The hidden freebies on your phone worth £100s – claim months of TV, music, games & books with hacks that everyone misses
NO-PAY PHONE! The hidden freebies on your phone worth £100s – claim months of TV, music, games & books with hacks that everyone misses
LOVE a freebie? Well, there are loads lurking on your mobile that are just waiting to be claimed.
You can bag perks worth hundreds of pounds, getting you TV, music, games, books and even extra phone storage - if you know where to look...
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Spotify has plenty of free music – but it's not your only option
Credit: Spotify
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Amazon customers can bag free music too
Credit: Amazon
To save you searching, we've tracked down some of the most tempting freebies hiding on your phone or tablet today.
FREE MUSIC
It's no secret that Spotify offers a free tier. You won't be able to choose specific songs and you'll endure ads – but it's free.
However, there are plenty of alternatives to Spotify that you might prefer.
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One potentially cheaper option is Amazon Music Prime, which comes included with your regular Amazon Prime subscription.
It gets you more than 100 million songs, and it's totally ad-free.
So if you're already paying for Prime, then this is a great freebie that'll save you sitting through Spotify ads (or paying for Premium).
If you're an Apple fan, you have two great options available to you.
The first is Apple's "new device offer", which gives you three months of Apple Music for free.
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This is Apple's own Spotify rival that normally costs £10.99 a month.
You get it if you've recently bought an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or HomePod, or a pair of AirPods or Beats headphones.
Set up your new device, then just launch the Apple Music app and your offer should appear right away. Claim it and away you go.
Sky customers can claim delicious freebies in new giveaway scheme
Apple Music can also be heavily discounted if you're a student.
You can claim a one-month trial, and then pay just £5.99 a month for up to 48 months.
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All you need to be eligible for the offer is to be enrolled in a degree-granting university.
It means you'll save £240 over the course of four years. Not a bad saving.
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Apple AirPods entitle you to a handy music freebie
Credit: Apple
FREE TV
There's also no end of free telly available if you know where to look.
In the Music section above, I mentioned how you could get half-price Apple Music.
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Well, if you're eligible for that offer, Apple also chucks in Apple TV+ at no extra cost. Yes, really.
Once you start the Apple Music Student subscription, just go to Apple TV and it'll work right away. The only catch is that you can't share it with Family Sharing.
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Apple Music Student subscriptions also come with a special TV perk
Credit: Apple
You can also get Apple TV+ for free if you buy a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac.
You'll be able to bag three months of membership – normally that would be £8.99 a month, totalling £26.97.
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And you can even share this with up to five other family members through Family Sharing.
You'll just need to claim the deal within three months of first setting up new new Apple gadget.
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Apple TV+ is packed with top telly, including hit footie comedy/drama series Ted Lasso
Credit: Apple
But what else is out there?
If you're an Amazon Prime member, you probably know that you get Prime Video as part of your membership.
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But you can also take a cut-price membership that only gives you Prime Video, which costs just £5.99 a month instead of £8.99 for full Prime.
There's also a deal that gets you full Prime for £4.49, as long as you're a student or aged between 18 and 22.
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Prime Video is loaded with amazing telly
Credit: Amazon
How much does Amazon Prime cost?
Here's how the prices break down... Prime monthly (£8.99 monthly) – £107.88 a year
Prime annual – £95 a year
Prime Video (£5.99 monthly) – £71.88 a year
Prime 18-22/student (£4.49 monthly) – £53.88 a year
Prime 18-22/student annual – £47.49 a year
Prime 18-22/student monthly + 6-month free trial – £26.94 for first year
Prime 18-22/student annual + 6-month free trial – £23.75 for first year
Picture Credit: Amazon
An even thriftier option is to take advantage of the endless supply of free TV apps out there.
Normally, the catch is that you'll need to view ads – but you'll also have to sit through commercial breaks even on the cheapest paid-for Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ tiers.
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I tested a load of free TV apps earlier this year, and some of my favourites included Tubi, Plex, and Pluto TV.
If you've got a Samsung TV, then you probably know that you can enjoy Samsung TV Plus for free. That'll get you loads of live TV channels.
