Photo Credit: Courtney Nathan Phillip
Sarah Jeffery is a 24-year old rising superstar, not afraid to push the boundaries of success in her multiple career pursuits. The Canadian native is known for her role of Cristina in _Shades of Blue_ alongside Jennifer Lopez, and for playing Maggie, the youngest of three witch sisters in CW’s _Charmed_.
But that’s not all—Jefferey has delved straight into the music scene headfirst, with sizable triumph. Her 2019 song “Queen of Mean,” from the hit Disney Channel Original Movie _Descendants 3_, reached No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100—the first Disney original solo track to reach that height since the nostalgic _Camp Rock_. Following the success of the single, Jeffery is back with a new intimate solo track independent of a film, titled “Even the Stars,” that has garnered almost 2 million views on Youtube already. FLAUNT had the opportunity to chat with Jeffery about the dichotomy of her acting roles, her prevailing social influence, and how she got her start in music.
**How are you doing in quarantine?**
In general, I’m doing pretty well. I haven’t had this much free time since I was a pre-teen, so it’s been nice to have time to focus on me and hit the reset button. By now, I’m itching to get back to work but I have been enjoying downtime. I’ve picked up skateboarding, embroidery, and been trying to keep busy.
**How does it feel to release a new single, independent of a film?**
When we recorded “Queen of Mean” everything moved so fast, but with recording my own single I got to get to know the song and take my time on it. I went in multiple times and made adjustments, and Rock Mafia, who wrote “Queen of Mean,” worked with me on it and they’re amazing. It felt special and I’m excited to do more.
**You said “Even the Stars” resonated with you due to its message about mental health. Can you elaborate on that?**
I’m very vocal about my personal journey with mental health and my struggle with OCD. For me, the message behind it is that you need to have dark times to appreciate the light, and there’s always going to be peaks and valleys. It caught my attention, and it was easy to get behind it and believe in the song as well. As humans, I feel like we struggle with uncertainty and this is the most uncertain time ever, and general anxiety is at a high right now.
**What was unique about working with Rock Mafia?**
They have worked with musicians that I really admired growing up, like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez. Just knowing that they believed in me and saw potential was really special, and it made me feel like I was in the right place. I’m excited to share more music.
**You did musical theatre growing up. How did that lead into you pursuing singing professionally?**
I grew up mostly focusing on dance. Dance has been the center of my world until I graduated high school. I did musical theatre, and I think singing took the backburner. I started acting and then I landed _Descendants_, and it reignited that passion for singing and dancing in a musical theatre aspect. From there, it was just finding the right opportunity to launch my music career in who I wanted to work with. After _Descendants 3_ with the success of “Queen of Mean,” Rock Mafia reached out to me to work with me again, and it was an awesome opportunity.
**What did you find most challenging about acting and growing up in the entertainment industry?**
I grew up in Vancouver and it was Hollywood north, very different from Los Angeles. I feel lucky I started there because it was a much smaller community and felt less daunting. You get to know the casting directors pretty well because it’s so intimate. Ever since I booked my first show _Shades of Blue,_ I’ve been back and forth between Vancouver and Los Angeles.
Photo Credit: Courtney Nathan Phillip
**I see you are very vocal and aware about many social issues on social media including voter registration, gun violence, BLM, feminism, and environmental issues. How do you see social media being of increased importance right now?**
I feel like social media is a very important tool. I think there's a trend of becoming vocal and speaking on injustices, and then the dust settles and we retreat back into the status quo. I hope it’s different this time and I hope to keep speaking up and using my platform because that’s a part of the job, in my opinion. It’s a social responsibility. Even just educating one person is very powerful, and I feel grateful to have that opportunity. All of these issues are interconnected.
**Your character Maggie, in _Charmed,_ is this bubbly, extroverted character with layers of emotional intelligence and sensitivity. What aspect of her character was most relatable to you and which part of her took the most imagination to access?**
I feel lucky that I have a lot to relate to with Maggie. I was glad to see her power was mind-reading because I feel like that’s in the same realm of empathy, and I’m an empath...almost to a fault sometimes. The fact that she’s a sister, I have three sisters myself, and she loves fashion but is also witty, caring, and intelligent. That really spoke to me because there’s a misconception that women have to fit into one characterization or the other.
The hardest was more of the magic aspect, using your imagination when things aren’t really there, because a lot of things get added in post-production. That was definitely a learning curve. But moving on to season 3, I think we’ve found our rhythm.
**How is playing Maggie different from playing Audrey in _Descendants?_**
_Descendants_ is this overexaggerated, very bright and colorful world which made it easier to lean into the surreal nature and fantasy of it all. With _Charmed_, it’s based in a normal world, so it was about finding that balance of real life and magic. Maggie is just like any other teenage girl, until she finds out she’s a witch so I really had to play into the shock of it all.
I enjoy being someone else, and while sometimes with Audrey, it was completely unnatural to be a total bitch to someone, it’s...fun. I would never be that way in real life, so I really like playing the antagonist because it’s so different from where I land in real life. Audrey is pretty loud and the classic cheerleader mean girl, and became more exaggerated into a villain, so playing with those levels was fun.
**Any upcoming projects you’re excited about?**
I’m just excited to put out more music. We have stuff we’ve been doing on-the-go and it’s been amazing to see such a positive response to my music. And also waiting for _Charmed_ to come back!
Photo Credit: Courtney Nathan Phillip
**When do you feel most invincible?**
I would say I felt most invincible when I did the performance of “Queen of Mean” and I had the music and the costume and the set. I felt so powerful and sure of myself. It really gives you this adrenaline rush. Also on set when I’m doing a scene that means a lot to me or is very emotional and I’m really grounded in it, that’s another time I feel pretty invincible. There’s this new movement of women finding their voices and being able to speak up and with the #MeToo movement, which is also when I feel invincible, when I can speak up for what I want and need on set and what I think is fair.
**What would you describe as your chaos and calm? Do you think we need one to have the other?**
I feel my chaos is when my anxiety takes hold of me, and when I have a setback or a tougher day. On the same token, it also heavily influences my calm which is being on set and finding my groove and creating art, whether it’s dancing or singing or acting. My mental health struggle heavily influences who I am as an actor, so I think my chaos and calm are co-dependent.
**What’s something about you that not many people know?**
I wanted to be a nurse until I stumbled into acting. I thought I was going to go into the medical field. I started acting with the mindset that I could make some money for nursing school, but landed where I am now and can’t imagine what my life would be like without acting.
**Where do you see yourself focusing most of your time in the future of your career?**
I see myself doing both acting and music. I feel like acting is probably my one constant, that I can’t live without. Music supplements it really nicely and music and acting are mutually beneficial. My dance and music skills have definitely helped with my acting. I have a craving to do a thriller next, or maybe an indie film. So, I think I’ll keep doing it all!
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