna’s style? It’s what she
deems “girly grunge.”
“Black is my go-to. I need more color
in my closet, honestly,” says the Chicago
native, laughing. “I love wearing boy-
friend jeans with black heeled booties
and a black tank top. I also could not be
more obsessed with cardigans and flan-
nels if I tried. Layering those is so fun.”
MAKING A SPECTACLE
One accessory you’ll see Anna sporting
throughout this shoot? Her fab frames.
The stylish specs have become a signa-
ture of hers and many of her charac-
ters. It’s no coincidence that Dizzy, Kitty
Covey in Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved
Before and Zoe in Brat’s Zoe Valentine all
rock ’em, though: It’s actually a conscious
decision Anna made.
“I don’t like it when I see movies where
once a girl takes off her glasses, she’s
magically cool or popular or pretty,” she
says. “You can be all of those things and
still wear glasses. I want girls to see peo-
ple on TV and in magazines with glasses
and feel represented.”
Kitty’s frames? Those were Anna’s own,
and Zoe Valentine’s are as well. But the
wardrobe department designed a new pair
for Anna to wear in the Descendants series.
Accented with small scissors and glitzy
gems, they’re a perfect fit for Dizzy, whose
character is a cosmetologist.
At the root of it, Anna is making a
spectacle of her spectacles because they
make her feel more like herself—and
being 100 percent true to yourself is
something she’s a big believer in.
“It is really important to make a point
to do what makes you comfortable,” she
spills. “Strive to be your best self—what-
ever that means for you.”
Admittedly, Anna knows that’s
sometimes easier said than done. “People
might think I never doubt myself because
I’m in the spotlight, but of course I do,”
she shares. “We are all constantly learning
about and working on ourselves. There’s
nothing wrong with that.”
MOM KNOWS BEST
If anyone can relate to those words,
it’s Brenna, who has been a part of the
Descendants squad since the start. As
her character Jane has transformed from
meek and mild-mannered to confident
and coupled-up, Brenna has come into
her own off-screen as well.
“When I was younger, I was a little bit
of a people pleaser. I let people say things
to me that I knew weren’t right and
that hurt my feelings just so I wouldn’t
cause any problems,” she admits. “I’ve
become much stronger in the sense that
I know how I want to be treated—and I’ve
eliminated people from my life who don’t
understand that.”
To get to this point, Brenna has had
some help along the way from her own
Fairy Godmother—her mom, Shannon. And
the parallels between Jane’s relationship
with her magical mama and Brenna’s own
are not lost on her. “Jane had insecurities
she wanted to fix with the magic wand,
but her mother wanted her to learn to
see the good and beauty in herself that
was already there,” shares Brenna. “Jane
eventually got there and realized her
mom was right. And that’s the thing I’ve
learned...my mom is usually right!”
Support from the girls’ parents played
a big role in getting them where they are
today. For Jadah, talent certainly runs in
the family. Her dad, Christian Redd, has
acted in shows like CSI: Crime SceneInvestigation—and even appeared in
Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” vid.
After tagging along with her dad to a
meeting a few years back, Jadah caught
his agent’s attention. “Being the extra
kid that I am, I was bouncing off the walls
while we were at my dad’s agent’s office—
doing anything I could to get noticed,”
she says. “Then my dad’s agent was like,
‘Is your daughter interested in acting?’
and I was like, ‘Yes, I am!’”
Playing Celia has been a cinch, Jadah
confesses, because she’s got plenty in
common with the character. “Celia is a
daddy’s girl—and I am, too. She’s very
mischievous, she’s very charismatic, she’s
very streetwise and she’s very funny. She’s
hilarious, as you will see in the movie.
She will crack you up. But she’s just an
awesome person, honestly, and I feel like I
relate to her so much.”SQUAD GOALS
Throughout their time on and off set,
Anna, Jadah and Brenna have formed a
true friendship.
On set, Anna and Jadah became
“partners in crime.” From school to snack
breaks, the duo did everything together.
And when Anna turned 15 last June while
filming Descendants 3, Jadah was right by
her side for what Anna calls an “absolutely
magical” celebration.
“Jadah and I stopped at a convenience
store and grabbed a whole bunch of
snacks and went back to my hotel room,”
Anna says. “We stayed up so late eating
candy, singing songs and dancing around
while watching High School Musical. It was
my dream birthday.”
But for these three, every day is worth
celebrating—especially a day off from
set. “Anna is from Vancouver, where we
filmed a lot of the movie, so she showed
me around the city on an off day,” Brenna
shares. “We went to the aquarium, got
dim sum for dinner and had these huge
iced snow desserts at Snowy Village
Dessert Cafe. I recommend that place to
people all the time now, thanks to Anna.”
No doubt, their bond is one that’ll
transcend their time in the Descendants
series—and they couldn’t be more grate-
ful for it. “You know that feeling,” Anna
says, “where you’re so happy and nothing
is wrong? You basically feel like you’re
flying and you’re on cloud nine? That’s me
every day I get to do all of this.”THE NEW CLASS
Continued from page 15
74 GL AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2019
I don’t like it
in movies where
once a girl
takes off her
glasses, she’s
magically cool
or popular or
pretty. You
can be all those
things and still
wear glasses.
—Anna