Fun clothes belong on fun people. So in New York and Los Angeles, we brought together 11 of our favorite follows, including the TikTok celebrities, artists, and musicians who are always in our feeds and on our minds, to talk about their secret (and some not-so-secret) passions and guilty pleasures. Who are they when nobody’s watching?
The Makeup Artist Who Brings Flair to His Garden
Before the Kardashians and Hadids hit the red carpet, they get their makeup done by Patrick Ta. A onetime high-school dropout, he’s learning to be a businessman as he builds his eponymous beauty brand. At home, you can find him primping his garden.
What would you do if you weren’t a makeup artist?
I would probably be in landscape design. When I built my house in L.A., it wasn’t complete until the garden was done. I brought in a bunch of olive trees. I was very particular about the shades of green. But actually, last Friday, I was gardening and I cut my finger off.
Seriously?
I had to stitch it back on. The doctors said I could amputate it. I said, “No, I’m a makeup artist; I need my fingers.” I’m a little scared to use my hedge trimmers now. I’m so particular about how my hedges are cut. I sound crazy. I just don’t want them to be too perfect.
Who’s one of your favorite celebrity faces to work on?
Rihanna. When she walks into a room, she sucks the air out of it. I remember my first experience with her: I finished doing her makeup, she looks in the mirror, and then she looks to me and says, “You are a motherfucking whore.” It was so special. She’s so sweet.
The Chef Who Would Rather Hit the Drive-Thru
Meredith Hayden, known to her followers as @wishbonekitchen, first found an audience by showing off her life as a private chef in the Hamptons. Now, she’s settling into her own home out East and preparing to publish her first cookbook. Don’t think of her as a foodie snob, though; she says she “eats like a teenage boy.”
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Fast food. I love McDonald’s. I really do. And Taco Bell. Recently, I’ve really been vibing with Wendy’s. I like to get spicy nuggets, fries, and a Frosty. I’ve been deleting the delivery apps from my phone. I’m like, Girl, you’re a chef. You need to stop.
What does a Meredith Hayden dinner party look like?
My favorite is ordering takeout and zhuzhing it up. Like ordering pizza and putting different toppings on it. Or ordering sushi and making homemade ponzu. My pet peeve with dinner parties is that I just want to sit on the couch with my friends. The last thing I want to do is be cooking because that’s what I do for work.
What annoys you at other people’s dinner parties?
Sometimes I want to tell people you don’t have to do something super fancy that puts you out of your comfort zone. I’ve been to certain dinner parties where the host is so stressed that they’re close to tears. You feel awkward. Should I leave?
The Gen-Z Heartthrob Who’s a Hopeless Romantic
About five years ago, Noah Beck left his college soccer career behind to become a pandemic-times TikTok celebrity. (It helped, of course, that he was dating Dixie D’Amelio then.) Now he’s pivoting to acting and dreaming of becoming a rom-com sweetheart. In real life, he’s single and looking to change that.
What were you like in high school? What table were you at in the cafeteria?
I was kind of popular because I tried to play every sport I could. I was in all the extracurriculars too: student council, chess club, the robotics team. I hope I didn’t peak, of course.
You’re single right now?
Yeah. Dating for me is hard. We’re in such weird times. I don’t know what life was like before phones and technology. Being single and trying to find my person, it’s been tricky. My friends tell me to be careful. Someone can love you for the fame, for your money. That sucks.
What movie would you show a date?
I love rom-coms. I love the classics: The Kissing Booth. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. She’s the Man. The Proposal. Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock’s chemistry is amazing.
The Opera Singer Who’s a Secret Metalhead
Angel Blue made her name as a world-class opera singer, winning her first Grammy in 2021 for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Porgy and Bess. This year, she returned to the stage in New York as the titular Ethiopian princess in Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida. But you might be surprised to learn this soprano’s favorite genre is nü metal.
What was your first concert?
Pearl Jam. At 19. I love rock music. I love Jonathan Davis from Korn. I love his voice so much.
