No, this is not Sydney Sweeney. Although the two now share a film (‘The Housemaid’), and both embody the same blend of cute and sexy beauty, each in her time has filled Hollywood’s slot of the ‘hot blonde’.
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Amanda Seyfried opens the red carpet season at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards
(Photo: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
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With Sydney Sweeney at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘The Housemaid’, 2025
(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
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In Prada gown at the Venice Film Festival, 2025
(Photo: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
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In Smythe suit at the launch of the series ‘The Crowded Room’, 2023
(Photo: Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP)
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In Gucci gown at the premiere of the film ‘Lovelace’, 2013
(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
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In coordinated look with Julia Roberts in a Versace ensemble at the Venice Film Festival, 2025
(Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images, Tiziana FABI/AFP)
Seyfried, who recently turned 40, is a far better actress than she is often given credit for. She is popular and well-liked in the film industry, yet rarely receives the professional recognition she deserves. Perhaps it is because she looks like a human version of a Barbie doll, perhaps because she moves between modeling and acting, or perhaps because she is so often cast alongside someone more famous.
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A ‘millionaire heiress with impeccable taste’ look: Amanda Seyfried
(Illustration: Erez Amiran)
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In Oscar de la Renta gown on the red carpet, 2022
(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
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In Ashish ensemble with Sydney Sweeney at CinemaCon, 2025
(Photo: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
The road to fame
Her cinematic breakthrough came in 2003 with the cult hit ‘Mean Girls’, where she played the most clueless and male-influenced member of the high school clique, memorably rewarded with the ability to predict the weather through her chest. Despite the demeaning framing, Seyfried brought unexpected depth to a character written to be shallow, though she was overshadowed in popularity by Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams in the lead roles.
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In Miu Miu gown at the London premiere of ‘Mamma Mia!’, 2008
(Photo: AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
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In Armani Privé gown at the Golden Globe Awards, 2024
(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Five years later, she staged a second breakout with ‘Mamma Mia!’, once again acting opposite a far bigger star, this time Meryl Streep. From there, she went on to a wide range of screen roles. Most were neither massive blockbusters nor embarrassing flops.
At the same time, she appeared on countless ‘most beautiful women’ magazine lists worldwide, married actor Thomas Sadoski, had a daughter and a son, and maintained a quiet, scandal-free public life. Seyfried clearly does everything right, yet continues to fly slightly under the radar. She deserves more.
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In Versace gown at a New York screening of ‘The Housemaid’, 2025
(Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
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In Oscar de la Renta gown on the red carpet, 2019
(Photo: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
How does she dress?
A glance at Hollywood red carpets suggests a group of actresses who could almost pass as cloned sisters: Sydney Sweeney, Dakota Fanning, Kate Hudson, Elizabeth Olsen and Amanda Seyfried. All are talented, all radiate a polished sweetness, and all share flowing blonde hair, large eyes and the privileged air of women who live in Manhattan buildings with doormen. They look alike and, often, dress alike.
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In Rodarte gown at a pre-Golden Globe Awards event, 2026
(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Within that group, Seyfried stands out as the most elegant. She is the most restrained, the most aristocratic, the clearest embodiment of ‘old money’. Her style is not shocking or jaw-dropping, but it is consistently beautiful, appropriate and impeccably tailored to the occasion. She has ideal proportions, refined taste and enormous, almost otherworldly eyes that elevate any outfit.
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In Valentino gown at the Critics Choice Awards, 2026
(Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)
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In Michael Kors ensemble at the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards, 2022
(Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Those eyes are not her only adornment. Seyfried is a brand ambassador for Tiffany & Co., and she reliably wears the jeweler’s pieces on the red carpet. Fashion houses have embraced her as well. Since 2013 she has served as a Givenchy ambassador, wearing the brand to multiple Oscar ceremonies and to the Zurich Film Festival she attended about two months ago. In 2016 she led a campaign for Miu Miu, and in 2019 she was named a global ambassador for Lancôme.
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A Balenciaga gown at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2026
(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
In a recent cover story and fashion spread for Who What Wear, Seyfried was photographed in looks that define her particular kind of fashion icon status: a blue feathered skirt and top by Harris Reed, a red bohemian gown with matching lace-up boots by McQueen, a green kimono-style coat with Japanese influences by Balmain, a brown-and-gold crocheted lace set by Saint Laurent, and an oversized black brocade coat by Schiaparelli. The headline crowned her 'Queen of Keeping it Real'.
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A Monse gown at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘The Housemaid’, 2025
(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
She also delivered regal moments this year at the Venice Film Festival premiere of ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’, wearing a blue strapless Prada gown with buttons down the front and a red bow at the bust, and earlier in a 2023 Met Gala mini dress by Oscar de la Renta made of gold chains over sheer mesh.
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A Prada gown at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, 2025
(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
On the cover of L’Officiel last March, she showcased the hallmarks of her signature ‘millionaire heiress with impeccable taste’ look: an oversized leather coat over a tailored men’s suit and tie by Saint Laurent, a gray knit with a perforated skirt by Prada, and a diamond-embroidered bodysuit by Dior.
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An Oscar de la Renta ensemble at a Variety event, 2022
(Photo: Greg Allen/Invision/AP)
No discussion of Seyfried and fashion would be complete without mentioning her deliberately coordinated look with Julia Roberts, both wearing a tailored jacket, jeans and a striped Versace shirt. An objectively awkward combination, but one that generated significant buzz.
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A Carolina Herrera gown at the Producers Guild Awards, 2023
(Photo: Allison Dinner/Invision/AP)
What lies ahead
Seyfried has everything required to join Hollywood’s top tier. She is beautiful, a strong and versatile actress, and adept at staying out of trouble while remaining universally likable. All she needs is one major artistic success to enter the pantheon of actresses whose names alone guarantee box office appeal. That moment may finally arrive with her new, heavily buzzed film, ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’.
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A Carolina Herrera gown at a Time magazine event, 2022
(Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
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An Alexander McQueen ensemble at the New York premiere of ‘The Crowded Room’, 2023
(Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
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A Prada gown at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, 2023
(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Cheers or jeers?
Her cool, almost severe beauty, paired with refined taste and the right stylists and fashion houses, is precisely the kind that earns wall-to-wall applause.
First published: 02:12, 01.10.26