Tavi Gevinson (born April 21, 1996) is an American actress, writer, and magazine editor. At age twelve, she came to public attention for her fashion blog Style Rookie. By 15, she had shifted her focus to pop culture and feminist discussion. Gevinson began acting in 2013, and later starred in the HBO Max series Gossip Girl (2021–2023).
Gevinson was the founder and editor-in-chief of the online magazine Rookie, aimed primarily at teenage girls.
Because of the blog's success, Gevinson was invited to attend New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week. She made overseas fashion-related trips to Tokyo and Antwerp, funded by Pop magazine, and was commissioned to write articles for Harper's Bazaar and Barneys. She styled a shoot for BlackBook magazine, acted as a muse and model for Rodarte's clothing line at Target stores, and partnered with Borders&Frontiers to design and sell her own T-shirt. Bloggers turn designers... who's next? Catwalk Queen In 2010, she spoke at a marketing conference in New York and at Idea City, a Canadian version of the TED conference.
There was a backlash to Gevinson's early success in the fashion industry. New York magazine questioned whether it was possible for Gevinson to write her blog without "some help from a mom or older sister". Sarah Mower of The Daily Telegraph, while conceding that Gevinson had a "truly independent, original voice", criticized her father for taking her out of school "to go to haute couture shows ... It's hard to imagine a kid being able to come back down to reality." A Grazia fashion editor complained on Twitter that a large bow Gevinson wore had blocked her view of a runway during New York Fashion Week. Anne Slowey of Elle felt her success was "gimmicky" and commented, "She's been thirteen for, like, the last four years." Gevinson later remarked: "A lot of people on the Internet have a problem with a young person doing well. I felt like there were people who were at because of their name, their money or their family, and I didn't have any of those things." She said in 2012 of her attendance at Fashion Week that
In the fall of 2011, at the age of 15, Gevinson founded Rookie magazine. The site was originally conceived of as a joint venture with Jane Pratt, but Gevinson ultimately decided to maintain sole ownership. Ira Glass acted as a mentor figure to Gevinson. The website focused on issues impacting teenage girls and was written mainly by teenage girls. It also featured guest contributors. A one-off print edition of the magazine, Rookie Yearbook One, was published by Drawn & Quarterly in 2012. In 2012, Gevinson spoke at , with a focus on representation of women in popular culture, and at The Economist's World in 2012 Festival. She is also a contributing editor at Garage Magazine magazine. In November 2018, Gevinson announced that she was shutting down Rookie due to its no longer being financially sustainable.
Gevinson first acted in a short film, First Bass, in 2008, but became more visible in 2012. That year, she voiced a character in the animated short film Cadavar, which was directed by First Bass's Jonah Ansell and co-starred Kathy Bates and Christopher Lloyd. In the film, she sang renditions of both Neil Young and Pet Shop Boys songs. Also in 2012, Gevinson filmed a role in Enough Said by director Nicole Holofcener. Gevinson is interviewed on screen in the 2013 documentary film The Punk Singer, talking about riot grrrl punk icon Kathleen Hanna. Zipped Microsoft Word file at http://www.thepunksinger.com/downloads/punk-singer-press-notes.docx In 2014 and 2015, she starred in This Is Our Youth in Chicago and at the Cort Theatre on Broadway theatre. In 2015, she made a guest appearance as Feather McCarthy on "Beware of Young Girls", the seventh episode of the American comedy horror television series Scream Queens. She played Mary Warren in Ivo van Hove's 2016 production of The Crucible at the Walter Kerr Theatre. " The Crucible as you've never seen it" by Peter Marks, The Washington Post, March 31, 2016. Later that year, she played Anya in The Cherry Orchard at the American Airlines Theatre. "Broadway first look: Diane Lane leads star-studded cast in revival of The Cherry Orchard by Tamsen Fadal, PIX11, September 14, 2016
On the MSNBC chat show So Popular!, host Janet Mock dubbed Gevinson the "Queen of the Millennials". She then made a guest appearance on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore on a panel critiquing Sean Penn's Rolling Stone interview with El Chapo.
In 2016, Gevinson recorded a duet with Hunx and His Punx frontman Seth Bogart, singing on "Barely 21" from Bogart’s self-titled debut solo album.
| 2013 | Enough Said | Chloe |
| 2016 | Goldbricks in Bloom | Calvin's ex |
| 2017 | Person to Person | Wendy |
| 2023 | Shortcomings | Autumn |
| 2024 | Boys Go to Jupiter | Glarba (voice) |
| 2014 | Parenthood | Lauren | Episode: "The Pontiac" |
| 2014 | Jenny (voice) | Episode: "What to Expect When Bart's Expecting" | |
| 2015 | Scream Queens | Feather McCarthy | Episode: "Beware of Young Girls" |
| 2017 | Neo Yokio | Helena St. Tessero (voice) | Main role; 6 episodes |
| 2020 | Maggie | Episode: "The Human Face" | |
| 2021–2023 | Gossip Girl | Kate Keller | Main role; 24 episodes |
| 2023 | Cora | 4 episodes |
| 2009 | Les Misérables | Gavroche | Circle Theatre | |
| 2014–2015 | This Is Our Youth | Jessica | Steppenwolf Theatre | Chicago revival |
| Cort Theatre | Broadway theatre transfer | |||
| 2016 | Mary Warren | Walter Kerr Theatre | Broadway | |
| 2016 | Anya | American Airlines Theatre | Broadway | |
| 2017–2019 | Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow | Irina | Williamstown Theatre Festival: 2017 | |
| MCC Theater: 2019 | Off-Broadway transfer | |||
| 2018 | Frankie Addams | Williamstown Theatre Festival | ||
| 2018 | Days of Rage | Peggy | Second Stage Theater | Off-Broadway |
| 2020 | Assassins | Squeaky Fromme | Classic Stage Company | Off-Broadway |
| 2024 | Pre-existing Condition | "A" | OHenry productions | Off-off-Broadway |
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