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Samsung TV Plus isn't just for televisions – it works on your mobile too
Credit: Samsung
But it's also possible to unlock Samsung TV Plus on Samsung phones and tablets too – something many telly fans miss.
Just go into the app store and download Samsung TV Plus and you'll get the same enormous library of free telly.
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FREE GAMES
Obviously, there's no shortage of free games out there on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
In fact, I served up free top picks that you'll actually play for hours earlier this year – check out my guide to the best free mobile games.
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Apple Arcade is filled with premium games for you to play
Credit: Apple
But there are some great ways of playing premium titles for free, too.
Once again, there's a nice Apple freebie available if you've snagged one of the company's gadgets recently.
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If you've bought a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac, it comes with three free months of Apple Arcade (and up to six family members can access it).
Apple Arcade is a special subscription service (normally £6.99 a month) that gets you access to more than 200 games.
These are all free from ads, don't have any hidden fees or micro-transactions, and can't be found for free elsewhere.
Just set up your device and then tap the Apple Arcade app within the first three months to claim your trial period.
Next up, there's a nice perk for anyone with an Amazon Prime subscription.
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Amazon operates a special "cloud gaming" service called Luna. It's a bit like Netflix, but for video games.
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Amazon Luna lets you stream console-quality games over the internet – and you don't even need a console
Credit: Amazon
So instead of needing a console, you can just play the games over the internet.
Normally this would require paying for an £8.99-a-month subscription to Amazon Luna+.
But if you have a Prime subscription, you can play a rolling selection of games for free. These are console-quality games.
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One of them is Fortnite, a shooter game that's one of the most popular titles in the world.
AMAZON LUNA – CAN YOU PLAY?
Here's what you need to know...
Amazon says that you need a minimum internet speed of 10Mbps. You can check yours online at speedtest.net or fast.com.
For web browsers on your iPhone, iPad, or Android, you need the following: Chrome web browser (version 83+) for PC, Mac, and (version 86+) Chromebook.
Microsoft Edge web browser (version 90+) for PC and Mac.
Safari web browser (iOS 15+) for iPhone and (iPadOS 15+) iPad.
Chrome web browser (version 86+) for Android (Android 10+) devices.
Compatible controllers for iPhone and Android include: Luna Controller
PlayStation 4 DualShock Wireless Controller
PlayStation 5 DualSense Wireless Controller
Xbox One Controller
Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
Google Stadia Controller
Picture Credit: Amazon
All you need is a joypad – even an Xbox or PlayStation one you've got lying around – that can connect to your telly or Amazon Fire Stick.
Then just download the Amazon Luna app and away you go. No console needed – and no Luna+ subscription either.
Another nifty option is available for free if you have Netflix.
Your Netflix TV subscription includes access to a load of free video games on your phone.
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Your Netflix subscription comes with a treasure trove of free mobile games
Credit: Netflix
Just go to the Netflix app on your mobile, scroll down to Mobile Games, and then you'll be able to download them via the App Store.
Your Netflix subscription will grant you access to play them for free instead of paying.
There are a bunch of great options on there right now, including:
Stranger Things: 1984
Exploding Kittens Game
Reigns: Three Kingdoms
RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch
Squid Game: Unleashed
Oxenfree
Dead Cells: Netflix Edition
GTA: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition
Asphalt Extreme
Blood Line: A Rebel Moon Game
There are loads more titles too, and Netflix is constantly adding extra games. So make sure you're making the most of these bonus freebies.
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Finally, for a fun free option, go into Instagram and open a DM with someone.
Send an emoji – it can be anything, like a heart or football – and then tap it.
It'll take you through to a secret paddle game where you have to keep a ball aloft by scrolling left and right. Battle your pals to get the highest score.
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Your Instagram DMs are hiding a fun free game
Credit: The Sun / Instagram
FREE BOOKS & AUDIOBOOKS
If you're happy to read virtual books – or listen to audiobooks – then there are some great free options.
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For a start, Audible has a brilliant free tier that gets you free audiobooks without paying a penny.
There's a rolling library that Amazon (which owns Audible) updates, and you don't need to have a membership to claim them.