Really?
Yes! I love System of a Down, Axl Rose. When I was 11 or 12, I got into Soundgarden. I don’t always agree with the lyrics. My dad was a pastor. He’d say, “Some of these songs are too mature for you.” Did you know Freddie Mercury actually sang with an opera singer, Montserrat Caballé?
What’s the world of opera like?
Classical musicians take themselves too seriously. We take ourselves really seriously. Partly, we have to because the tradition is so long. We’re all divas, but you’re either a benevolent diva or a malevolent diva.
The Choreographer Who Refuses to Do a Silly TikTok Dance
Long before he was choreographing music videos for everyone from Lil Nas X and Cardi B to FKA Twigs and, most recently, Victoria Monét and Tate McRae, Sean Bankhead was, in his own words, a “broke, struggling dancer.” Now, at 90 video credits and counting, he’s becoming a star in his own right.
What’s it like being on the set of a music video?
I’m a therapist to the artist. I’m always screaming from the sidelines: “Kill it! You look like a bad bitch!”
If you were any pop star, who would you be?
I’m Janet mixed with Britney mixed with Missy. Their choreography was always stellar. Dance was in the forefront of their artistry. I think we’re getting back to that. That’s my goal. When I hire dancers for Lil Nas X, I make sure to have all Black and brown queer boys. I want him to have a family around him.
How hot do you have to be to make the cut?
You have to look, you know — you gotta be a 9.5, 9.5 and up.
What do you think about TikTok dances?
It’s a double-edged sword. TikTok has watered down real choreography. Those hand flaps? They’re cheesy. But you gotta know what the kids are doing. You gotta know what’s relevant.
The Rave Girl Who Should Be on Bake Off
It’s hard to believe it’s been 14 years since Rebecca Black dropped her teenybop single “Friday.” Now, at 27, she’s following in the footsteps of Charli XCX — putting out dance music and spinning DJ sets (where she’s been known to play her hit song). She has a new album, too, called Salvation, but when she’s not on tour or out at the club, you can find her playing tradwife at home.
It seems like you’re a real party girl these days.
I’m really on a bender. I think being a kid in the industry, I was obsessed with being liked and perfect. This was the first year of my life I let myself act my age. I let myself break all the rules that I set up for myself — of being a good girl. I’ve been out. I’ve been up late. I’ve been pushing myself to my limits. It’s all about the people. I could be in an Olive Garden getting absolutely turnt up on nothing but Diet Coke.
What’s your drink of choice?
A tequila soda with lime, then a White Russian, then an espresso martini, in that order. That certainly leads to an unhinged but chaotically good night.
What are you doing the morning after?
I’ve picked up a love for baking over the past few years. It’s definitely some sort of meditative coping mechanism. I love passing around my treats I make to people I love. I really cherish getting to make my friends’ birthday cakes from scratch. It feels really good to give something to someone you’ve made with your hands. I make an insane brownie.
The Comedian Who’s Still a Mallrat
Zack Fox is a millennial Renaissance man: He’s been a comedian, a rapper, a DJ, and, most recently, a sitcom crush on Abbott Elementary. In his spare time, he still likes doing what he did as a teenager: hitting the mall and playing video games.
What’s your happy place?
The mall. I was in London recently, and my homegirl Debbie was mad at me because I wanted to go to the mall. She said, “Why do you want to do that? This is London — there’s so many clubs, restaurants.” I was like, “It’s a mall, dude? What do you mean?” In Savannah, Georgia, where I grew up, the coolest thing in town was the mall. At one point, I was the LeBron James of shoplifting, but my jersey is in the rafters.
You’re wearing an Xbox shirt right now. Are you a gamer?
I do game. I don’t shy away from nostalgia. I like retro stuff. I’ll play Def Jam Vendetta, Kingdom Hearts, all of the NFL and NBA Street games.
How’s life post-Abbott? Read anything funny about yourself online recently?
