Whitney Peak | It's Surreal, It’s Entertaining

Photographed by David Bellemere, Styled by Christopher Campbell

Around halfway into the upcoming action flick Trap House, 22-Year-old Whitney Peak’s character screams, for all of El Paso to hear, “That was a goddamn rush!” The line comes after Yvonne and her friends rob an infamous drug cartel’s trap house, but the same sentiment can be applied to the exponential ascent of Peak’s career.

While she made her acting debut in 2017 in Campfire Kiss, later that year she would star as Stella in the Academy Award-nominated film Molly’s Game—and landed recurring and guest roles in Apple TV+’s Home Before Dark and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, respectively—in the past three years, Peak’s star has reached an international prominence.

First came her role as Zoya Lott in the HBO Max reboot of Gossip Girl. Then, in 2022, Peak starred as protagonist Becca in Hocus Pocus 2—the sequel to another cult favorite.

It feels fateful then that earlier this year, Peak was cast as Lenore Dove in the film adaptation of The Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping. Taking place 24 years before the start of The Hunger Games, the film follows a young Haymitch Abernathy (played by Joseph Zada) as he competes in the Quarter Quell, longing to return to his “darling” back in District 12, Lenore Dove. Production began in Europe this summer and is ongoing.

Through it all, Peak has served as a Chanel ambassador, becoming the first Black woman to represent Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle. “I was encouraged to take up space and to value knowledge and entertain curiosity,” Peak says about working with Chanel for the past four years, “which I now know was really important to have at such a delicate age in this industry.”

Peak is all of these roles: heroine, love interest, mastermind, and everything destined to come next.

Between filming, the actress spoke with FLAUNT about her upcoming projects, favorite fashion moments, and stepping into the ring of fandoms.

Read the full cover story originally published in FLAUNT Magazine here.