Season 2 of Ginny & Georgia recently premiered on Netflix, and people can't stop talking about it. Some fans have been slamming its lead star, Antonia Gentry for her "annoying" character, Ginny.
But the 25-year-old actress might be a lot more interesting than you think. Here's everything you should know about her risky journey into the show, her thoughts on the Ginny backlash, and her dating life.
How Antonia Gentry Got Her Role In Ginny & Georgia
Ginny & Georgia is Gentry's first leading role on TV. But prior to that, she's appeared on other Netflix titles, Candy Jar and Raising Dion. "Very rarely do you come across scripts [with] characters that you can totally relate with. I felt like Ginny was finally that," she told Teen Vogue in February 2021. "I thought to myself, 'Wow, this is a really great character. I'm just going to audition for it and see what happens.'"
However, the Atlanta native recalled being "so busy with school wrapping up that I almost forgot I sent the tape. Two weeks later, they called me for a producer session over FaceTime. A week after that, suddenly, I'm flying out to LA for our chemistry read."
She was so determined to get the part that she developed a blood clot in her leg from flying back and forth during auditions.
"That was kind of scary, but I [had] booked the role, and I wasn't going to tell anyone about my blood clot. I was like, this is too important. I'm just going to deal with it," she said of that time. "The doctors were like, 'We need to see you this and such amount of times.' I was like, 'Listen, I'm going to Canada [to film the show]. We gotta fix this, ASAP.'"
She then assured the magazine that she was "fine now" and although "that was kind of hard," she "wanted it to work." She added: "This was my dream. It's a very serious thing, I don't want to make it light, it was very scary — but I wanted to make sure that I did everything I could to follow through with this. And I'm so glad I was able to."
What Antonia Gentry Feels About The Backlash On Ginny & Georgia
Many fans think that Ginny is such a "messy" character. But Gentry has fully embraced that persona.
"The show is fundamentally about flawed characters trying to pick their lives up and move on," she told Elite Daily in January 2023.
During the interview, she also addressed the "lazy, deeply sexist" comment Ginny made about Taylor Swift in season 1.
"That's what happens with shows that just make people so emotional and attached," she said. "They stir up real conversations and make people feel all kinds of emotions, and I think it speaks to the imperfections of the characters for people to pay attention to and to help look inside of themselves and then see maybe some of those same traits might be there that they need to work on."
Gentry also admitted that she doesn't have it all figured out. "That's a good question because I don’t know if I want them to know too much," she replied when asked what she wants her fans to know about her.
"I just want people to remember that we're all human. I may play a character that's flawed or a character that’s perfect or a character that's this or that, but at the end of the day, I'm just me. I hope they can feel like they can be themselves as well whenever they engage across my spaces."
Who Is Antonia Gentry Dating In 2023?
Gentry has been linked to her onscreen boyfriend, Felix Mallard. But they're just really friends in real life. The latter has dated his Neighbours co-star, Zoe Cramond while the latter previously dated musician, Ezra Libras in 2011.
They never publicly declared their breakup, but they later removed photos of each other from their Instagram profiles.
Despite being single these days, Gentry understands the value of depicting teenage romance on TV. "My high school experiences were unpleasant. I felt exposed," she told Refinery 29 in February 2021.
"I was able to access the same feelings of humiliation and skepticism that I know many teens will identify with. Particularly young girls, I hope they feel more seen and less concerned about the whole situation."
She continued: "I hope it demystifies [talking about sex] for kids and their parents — or whoever is caring for them — viewing the show together. Because we've all experienced that. Not having such conversations doesn't make any sense at all." Surely, we can all agree on that.