And if you've got Amazon Prime, you can start a 30-day Audible trial to claim two free audiobooks of your choice instead of one.
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Audible is a great option for thrifty book fans
Credit: Amazon / Audible
For e-books, Amazon Prime members are able to enjoy select books for free through Prime Reading.
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And you can also take advantage of Amazon First Reads to choose one of next month's Kindle books for free too.
If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can use Apple Books to check out a load of free ebooks.
This includes a load of classics, plus some newer titles too.
Spotify members can get involved too. If you have a Premium membership, you get 15 hours of audiobook listening time every single month.
FREE PHONE STORAGE
Always running out of phone storage? Often the advice is to back up your media to the cloud – but that fills up pretty quickly too.
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Thankfully there are some ways to get free cloud storage.
For a start, Apple offers 5GB of cloud storage for free through iCloud. You'll have to pay for extra – but it's at least something.
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iCloud comes with 5GB of storage for free
Credit: Apple
Then every Google account comes with 15GB of free storage. You'll be able to use that in Google Drive or Google Photos (but it also pulls from Gmail).
So if you want to just store photos and videos, consider setting up a second free Google account to put those there – and keep the storage on your main account for emails.
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Amazon also hosts a cloud storage service that offers up 5GB of free storage.
But if you have Amazon Prime, you can bag unlimited storage for photos. That's a pretty generous offer, so consider taking advantage of it for backing up your pics.
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Google also offers up free cloud storage for your files
Credit: Google
Microsoft's OneDrive also offers 5GB of free storage with a Microsoft account, and Dropbox Basic gives you 2GB of no-cost storage.
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And rather than holding her back, the backlash may be propelling her forward. Let's be honest – controversy has made her more interesting Stacy Jones, founder of LA branding agency Hollywood Branded 'Let's be honest – controversy has made her more interesting,' says Stacy Jones, founder of LA branding agency Hollywood Branded. 'The family politics thing didn't derail her and this recent backlash over the American Eagle ad? If anything, it proved she's not just a celebrity, she's a cultural touchpoint. Sydney's not just valuable – she's volatile in the best way. She drives real conversation, and that's currency. She goes viral for what she wears, says and does. She stirs emotion and she trends. That's what marketers are actually buying – not just demographics, but cultural gravity.' Stacy adds: 'In a world where no one agrees on anything, being part of the conversation is sometimes better than being universally liked.' 'People believe I've signed my life away because I'm an actor' Much of the scrutiny around Sydney revolves around her physical appearance, which has fanned debates about the double standards that women face in Hollywood. While male actors are celebrated for their talent or transformative roles, Sydney – much like Scarlett Johansson before her – is often reduced to headlines about her curves. Take the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, when Sydney arrived in a plunging silk gown by Miu Miu, layered over a powder-blue bra. Rather than seen as a bold fashion statement, the look was labelled a 'wardrobe malfunction', showing how confident styling choices can be quickly reframed as inappropriate. 'There's not anything I can do,' Sydney told NME in 2023, acknowledging the pressure of constant objectification. Later, she told Variety: 'People feel connected and free to be able to speak about me in whatever way they want, because they believe that I've signed my life away. That I'm not on a human level any more, because I'm an actor.' 19 Sweeney flaunts her amazing figure for her loving social media fans Credit: Sydney Sweeney 19 The actress pictured with her pup Credit: Sydney Sweeney 19 The 27-year-old actress shot to fame after she bagged the role of Cassie Howard in HBO's Euphoria Credit: EUPhORIA Sydney's hosting stint on Saturday Night Live last March only intensified the conversation. Dressed in a Hooters waitress uniform for multiple sketches, she embraced the caricature of her public image, even joking the job was her 'back-up career.' Conservative critics quickly dubbed the moment a flashback to pre #MeToo attitudes. One commentator even described her breasts as the 'double-D harbingers of the death of woke'. Sydney's response? A tongue-in-cheek sweatshirt that read: 'Sorry For Having Great Tits And Correct Opinions'. Then in June, she partnered with Dr Squatch to launch $8 soap bars infused with her actual bathwater – a move some interpreted as a bold, satirical poke at the objectification she often faces. Steering her ship through the sea of entertainment with self-awareness and humour is a savvy move, says Nick Ede, one of the UK's leading brand and culture experts and founder of Joyfulness Studios. 