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Spending a day with Nicky Passarella is an all-around positive experience. Nicky - young yet determined, smiling and full of passion - talks to us as if we've known each other forever. After sharing a meal where we joke about our respective food quirks (she loves heavily salted baked potatoes), we sit down for a chat. The mood for the shoot is playful and regal, and she exudes freshness. Her responses are equally fresh, brimming with joy yet surprising us with moments of tenderness, fear, and depth. Nicky's career, like many, began on social media, specifically on TikTok, with an almost sudden explosion that led to building a loyal and sizable fan base and even some job opportunities. "Initially, I was thrilled because TikTok started making me money. Every time I saw those small amounts coming in, I'd think, 'Oh my god, I can buy myself a t-shirt.' At the time, I wasn't working, so the opportunity to buy things by making videos really excited me. Then I started noticing that people recognized me, stopped me on the street. The videos weren't just videos anymore, and the people weren't just numbers on the screen. It was an insane feeling. My life changed drastically. Just think, here I am, on a set. I never thought all of this would happen to me." Nicky has grown alongside her popularity, becoming more mature and aware from various perspectives: "Now I'm someone who has her own place, I don't live with my parents, I've become independent. Personally, it has given me a lot of satisfaction, something I could never have imagined. I travel constantly. These are not things I take for granted; I'm happy not to take them for granted."
Nicky's career, like many, began on social media, specifically on TikTok, with an almost sudden explosion that led to building a loyal and sizable fan base and even some job opportunities. "Initially, I was thrilled because TikTok started making me money. Every time I saw those small amounts coming in, I'd think, 'Oh my god, I can buy myself a t-shirt.' At the time, I wasn't working, so the opportunity to buy things by making videos really excited me. Then I started noticing that people recognized me, stopped me on the street. The videos weren't just videos anymore, and the people weren't just numbers on the screen. It was an insane feeling. My life changed drastically. Just think, here I am, on a set. I never thought all of this would happen to me." Nicky has grown alongside her popularity, becoming more mature and aware from various perspectives: "Now I'm someone who has her own place, I don't live with my parents, I've become independent. Personally, it has given me a lot of satisfaction, something I could never have imagined. I travel constantly. These are not things I take for granted; I'm happy not to take them for granted."
hero hero "I started noticing that people recognized me. The videos were no longer just videos, and the people were no longer just numbers. It was an incredible feeling. My life changed drastically. I never thought all this would happen to me."
Then came acting, the next step in building an increasingly solid career. "I've always been over the top in my ways. My mom used to tell me when I was little that I should become an actress. But you never take something like that seriously. I like being in front of cameras, I like talking. With the social media fame came emails with offers, asking if I'd like to audition. So I started, and then I enrolled in acting school, I started studying. I have to continue my journey."

"One of these auditions brought me to Netflix. It was incredible: 'Mom, I'm on Netflix, I made a movie.' I'm very proud of myself, of my journey, and of all the people who helped me do this because obviously there are millions of people behind me." Speaking of Netflix, the conversation naturally shifts to The Tearsmith, a film based on the novel of the same name that has captivated millions of viewers. "Working on it was amazing. When you watch a movie, you don't know what's behind it. I had this idea of the strict director, of an environment where everyone judges you because you forget your lines. Instead, it was the happiest experience of my life. Everything was great, it all came naturally. The relationships on set were strong and real, we had fun. I was there for only two weeks, I wasn't the lead, so I experienced it lightly, beautifully. Calling something light that is work means you really like it. I hope to have many more experiences like this. I have a lot of funny anecdotes. Sometimes I was afraid of getting scolded, so I brought candies to the set to sweeten things up for everyone, to eat together. It's a very Nicky thing."
We can't help but wonder (and ask her) if her experience in front of the iPhone camera helped her in front of the movie camera. Things are actually very different, and Nicky understood it immediately: "When you record with your phone, you can watch yourself, you can redo the video as many times as you want, you depend entirely on yourself: it's me who decides how I do my makeup, how I do my hair, what my intonation should be. In a cinematic situation, it's completely different. You don't see how you're doing, it's a total trust, something I've never been accustomed to. But I didn't panic completely; in fact, I almost relieved myself of a burden that I usually handle. I'm too much of a perfectionist, trusting others helps me even from a personal point of view." The character, Billie, helped. "She's very close to me. When I was preparing for the audition, I was excited, I thought 'I love this character and I want to do it justice because it's me, and if I don't do well with this, maybe acting isn't my path.' So I went to my acting school, to my teacher, and asked her to help me as I prepared. We were on video call for a few days, we talked, we tried this part so many times. I cared, I collected opinions. The audition went well, I came out and thought ‘I'm happy with what I did’. It was the first time this had happened to me." But the comfort zone, we've already understood, doesn't satisfy Nicky, who wants to grow and surpass herself more and more, both personally and professionally: "I want to play characters that aren't Nicky. I know I can be myself, but I want to try to go beyond, to discover new things. Once someone told me that they discovered a lot about themselves by playing very different characters. So maybe in a character that is opposite to yoo you can find something about yourself, a small thing, and you discover it because you see it in that character. I want to try this thing. I've tried it already, but I want to try it more, at all costs. I want to challenge myself, to study, to learn, to discover and uncover myself."
There comes a moment to consider that the entertainment industry, for a young woman, is not always easy. Even when not talking about outright discrimination, it's easy to be belittled and sidelined. Nicky considers herself lucky but also is very aware of this luck. "There are always comments, but they've been light. I've never received heavy attacks. I hope I'm not the only one. When you find someone trying to bring you down, it's because they don't feel good enough. It's a very sad thing. I hope that anyone embarking on this career has someone beside them who believes in them, because sometimes I've wondered why I was doing what I was doing. And there was my mom who believed in me more than I did. You have to have a lot of desire to do, that's for sure, the ability not to be discouraged. Unfortunately, in the world of public figures, it's normal to find people who want to bring you down. It doesn't make sense to listen to them; if I had listened to them, I wouldn't be here now. Pretend nothing happened, cover your ears and go where you want to go." In the future of such a young and talented girl, there's everything, a universe of endless possibilities to explore. The last remark is precisely about this: "I don't know what I want from the future, but I can't wait to find out. I don't know what I want to do when I grow up, but I'm eager to challenge myself, and I know what I like."
hero hero "You need a strong desire to succeed and the ability not to let setbacks get you down. Unfortunately, it’s common to encounter people who want to bring you down. If I had listened to them, I wouldn’t be here now. Just ignore them and go where you want to go."

1st Look:
Full look VIVIENNE WESTWOOD.

2nd Look:
Tank MAISON RAPITO, top GIUSEPPE BUCCINÀ, skirt and belt ANIYE BY, necklace EXXXENTIAL, shoes ICEBERG.

3rd Look:
Top and skirt ADRIANA HOT COUTURE, earrings and bracelets SODINI, ring BEA BONGIASCA, shoes FRANCESCA BELLAVITA.

4th Look:
Dress DSQUARED2, jewels BEA BONGIASCA, shoes FRANCESCA BELLAVITA.

5th Look:
Full look ROBERTO CAVALLI, jewels BEA BONGIASCA.

6th Look:
Full look LABREAHINST, bracelets SODINI, shoes LE SILLA.

Credits:

 

Photographer Andrea Ariano 
Ph. Assistant Gianandrea Murelli 
Stylist Morgan Dildar
Stylist Assistant Giulio Di Gregorio 
MUAH Silvia Mancuso
Interview Priscilla Lucifora