In 2014, the “Taylor Swift squad” reigned over the entertainment industry. Celebrities like Karlie Kloss, Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne, Blake Lively, and more were seen alongside Swift in music video features, walking the MTV Video Music Awards red carpet, making special appearances at her concerts during the 1989 tour, and going on lavish vacations together. Now, the Swift Squad seems to have dwindled as friendships have run their course and Swift has been more selective about sharing her personal life with the public. Recently, however, a new Taylor Swift-esque “squad” has emerged, and it’s made up entirely of Gen Z members.
Given that iconic members of Gen Z have seemingly taken over pop culture’s biggest moments — from random socialites becoming overnight sensations and achieving TikTok fame to dominating the Met Gala — are we really that surprised that a young celebrity squad has emerged?
Although the OG Swift Squad no longer exists — and Taylor isn’t necessarily in the “new” one — here are the celebrities who make up the new “Swift Squad-esque” generation.
Olivia Rodrigo
19-year-old starlet Olivia Rodrigo is a lifelong alternative rock fan (thanks to her mother) and has loved music from a young age. In addition to starting vocal lessons at the age of five and piano lessons at nine, the starlet frequented many talent shows growing up. Given that she’s a huge fan of Swift, Rodrigo is for sure a member of the new class of the Gen Z Swft-esque squad.
Rodrigo had her onscreen debut in 2015’s An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success and subsequently starred in 2016’s Bizaardvark, a role that required her to learn guitar. In 2019 came the fateful casting of Rodrigo as Nina Salazar-Roberts in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (for which she penned multiple original songs (and would later pen more of her own about costar Joshua Bassett).
“Drivers License” was released on January 8, 2021 as the first single from her debut album, Sour, which dropped on May 21, 2021, to rave reviews. Sour received seven Grammy nominations and multiple VMAs. Rodrigo recently released a documentary on Disney+ about the album-making process for Sour and is about to embark on her first world tour. Rodrigo has the entirety of Gen Z in the palm of her hand (especially since we literally grew up with her).
Iris Apatow
Iris Apatow — the 19-year-old daughter of famous director and producer Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann — is the second member of the new Taylor Swift-esque cool kid squad. Apatow is apparently Rodrigo’s best friend and roommate, and, yes, her sister also happens to be Lexi from Euphoria.
Her first film appearance was in 2007’s Knocked Up as Charlotte. She’s starred in multiple projects since, including This is 40, Love, Funny People, and the recently released Netflix film The Bubble. Even though it’s not clear when Rodrigo and Apatow first met, the two now have Sex and the City nights and Twilight movie marathons and bond over their love for 2000s pop culture (hello to the infamous “Dump Him” photoshoot). They even have matching heart tattoo on their pinky fingers.
conan gray
Conan Gray is a singer/songwriter who, like many Gen Z social media stars, got his start on YouTube. The 23-year-old has had a YouTube channel since 2013, on which he began making videos at age nine. Gray reportedly started pursuing music at age 12 as a form of escapism; his dad was in the military, so the family moved around several times before settling in Texas, and he dealt with relentless bullying at school.
In 2017, Gray was accepted into UCLA and moved to California. Gray opened for Panic! At The Disco on their 2019 tour, and released his debut album, Kid Krow, the following year (it debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the U.S. pop albums chart). His song, “Heather,” also went viral on TikTok.
Besides releasing hit after hit, Gray is a huge fan of Taylor Swift and Lorde (like his close friend, Olivia Rodrigo). He’s also spoken out against the social media trend of labeling celebrities’ sexualities. Stay tuned for new music from Gray – following in Swift’s footsteps, he’s been hinting about his next release on social media as well as on his website.
madison hu
Madison Hu is a 19-year-old actress who starred on Bizaardvark alongside Rodrigo, and, alongside Gray and Apatow, is one of her best friends. Born in Texas, Hu moved to California at seven years old to start her acting career. Her first role was a spelling bee contestant on Bad Words. Other than Bizaardvark, Hu has landed roles on The Goldbergs, Tosh.0, and the 2021 film Voyagers (which also starred fellow Gen Z star Lily Rose Depp).
charli d’amelio
Cue the “when worlds collide” TikTok audio. This Gen Z social media sweetheart is also part of this super squad. D’Amelio is a trained dancer who started dancing and competing at the age of three. The 17-year-old, who hails from the suburbs of Connecticut, skyrocketed to TikTok fame in 2019. She now has 138.9M TikTok followers, walks red carpets, and is rumored to star in a new thriller movie on the big screen.
Since she launched her TikTok account, D’Amelio has danced onstage with Bebe Rexha at a Jonas Brothers concert, appeared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, starred on her family’s reality show, and voiced a character in StarDog and TurboCat.
Her influence is so powerful that the Governor of Ohio contacted her in 2020 to create a campaign to encourage young people to social distance. Her best friend, Avani Gregg, is also big on the app, and the two recently got matching tattoos – smiley faces – with Rodrigo and Apatow. Sounds like the perfect squad to me.
the kid laroi
18-year-old Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard (AKA The Kid Laroi) started down the path of fame by using his mom’s phone to record verses, which he would then post on SoundCloud and Facebook. Howard’s life took a drastic turn when Justin Bieber direct messaged him on Instagram to compliment his music. This began a great partnership, and the two collaborated on multiple songs, including the mega hit “Stay.”
If you’re on TikTok, you’ve likely heard the “I need a bad b****, Addison Rae/’Lil shawty the baddest,” which is a snippet of Howard’s song “Addison Rae.” Both Rodrigo and Howard have said that they’d like to collaborate in the future, and he visited Disneyland with his girlfriend, Katarina Deme, Rodrigo, Gray, and Apatow.
avani gregg
Avani Gregg went viral on TikTok for her beauty content and has since landed a Facebook series and beauty line. The 19-year-old is a retired level 10 gymnast (FYI, that’s close to Olympic-level) and middle child (her older sister is influencer Shanti Gregg) from Indiana. She first blew up on TikTok for her clown makeup look, for which she was dubbed “Clown Girl” (a nickname she — understandably —dislikes). Gregg graduated high school early, taking summer classes while being a celebrity (NBD), and is dating fellow TikToker Anthony Reeves. On top of all this, Gregg starred in the web show Chicken Girls. She’s best friends with D’Amelio (re: the aforementioned matching tattoos) and is definitely a member of the Gen Z Swift-esque squad.
Lydia night
21-year-old Lydia Night is the frontwoman of punk rock band The Regrettes. She was born in New Orleans and is the daughter of the famous writer, director, and DJ Morgan Higby Night. Night has been friends with Rodrigo for a while – the two have attended movie nights at Los Angeles’s Cinespia and Night even made an appearance (alongside Gray, Apatow, and Hu) in Rodrigo’s virtual concert, Sour Prom. The Regrettes’ next album, Further Joy, will be released on April 8, 2022. As the eighth member of the hypothetical Swift squad, Night exudes cool girl energy.
Overall, this Gen Z Taylor-Swift-style group may seem like a random combination, but it makes more sense than you’d think! All young and in the entertainment industry, the group combined makes a cooler, less intense version of its preceding squad. I can’t wait to see what they do next.