As HBO’s The Idol continues to earn mixed reviews from viewers and critics, one character introduced in the show’s second episode was met with nearly universal praise and curiosity: Suzanna Son’s Chloe.
The Idol centers around Jocelyn ( Lily-Rose Depp), an infamous pop star who is still dealing with the repercussions of her emotional breakdown following the death of her mother a year prior. A seedy Los Angeles club owner and cult leader, Tedros ( Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye), enters her life and starts leading her down a dangerous path.
Son’s character, Chloe, joined the show’s storyline as a member of Tedros’ cult. At the end of the second episode, Tedros arrives at Jocelyn’s house with a few members of his group, including Chloe, who promptly strips and giddily jumps into one of Jocelyn’s two pools.
Chloe then proceeds to traipse through Jocelyn’s house and try on her clothes until she stumbles upon the pop star and Tedros having sex. She doesn’t leave but, instead, watches their interaction.
Chloe’s most notable moment came at the end of the episode, when she takes to one of Jocelyn’s pianos to play a haunting tune. Jocelyn is struck by Chloe’s voice as she performs a song about a broken family, which seemingly nods to the show’s cult plot.
Like Jocelyn, viewers were immediately enraptured by Chloe’s singing, with many fans taking to social media to share their praise and ask about the actress behind the voice.
Prior to appearing on The Idol, Son was an aspiring singer, though she later transitioned to acting and earned her breakout role in 2021’s Red Rocket. Her career skyrocketed from there, landing her the part of Chloe.
From the beginning of her career to what she’s said about The Idol, here’s everything there is to know about Suzanna Son.
She was originally an aspiring singer
After her impressive performance, fans of The Idol may not find it a surprise that Son comes from a singing background.
Son grew up in Seattle, Washington, and from a young age, her mom suspected she could sing well, though she was too embarrassed to perform for her, she shared in a “Get To Know Me” video for Max.
“My mom kind of knew I could sing but I just didn’t want to sing for her because she would make me sing for everyone,” Son said. “It’s embarrassing!”
She cites Elton John as her icon, and said she would rather be a pop star than a rock star. While she performs more indie music now, Son started out as a big Powerpuff Girls and Hannah Montana fan, with her first CD being of the former’s soundtrack and her first concert being the latter’s Best of Both Worlds tour in 2009.
Son also briefly posted covers of songs on her YouTube channel, though only two videos remain on her account.
She started pursuing acting in college
In her video for Max, Son shared that she first joined theater while she was a student at Cornish College of the Arts, and her love of acting bloomed from there.
“When I got to college, I finally joined theater and I finally got into those weird classes about finding your fifth limb,” she said. “It really helped me get out of my shell and stop caring so much about what other people think and just made me go for it.”
Her first big break was actually a chance encounter
Son’s big break came when she worked on 2021’s Red Rocket — a role she got from a serendipitous encounter.
In a 2022 interview, Son told that director Sean Baker scouted her outside a movie theater and asked her to audition.
“I was seeing Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot,” she recalled. “I was on a date, and he asked me to hold his cigarette, and I was very upset about that because that’s very stinky. So I was holding his cigarette kind of away from me while he was on the phone. Sean and his wife, Sammy, just came up to me and asked if I’d like to audition.”
The rest was history for Son, who starred as Strawberry, a donut salesperson who gets wrapped up in the world of the film’s central character, Mikey.
‘The Idol’ is her second major role
Though reported in April 2022 that Son would be stepping away from the show amid the creative change with former director Amy Seimetz leaving, Son revealed she was still part of it in July 2022.
The actress posted a teaser of the show to her Instagram, writing, “From the sick and twisted minds of Sam Levinson and The Weeknd, #THEIDOL is coming soon 😈😈😈.”
A month later in August 2022, Son posted a behind-the-scenes photo of her character from the show and shared her excitement in the caption.
“I can’t wait for you to see this on @hbomax “soon!” 😭 what an incredible group of people to make something with. I feel so lucky. ❤️🔥,” she wrote.
Tesfaye commented his excitement with a simple, “Suzie ! ❤️🔥.”
Son made her debut in the second episode of the show, and the song she performed, “Family,” was released on streaming services the same day. Less than a week after its release, the song already had over 1 million streams on Spotify.
She loves cats
In her interview with Max, Son revealed that she prefers to be more of a homebody with her cats. She shared that one of her favorite things to do is “playing a little GTA with my cat, in my house.”
“I have a blind cat named Church Lady and another cat named Howie,” she said.
Later in the interview, Son doubled down on her answer, saying that she “hates parties” and much prefers “staying in” over going out.
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