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Woman Crush Wednesday
Woman Crush Wednesday is here to help you along on your hump day! Our star this week may not be a household name yet, but she sure as hell is busy on making that a reality. She found her breakout on Netflix and it looks like she’s about to rise on Hulu. Give it up for the queen of the week, Kristine Froseth!
WHO’S THAT GAL: Kristine Froseth
WHY WE’RE CRUSHING: In the long-awaited John Green adaptation of the same name, Looking for Alaska stars Froseth as the titular character, Alaska Young. Alaska is a young, gorgeous and elusive teenager who captures the heart of Miles “Pudge” Halter (Charlie Plummer), the new kid at Culver Creek Academy, a boarding school in Alabama. The eight-episode series, which will be released Friday, October 18, follows a group of misfits, of which Miles and Alaska are a part, as they navigate school and, ultimately, an unexpected and heartbreaking death. The story is poignant, deeply existential, and dedicated to the turbulence of teenage years.
The task of adapting this teen drama was originally taken up 14 years ago by screenwriter Josh Schwartz before Green’s novel was even published. After the feature version fell through twice, Schwartz, known for Gossip Girl and The O.C., approached Green about making a limited series instead. Schwartz told Decider that Green was more than excited about this change, in part as it would allow him to expand his old world, which included making sure that “Alaska is a character who exists in her own right outside of just Miles or the other boys’ point of view.” This dedication to having a strong female lead comes through in Froseth’s performance, as she turns what was once a purposely muddled person on paper into a multi-dimensional and complex young woman on the screen.
The television version makes Looking for Alaska not just Miles’ coming-of-age story, but Alaska’s as well. Given that the book was narrated through Miles’ eyes and that Alaska has such a secret, but complicated, backstory, we have to imagine that playing this character posed some challenges. At Yahoo’s BUILD series, Froseth confirmed this, stating that she “still doesn’t know who Alaska is,” but had to “let go” of pre-conceived notions of the character and work with her own ideas instead. While this may be the definition of a difficult role, we’re sure that Froseth was able to rise to the occasion. Don’t believe us? Tune in Friday to find out.
WHERE YOU’VE SEEN HER BEFORE: Froseth started off her career in modeling, working with brands like Armani and Miu Miu. She found her way into acting when a casting director saw her photos and encouraged her to audition for – drumroll please – a feature film adaptation of Looking for Alaska. Though this project fell through, it seems Froseth found her home on the screen. She went on to play Jess in the coming-of-age series Junior and snagged a role in the biographical drama Rebel in the Rye. In 2018, the actress landed her first big part with Netflix playing mean girl Veronica in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser. Now that she had garnered more recognition in the industry, Froseth was cast in other high-profile productions, like MGM’s miniseries The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, starring Patrick Dempsey, and Netflix’s wildly successful mystery series The Society.
WHERE YOU’LL SEE HER AGAIN: Froseth is the leading lady in Looking for Alaska, which premieres this Friday, October 18 on Hulu. All episodes will be available for your viewing pleasure. You can also see the actress on season 2 of Netflix’s The Society, where she will resume her portrayal of Kelly Aldrich, the smart, value-driven, cool-girl of West Ham. Like we said before, Froseth has A LOT going on. Get ready to hear her name more often.
