Nickelodeon alum Elizabeth Gillies reinforced her status as Gen Z’s cool older sister Friday night during a guest lecture hosted by SEE at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.
Gillies is emblematic of nostalgia. Having starred in the hit 2010 Nickelodeon show Victorious at 16 years old, current college students grew up with Gillies. More recently, she was the lead in The CW Network’s Dynasty, which is known for its soap-opera plot lines and fabulous costumes.
But her role at the university this weekend was that of a back to school lecturer, where Gillies gave the audience a backstage pass to her career and personal life. Her sharp wit and confidence gives her a magnetism that translates on and off screen.
On Friday, Gillies cracked jokes, talked to people in the crowd and answered questions with ease and humor. Her perfect comedic timing energized the crowd. Most of the audience, admittedly, was there because of Gillies’ time on the Nickelodeon show.
Freshman Esteban Taborga Sierra, who is enrolled in letters and sciences, grew up watching Gillies on Victorious.
“She was always a celebrity crush, but [it’s] also nostalgia,” Taborga Sierra said. “My sisters, they used to watch the show back then.”
While some stars clam up when talking about their first jobs, Gillies embraced it, breaking out into iconic Victorious tunes such as “Make It Shine” and ranking her five favorite songs from the show — her all-time favorite was “Give It Up”.
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She also touched on deeper topics, speaking about her choice to enter the public eye at a young age. Having never attended college, or conventional high school, Gillies had to have a strong sense of who she was from an early age. At age 14, she scored a role in the Broadway musical 13, which also featured future Victorious co-star Ariana Grande.
When it came to her career, Gillies never had doubts.
“I knew, once I tried [musical theater] for the first time … that I wanted to do it for the rest of my life,” Gillies said in an interview with The Diamondback.
Gillies said her circle is small, composed of her family, husband, friends and dogs, and she’s still in touch with her elementary school friends and Victorious cast members. They keep her grounded during her career, Gillies said.
“This whole thing is like, this other thing that’s wild,” she said backstage while gesturing to the green room, her makeup and three-piece suit. “But I can always come back to my roots and what’s real, and it’s nice when you have that.”
The actress is keeping busy. After her appearance at this university, she headed to the U.S. Open and New York Fashion Week, and even teased new music — highly anticipated news for her fans.
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“I will actually be putting something out soon. It’s not a solo song but it is a song I wrote with someone,” Gillies said, before joking about a Christmas album she released last November with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.
After the event, the giddy crowd exited the theater, talking and laughing about the night.
“I didn’t expect to get so much wisdom and humor out of the night,” said Paulina Strunnikova, a sophomore linguistics major.
Though Gillies has matured into someone knowledgeable about careers, relationships and friendships, younger generations have frozen her in time as an edgy teenager at a performing arts school. But she accepts the legacy with grace and relatability.
“I know it was the same for me growing up and all the shows that I watched and loved so much,” Gillies said. “It’s pretty remarkable and I’m nothing but grateful for it.”