'What's great about Sydney is she embodies her generation and doesn't try to alienate herself from it,' says Nick. 'She wants to be relatable and lean into the stereotypes that she portrays, or is seen to portray. She isn't scared to be honest about who she is and has a unique way of being self-aware. She can laugh at herself, too. This allows her to manage her narrative, especially on social media. Her bathwater soap shows she's in on the journey as much as her fans or her critics.' 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She went on to explain in The Times that casting directors often dismiss her due to her performance as Cassie, her overtly sexualised character in Euphoria, a role she reprised earlier this year for the long-awaited third season, due for release in 2026. 'I feel like I'm constantly having to be like: 'No, no – I'm an actor,'' she said. 'I'm supposed to play different characters.' That philosophy also extends to red-carpet appearances and talk-show interviews, spaces where Sydney says she feels most uncomfortable. To manage her nerves, she inhabits personas in the way she would on set, a place she describes as her 'playground' and where she feels 'at home'. Indeed, Sydney was just 10 when she discovered her love of performance at the family home in Spokane, Washington, on the Idaho border. There, she would build imaginary worlds and put on performances for her parents – her mum Lisa, a former criminal defence lawyer, and dad Steven, a pharmaceutical rep. 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I thought that if I made enough money, I'd be able to buy my parents' house back and put my family back together Sydney Sweeney When Sydney became a victim of bullying at her private school – an education funded by financial aid – her parents home-schooled her for a while, before selling the family home and moving to LA to further her acting dreams. 19 Syd wearing that bra-exposing outfit at Cannes Film Festival Credit: GETTY 19 The star in The Handmaid's Tale, 2018 Credit: The Handmaid's tale 19 In a Hooters sketch for SNL Credit: GETTY But the move, when Sydney was 13, came at a price. Living costs proved too high and the family, including her younger brother Trent, found themselves crammed into a single motel room. By 2016, her parents had filed for both bankruptcy and divorce. Sydney, working $100-a-day acting jobs, cleaning bathrooms and babysitting, continued to dream of a breakthrough that might solve all their problems. 'I thought that if I made enough money, I'd be able to buy my parents' house back and put my family back together,' she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022. 'But when I turned 18, I only had $800 to my name. My parents weren't back together. And there was nothing I could do to help.' Her longed-for break finally came in 2018, with roles in Marti Noxon's Sharp Objects and Netflix's Everything Sucks!, followed by a standout appearance in The Handmaid's Tale, and then Euphoria. Now reportedly worth over £30million, Sydney has built a brand empire, thanks to endorsement deals from Miu Miu to Kérastase. And her financial clout is set to grow even more with the launch of her lingerie line, backed by a $1.5billion investment from her pal, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell. That Bezos connection, insiders say, is also making Sydney a frontrunner for the next Bond girl role, now the movie is under Amazon MGM's creative control. 'Sydney's DMs are packed with messages from famous men' As well as clearing her mum's mortgage, Sydney has built an impressive property portfolio with her fortune. She has two homes in LA, her primary residence is a £10million Florida beachfront mansion, plus she repurchased her great-grandmother's former house in 2023, years after the family was forced to sell it. Now, Sydney is dreaming of a different kind of legacy. 'I want to have a family. I've always wanted to be a young mom,' she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022, while still in a seven-year relationship with her businessman fiancé, Jonathan Davino. When the pair called off their engagement earlier this year, speculation mounted of romance between Sydney and her Anyone But You co-star Glen Powell, which they later admitted they allowed to swirl to help promote the film. But despite sightings with Orlando Bloom and Tom Brady at Jeff Bezos' Venice wedding in June, insiders say Sydney's single by choice. 