There was a photo of me and my wife dancing at our wedding. I was twerking on her. Just cause, you know, it was my wedding. I’m gonna throw ass. Someone was like, “Oh he — for sure, he gets pegged.” I don’t argue with what anybody says on the internet.
The Uptown Housewife Who Wants to Be a Downtown DJ
After six seasons “making it nice” on The Real Housewives of New York City — plus one particularly drunken Ultimate Girls Trip at her Bravo-famous home in the Berkshires, Blue Stone Manor — Dorinda Medley returned to television and was sadly “murdered” first on this season of The Traitors. After her recent 60th birthday, she’s thinking about turning her hobby into a full-time gig.
I hear you fancy yourself a pretty good DJ.
I’m known in my whole friend group as the person with the best music. Honest to God! I sit for hours and curate playlists. Nothing is worse than when you’re having a great time and a bad song comes on. You sober up immediately. Imagine me in a great gay club doing a little set! Shazam is the key to my DJ-ing. Everywhere I go, I’m Shazaming.
What kind of music do you play?
I’m still a yacht-zee. I love yacht rock. Everyone loves yacht rock, even if no one wants to admit it. If you hear Michael McDonald come on? Or Lionel Richie? You can’t help yourself!
Do you have a favorite sexy-time song?
God, it’s been so long. I gotta get on that.
This DJ Who’s Really a Homebody
Flushing-born musician Yaeji got her start spinning across Brooklyn. But as she prepares to record her next album, she’s spending more time at home than at the club. Her favorite hobby, she says, is cleaning her apartment.
What is the DJ’s job on the dance floor?
Shiiiiiiiit. For me, it’s deeply tied to my personality. I’ve always been a people pleaser. My body is used to reading the room. And not every room is going to be down for the music I actually want to play. That’s when it gets tricky. I love it when people go hard. I love when people show up in looks. I love when I see someone’s mind being blown.
What’s your ideal night out?
Dang. TBH, I don’t go out as much anymore.
What do you do on the weekends then?
Every weekend, I clean the house. I’m constantly cleaning. I care that everything looks tidy, angled correctly.
The Nepo Baby Who Isn’t Afraid to Own It
Francesca Scorsese first blew up on TikTok for posting videos of herself teaching her 82-year-old father, Martin Scorcese, Gen-Z terminology like “sneaky link.” Unlike her peers, the young filmmaker and actress is not shy about discussing her famous dad: They’re writing a book for A24 together, and she’s working on a documentary about her family.
Who’s your biggest inspiration, besides your father, of course?
My dad has been showing me films for as long as I can remember. Hitchcock was one of the first ones where I was like, Whoa, this is what movies can be. I’m drawn to thriller-horror films, and my dad is, too, so we nerd out together.
What’s it like to watch a movie with Marty?
My dad has an office with a projectionist and a projector and a nice little screening room. Since we were in preschool, me and my best friend would go watch a film with him every weekend. He’d curate this film education for us. We’d order Angelo’s Pizza.
You went to Tisch, right? What sort of films did you make in college?
I made one called How Many Candles. It was so dark. I guess it came from my love for Hitchcock. It was about a little girl waiting for her mom to come home on her birthday. Then her mom gets hit by a car and never comes home.
The Breakout Actress Who’ll Cast a Spell On You
Myha’la may play a ruthless hedge-fund manager on HBO’s investment-banking drama Industry, but offscreen, she’s another self-described “anti-capitalist” living in Brooklyn.
Do you have any secret talents?
I’m a witch. I’ve recently started messing around with tarot carts and crystals and oracle decks. I’m not trained or anything. Every morning, I refresh the water and the coffee on my altar as offerings. I light a candle or two. Say a morning prayer or a mantra. Then I pull some cards.
What did they tell you today?
I pulled from my “sacred goddesses” deck. The card was about past lives and ancestry. It was telling me that your past lives, everyone who came before you, are always with you on your journey.
Do you believe in past lives?
Yeah, totally.
What do you think yours were like?
Sick.
These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
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