Barbie Ferreira Has No Regrets About Walking Away From the ‘Euphoria’

Barbie Ferreira was arguably one of the most talked-about faces of Euphoria. Her character Kat became a reference point for a generation of viewers who’d never quite seen themselves reflected on screen like that. She was in seasons 1 and 2, then quietly stepped away before season 3. And while the internet had a lot to say about that departure, Ferreira tells a different story: a long, thoughtful process of realizing the “character wasn’t going anywhere,” and deciding her time was better spent elsewhere. 

Now, with season 3 airing without her, she’s showing up anyway—with two films she’s leading and producing dropping the same month. Not Skinny but Not Fat host Amanda Hirsch sat down with her to talk about growing up Brazilian in Queens, going viral at 18 in a bikini, the body commentary that never seems to stop, and why she’d rather do a shoestring indie than be a background character—even on the biggest show on TV.

Below are the highlights from the conversation, adapted from the episode.

Your name is actually Barbara—how did Barbie happen?

“So I always had nicknames. People always kind of called me whatever and then when I was like 18, I started modeling. I was like, I’m Barbie now…I changed my Instagram name. I was like, I’m going by one nickname because I hated Babs…my mom calls me Barbie when she’s speaking English. She calls me Barbara when she’s speaking Portuguese. My friends that I grew up with call me Barbara.”

You grew up in Queens. What was that like?

“I grew up in New York and New Jersey…I was born in Harlem…I grew up in Queens. I moved to Jersey…I went to Queens Astoria—before it was like popping trendy Astoria…Like I went to ESL school…we had like a Brazilian street. We had a Bengali street. It was like a Greek area…there were literally so many Brazilians in Astoria. I went to a Brazilian church. I went to a Brazilian salon. I went to the Brazilian supermarket. I didn’t speak English until I was four.”

That Oscars dress was everywhere. Did you expect that reaction?

“I truly didn’t expect that. I knew the dress was gorgeous, but I was like, this is gonna be so fun. I’m going to the Oscars, like I have no movie here. I’m just bringing my best friend…The Academy invited me. It was really sweet…I think like 10 people who are like up and coming actors…it was like Young Hollywood, and I’m like, I’m like the oldest by like 10 years…literally everyone else was like teenagers.”

Was it a good time?

“It was extremely fun…the ceremony, I can only imagine it not being fun if you’re like nominated because you’re just scared…I had a blast because I had nothing to worry about…every single win was electric in there. It was so cool to see Michael B. Jordan win like the whole room just stood up like it was immediate…Barbara Streisand was singing. I was like, wow. You’re like Babs, Babs, Babs.”

After the Oscars and Paris Fashion Week, you were also getting a lot of body commentary again. Does that ever stop surprising you?

“To be honest, my whole career has been people talking about it, so I’m not shocked, but I am just like, we’re still, it’s so boring. I find it boring…I’ve actually realized that it’s almost every actress right now is just being put under a microscope of either being too skinny or too big…I feel like there’s just like a lot of angst on the internet right now…I see like all these amazing women that I like, you know, really admire for their work and their art, and it’s like people are talking about like their face and body.”

Where do you land on body positivity versus body neutrality?

“I agree with body neutrality in the sense that I think what I have done my whole life is just…when I get to see something that’s like European or not American and people look like real people…we in America are so allergic to people who have features that aren’t, you know, maybe the most conventionally attractive…I’ve always been so much more into what people look like…the fact that it even was a problem—like I looked like this what I did when I was like 17 and I did like a shoot for Aerie and…it went so viral and I was super young and I remember being like, oh, like why? And it was about my body and I look at those pictures now and in the context of society now, like no one would ever even bat an eyelash.”

You started at American Apparel at 16—how did that lead to real modeling?

“I started modeling…I was like, I’m gonna do this, like I’m gonna figure it out…I had a big kind of platform on the internet at the time with Tumblr and Instagram…I also didn’t know that I could model because I was not skinny but not fat, so I didn’t think that one could be a model if you’re not skinny…I ended up getting a real agent and like modeling for real because it became a thing after, so American Apparel was like the introduction to all this.”

When did the acting bug kick in?

“I’ve been acting since I was a little kid, so the thing I wanted to do most was acting. That’s why I modeled because I was like, I don’t have, you know, family in the industry…and I was like, I’m gonna do this, like I’m gonna figure it out…I was like, I do this for a couple years and then I figure it out and it ended up happening exactly that way, like at 21, I had an agent, I was auditioning, I did like the whole audition thing, and I got Euphoria at 21.”

What was it like reading that script?

“I remember reading it and being like, ‘was this written for me?’…I’ve never been more desperate to get something because I knew I could do it so confidently, but no one else did. And they also made everyone audition, like every plus size model and they had like signs in the subway that were like, ‘If you’re a plus size or if you’re trans.’ I’d be there like on my 3rd audition, like keep coming back and I’m ripping them down and I’m like ripping them down at the club…I’m like, I’m taking this off….

…I did like 11 auditions…I was so anxious…I was in therapy, literally crying to her being like, ‘how am I supposed to do this?’ I don’t know. My life could change…I got three missed calls and [my therapist was] like, ‘answer it.’ And then I answered and…she gave me a hug. She never gave me a hug before…I just went down the street and just [was] screaming.”

Did you have any sense of how big it would become?

“I thought it was gonna do really well, but I…could never have like envisioned the impact it had on like the culture…I knew that it was gonna be good because I really loved it, and I remember like being really proud of what we’re doing and like being like this is so different than anything else that’s been on TV…at first I was also like, are people gonna think it’s too nasty. And I mean they did. That’s why they like it. Because people are nasty.”

How did you ultimately decide to leave?

“It wasn’t dramatic. In fact, it was kind of the opposite of dramatic where it was like long process of like being like, I don’t know if this is it for me…I was trying to figure out how to make Kat like a fully fleshed out character, and it just wasn’t going anywhere…I don’t need to be on the biggest TV show on earth if I’m not like acting…I would rather do an indie movie where, you know, I’m acting, I’m flexing my muscles, I’m like being being creatively like, you know, asked to do things rather than kind of sitting around to be like a background character…I believe in myself as an actress and I want to see my career look a little differently than this.”

Now you have two movies out the same month season 3 is airing. Tell us about them.

“I play a content moderator, Margot, [in Faces of Death] who goes on a quest to find this man who she believes is recreating Faces of Death and chaos ensues…she gets into a little bit of a pickle. And she has to get herself out of the pickle…there’s like murder on tape, which is so freaky because obviously with social media and everything…the movie really is about social media and the companies that profit off of the constant cycle of violence that’s being perpetuated.”

And the other one—Mile End Kicks—feels like a totally different vibe.

“I play Grace, and she’s this music journalist who moves from Toronto to Montreal to write her big book about Alanis Morissette, and then she falls in love with a guy in the band, and then another guy in the band, and then chaos ensues and she’s in a pickle…it’s like a rom-com, like Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist vibes…very indie 2000s vibes…I feel like the desperation of like being in your early twenties and trying to figure out like men and like dating is so real. Like I remember reading these scenes and I’m like I’m cringing so hard because it’s too real.”

To hear Barbie Ferreira’s full conversation, listen to Not Skinny but Not Fat wherever you get your podcasts.

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