'I'm learning a lot about myself, spending more time with my friends. And I'm loving it,' she told The Times in May. That's not to say she isn't without plenty of admirers – The Sun revealed that Premier League players from Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal have all slid into her DMs to ask her out. But despite the offers, she has politely declined. An insider said: 'Her Instagram DMs are packed with messages from famous men trying to get in contact with her. 19 With her Anyone But You co-star Glen Powell Credit: GETTY 19 Sydney and ex-fiancé Jonathan Davino Credit: GETTY 19 Sydney and brother Trent with their mum Lisa at her controversial 60th birthday party Credit: trent Sweeney They offer her trips to Europe to see them and take her on a date, but she's not the kind of person who does that. 'Some of them are very insistent and have even tried to find her address to send her flowers, but she always refuses.' Behind the scenes, Sydney is an 'avid bookreader', trained MMA fighter and vintage car restorer – a hobby she calls her 'therapy' and documents for 1.9 million followers on her TikTok @Syds_garage. Whether she's creating or courting controversy, on-screen or off, Sydney Sweeney isn't just tagging along for the ride, she's firmly in the driver's seat of her extraordinary life. Sydney's sizzling style 19 In 2019, rocking a red Rosario dress at a Harper's Bazaar party Credit: GETTY 19 Wearing Alexander McQueen at a Variety event in 2023 Credit: GETTY 19 Pretty in Prada at The White Lotus premiere in 2021 Credit: GETTY 19 In a bouquet-style top by Balmain, last year Credit: GETTY 19 In LaQuan Smith at 2022's GQ Men Of The Year Awards Credit: GETTY 19 Wearing Miu Miu and a black wig at the 2024 Met Gala Credit: GETTY
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Sexualisation, Donald Trump & race rows – why Sydney Sweeney's backlash only makes her MORE valuable to brands
SHE'S one of America's fastest growing stars, but could controversy derail Sydney Sweeney's supersonic career? Showbiz writer Gemma Calvert takes a closer look at 2025's hottest property. 19 19 Hollywood has fast become Sydney Sweeney's adventure playground. The 27-year-old actress shot to fame after she bagged the role of Cassie Howard in HBO's Euphoria, as well as Olivia Mossbacher in Apple TV+'s The White Lotus – and earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for both roles in 2022, along with a whole international fandom. Since then, Sydney's star has soared. She led and produced blockbuster romcom Anyone But You in 2023, and her latest projects include Apple TV+ series Echo Valley, playing Julianne Moore's devious but charismatic junkie daughter, plus Christy, a biopic of trailblazing American female boxer Christy Martin. But Sydney's rise hasn't been without controversy. Known for choosing roles that lean into hyper-sexualised archetypes, she's become a lightning rod for public debate. In her recent denim campaign for US leisurewear giant American Eagle, she stares into the camera and whispers: 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour. . . My jeans are blue.' The backlash when the ad dropped at the end of last month was swift. Critics accused the retailer – and Sydney – of racial insensitivity, even linking the 'great jeans' tagline to eugenics and Nazi ideology. Others called the campaign overly sexualised. However, many sprang to its defence, praising its boldness and blasting the outrage as overblown. When it emerged earlier this month that the actress is a registered Republican, President Trump praised her, saying: 'You'd be surprised at how many people are Republican. I'm glad you told me that. Clip of Sydney Sweeney at shooting range goes viral as her 'MAGA background' emerges after anti-woke ad and Trump praise 'If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic.' Her personal life has sparked headlines, too. In 2022, Sydney shared photos from her mum Lisa's 60th birthday party – a hoedown-themed bash that featured guests in MAGA-style hats with one guest wearing a shirt with the words 'Blue Lives Matter' on it, a term that emerged in 2014 to show support to the police, in opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement. Sydney later hit back, urging people to 'stop making assumptions' and insisting it was nothing more than a family celebration. And rather than holding her back, the backlash may be propelling her forward. 'Let's be honest – controversy has made her more interesting,' says Stacy Jones, founder of LA branding agency Hollywood Branded. 'The family politics thing didn't derail her and this recent backlash over the American Eagle ad? If anything, it proved she's not just a celebrity, she's a cultural touchpoint. Sydney's not just valuable – she's volatile in the best way. She drives real conversation, and that's currency. She goes viral for what she wears, says and does. She stirs emotion and she trends. That's what marketers are actually buying – not just demographics, but cultural gravity.' Stacy adds: 'In a world where no one agrees on anything, being part of the conversation is sometimes better than being universally liked.' 