Q&a / Whitney Peak got her break in HBO’s Gossip Girl and now she’s a Chanel ambassador, fronting an ad for Coco Mademoiselle fragrance – but which stars does she look up to?

Oct 25 , 2024

Whitney Peak at the Chanel spring/summer 2025 show in Paris, on October 1. Photos: Handout

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Whitney Peak, 21, had her major break in the HBO Max remake of iconic show Gossip Girl, where she played the role of Zoya Lott for the two seasons the show streamed on the platform. Born in Uganda and raised in British Columbia, Canada, Peak has also starred in Aaron Sorkin’s Molly’s Game.

She is an ambassador for Chanel and has appeared in various campaigns for the French label, most recently in an ad for the brand’s Coco Mademoiselle fragrance.

We caught up with Peak right after the brand’s spring/summer 2025 show, held at the Grand Palais in Paris at the end of fashion week in September.

Whitney Peak as seen in the Chanel 22 campaign

How does it feel to be here?

This is my first Grand Palais show and I was dancing the whole time; I loved the music. The performance was incredible – I love Riley [Keough, who sang at the show], I’m a fan of hers, I knew the song – but she was live, effortlessly singing on a swing. I was blown away.

What’s your first memory of Chanel and what do you love about the brand?

It was make-up or a perfume that my mum owned. I discovered that you can play with it and suit it to yourself; you don’t have to be a certain age or type to wear the brand. It can be malleable and you can find yourself in it. I’ve done a lot of growing up with the brand. I started working with them when I was 17 and now I’m 21, and every time I’ve outgrown a phase or something, they’ve been like, try this or that.

Whitney Peak as Zoya Lott in HBO Gossip Girl (2021)

Is there a Chanel item you can’t do without?

I really love my 22 bag. I travel with everything in it, and it’s classic and practical.