An interview with Succession's Sarah Snook has resurfaced - and she has a lot to say about Hollywood body image ideals

“As a woman, you're more likely to be far more cruel to yourself than you ever are about other people.”

Succession's Sarah Snook
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Succession is officially back, airing the first episode of its fourth and final season on Sunday night. Sarah Snook, who plays Shiv Roy in the series, announced her first pregnancy at the season four premiere last week. 

She's the female lead in the show as the Roy family's only daughter and fans have already flocked to praise her performance in episode one.

It seems she's keen to use her time in the spotlight to reject Hollywood body ideals - which we're very here for.

Succession's Sarah Snook on rejecting Hollywood body ideals

Using the season premiere event in New York as the moment to reveal her pregnancy, the 35-year-old Australian actor wore a form-fitting dress that accentuated her baby bump.

She's expecting a child with her husband, comedian Dave Lawson, who she's been married to for two years.

Paving her own path, this week quotes from a Glamour UK interview have resurfaced, highlighting how she's long rejected pressure to conform to a certain Hollywood body ideal.

“I'm learning to deal with it," she shared in 2021. "I still feel very at the beginning of a lot of things in my career, and my personhood, womanhood, and sort of working it out as I go along."

“But I've certainly always felt pretty strongly about being proud of oneself... oftentimes I find, as a woman, you're more likely to be far more cruel to yourself than you ever are about other people or to other people. Why can't you give yourself the grace and kindness as well? That's not always easy, of course.”

She also reflected on developing what she called an “older sister character" to help her debunk and reframe internal negative commentary.

“I sort of developed an older sister character for a while. If I was having a fit about not fitting into a dress in the way that I wanted to, or not feeling the right sort of confidence level that I wanted to, it was like, 'Well, what are you going to do about this, Sarah? Are you just going to complain all day or all night, or are you going to buck up and get out there and do something?'”

Kudos to the star for being so refreshingly down to earth and promoting relatable self care ideas - as let's be honest, we could all use a reminder to love ourselves now and then.

This season of Succession looks set to be the last ever, with the creator of the show Jessee Armstrong telling The New Yorker "it's pretty definitively the end."

Senior Health and Sustainability Editor

Ally Head is Marie Claire UK's Senior Health and Sustainability Editor, nine-time marathoner, and Boston Qualifying runner. Day-to-day, she heads up all strategy for her pillars, working across commissioning, features, and e-commerce, reporting on the latest health updates, writing the must-read wellness content, and rounding up the genuinely sustainable and squat-proof gym leggings worth *adding to basket*. She's won a BSME for her sustainability work, regularly hosts panels and presents for events like the Sustainability Awards, and is a stickler for a strong stat, too, seeing over nine million total impressions on the January 2023 Wellness Issue she oversaw. Follow Ally on Instagram for more or get in touch.