'People believe I've signed my life away because I'm an actor' Much of the scrutiny around Sydney revolves around her physical appearance, which has fanned debates about the double standards that women face in Hollywood. While male actors are celebrated for their talent or transformative roles, Sydney – much like Scarlett Johansson before her – is often reduced to headlines about her curves. Take the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, when Sydney arrived in a plunging silk gown by Miu Miu, layered over a powder-blue bra. Rather than seen as a bold fashion statement, the look was labelled a 'wardrobe malfunction', showing how confident styling choices can be quickly reframed as inappropriate. 'There's not anything I can do,' Sydney told NME in 2023, acknowledging the pressure of constant objectification. Later, she told Variety: 'People feel connected and free to be able to speak about me in whatever way they want, because they believe that I've signed my life away. That I'm not on a human level any more, because I'm an actor.' 19 19 19 Sydney's hosting stint on Saturday Night Live last March only intensified the conversation. Dressed in a Hooters waitress uniform for multiple sketches, she embraced the caricature of her public image, even joking the job was her 'back-up career.' Conservative critics quickly dubbed the moment a flashback to pre #MeToo attitudes. One commentator even described her breasts as the 'double-D harbingers of the death of woke'. Sydney's response? A tongue-in-cheek sweatshirt that read: 'Sorry For Having Great Tits And Correct Opinions'. Then in June, she partnered with Dr Squatch to launch $8 soap bars infused with her actual bathwater – a move some interpreted as a bold, satirical poke at the objectification she often faces. Steering her ship through the sea of entertainment with self-awareness and humour is a savvy move, says Nick Ede, one of the UK's leading brand and culture experts and founder of Joyfulness Studios. 'What's great about Sydney is she embodies her generation and doesn't try to alienate herself from it,' says Nick. 'She wants to be relatable and lean into the stereotypes that she portrays, or is seen to portray. She isn't scared to be honest about who she is and has a unique way of being self-aware. She can laugh at herself, too. This allows her to manage her narrative, especially on social media. Her bathwater soap shows she's in on the journey as much as her fans or her critics.' Sydney is a rare Hollywood breed who manages her own social media content and, according to Stefanie Davis Kempton – an assistant professor of communication at Florida Gulf Coast University specialising in women's representation in the media – retaining control is vital for stars like her. 'Young women, especially, can be easy targets to become puppets and lose control of their own personal brand for the sake of corporate greed,' says Stefanie. What's great about Sydney is she embodies her generation and doesn't try to alienate herself from it Nick Ede, brand and culture expert 'It happens all the time, as women's voices have been historically marginalised. In today's age of social media, your identity is your brand and that brand can be worth a lot of money, but it can also be sabotaged if left in the wrong hands. Having control of your own voice, body, image and likeness is so critically important.' Launching her own production company, Fifty-Fifty Films, in 2020, was Sydney's creative solution to that problem, taking her from actor for hire to industry powerhouse. Dedicated to adapting stories by first-time female authors and up-and-coming screenwriters, she told Teen Vogue: 'I'm a big advocate for making sure everybody's voice is heard.' But carving out creative space hasn't been easy. In an interview with The Times earlier this year, Sydney admitted she's not always taken seriously as a producer, especially, she noted, by 'women who give me the hardest time.' Speaking on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast in March 2024, Sydney confessed that 'the roles that are challenging or creatively fulfilling are usually the ones that you have to fight for.' She went on to explain in The Times that casting directors often dismiss her due to her performance as Cassie, her overtly sexualised character in Euphoria, a role she reprised earlier this year for the long-awaited third season, due for release in 2026. 'I feel like I'm constantly having to be like: 'No, no – I'm an actor,'' she said. 'I'm supposed to play different characters.' That philosophy also extends to red-carpet appearances and talk-show interviews, spaces where Sydney says she feels most uncomfortable. To manage her nerves, she inhabits personas in the way she would on set, a place she describes as her 'playground' and where she feels 'at home'. Indeed, Sydney was just 10 when she discovered her love of performance at the family home in Spokane, Washington, on the Idaho border. There, she would build imaginary worlds and put on performances for her parents – her mum Lisa, a former criminal defence lawyer, and dad Steven, a pharmaceutical rep. 'Nothing I could do to help' She recently told Glamour that acting became a 'full-on obsession' alongside childhood passions like river swimming and hiking. Electronic devices, meanwhile, were banned by her parents so, as a teen, Sydney secretly streamed episodes of The Secret Life Of The American Teenager. When a low-budget zombie film began shooting in her town, Sydney persuaded her parents to let her audition by pitching them a PowerPoint five-year acting plan. It worked two-fold. She auditioned, then landed a small part in 2010 film ZMD: Zombies Of Mass Destruction. From there she began auditioning whenever possible – first in Seattle and Portland, and eventually in Los Angeles, travelling the gruelling 2,400-mile round trip every time by car. 'I owe everything to them,' she said of her parents on Happy Sad Confused, crediting them as her earliest champions. I thought that if I made enough money, I'd be able to buy my parents' house back and put my family back together Sydney Sweeney When Sydney became a victim of bullying at her private school – an education funded by financial aid – her parents home-schooled her for a while, before selling the family home and moving to LA to further her acting dreams. 19 19 19 But the move, when Sydney was 13, came at a price. Living costs proved too high and the family, including her younger brother Trent, found themselves crammed into a single motel room. By 2016, her parents had filed for both bankruptcy and divorce. Sydney, working $100-a-day acting jobs, cleaning bathrooms and babysitting, continued to dream of a breakthrough that might solve all their problems. 'I thought that if I made enough money, I'd be able to buy my parents' house back and put my family back together,' she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022. 'But when I turned 18, I only had $800 to my name. My parents weren't back together. And there was nothing I could do to help.' Her longed-for break finally came in 2018, with roles in Marti Noxon's Sharp Objects and Netflix's Everything Sucks!, followed by a standout appearance in The Handmaid's Tale, and then Euphoria. Now reportedly worth over £30million, Sydney has built a brand empire, thanks to endorsement deals from Miu Miu to Kérastase. And her financial clout is set to grow even more with the launch of her lingerie line, backed by a $1.5billion investment from her pal, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell. That Bezos connection, insiders say, is also making Sydney a frontrunner for the next Bond girl role, now the movie is under Amazon MGM's creative control. 'Sydney's DMs are packed with messages from famous men' As well as clearing her mum's mortgage, Sydney has built an impressive property portfolio with her fortune. She has two homes in LA, her primary residence is a £10million Florida beachfront mansion, plus she repurchased her great-grandmother's former house in 2023, years after the family was forced to sell it. Now, Sydney is dreaming of a different kind of legacy. 'I want to have a family. I've always wanted to be a young mom,' she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022, while still in a seven-year relationship with her businessman fiancé, Jonathan Davino. When the pair called off their engagement earlier this year, speculation mounted of romance between Sydney and her Anyone But You co-star Glen Powell, which they later admitted they allowed to swirl to help promote the film. But despite sightings with Orlando Bloom and Tom Brady at Jeff Bezos' Venice wedding in June, insiders say Sydney's single by choice. 'I'm learning a lot about myself, spending more time with my friends. And I'm loving it,' she told The Times in May. That's not to say she isn't without plenty of admirers – The Sun revealed that Premier League players from Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal have all slid into her DMs to ask her out. But despite the offers, she has politely declined. An insider said: 'Her Instagram DMs are packed with messages from famous men trying to get in contact with her. 19 19 They offer her trips to Europe to see them and take her on a date, but she's not the kind of person who does that. 'Some of them are very insistent and have even tried to find her address to send her flowers, but she always refuses.' Behind the scenes, Sydney is an 'avid bookreader', trained MMA fighter and vintage car restorer – a hobby she calls her 'therapy' and documents for 1.9 million followers on her TikTok @Syds_garage. Whether she's creating or courting controversy, on-screen or off, Sydney Sweeney isn't just tagging along for the ride, she's firmly in the driver's seat of her extraordinary life. Sydney's sizzling style 19 19 19 19 19
