In Case You’re Just Catching Up, Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Olivia Rodrigo in Time for the Grammys

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below."

You have to be hiding—nay—LIVING under a damn boulder if you don’t know who Olivia Rodrigo is. Quick recap for those of you who struggle to stay on top of celeb news: Olivia is a teenage Disney superstar and the current leading lady of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Oh, and she’s an out-of-this-world singer/songwriter. Her first single “drivers license” stirred up some drama due to it ~allegedly~ being about her HSM:TM:TS costar Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter. You know you love a messy Gen Z love triangle.

The song is piercing, hitting as deep as a T-Swift or Celine Dion ballad. The star is a musical genius! And the tea surrounding the bop is just as good. If you’re new to this whole internet thang, you probably want more intel on Olivia. Allow me to come to your rescue. Read on to learn everything you need to know about ~Grammy nominated~ teen pop queen Olivia Rodrigo.

She’s 19 years old

Just how old is Olivia Rodrigo? The Disney star was born on February 20, 2003, making her a proud 19-year-old Pisces queen!

In just the span of just a few years, Olivia went from TV actress to certifiable superstar and even political icon when she visited the White House last year to urge younger generations of people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 (her range!!) She also just released her new concert film on March 25. Titled Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U, the movie features never-before-seen moments of the pop star on the road and conceptualizing some of her biggest songs to date.

Olivia is Filipino American

Her mother is of German and Irish descent and her father is Filipino American. Olivia's clearly a family girl since last week at the premiere of her Disney Plus film, she told E! News' Daily Pop that her plus one to the 2022 Grammys next week will be none other than her mom.

“My mom's gonna be my date for the Grammys. She's very excited. It's so surreal to think that I'm going to the Grammys in, like, two weeks. I've been dreaming about it my whole life,” Olivia revealed. BRB crying because we ❤️ a mother-daughter moment.

California is her home state

She hails from Temecula, a city in southern California.

Her big break was her leading role in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney+

She played Nini Salazar-Roberts, one of the main characters on the show. Nini auditions to play Gabriella in East High’s production of High School Musical.

Join Disney+

She’s a really talented songwriter

Olivia wrote her character’s standout song “All I Want” and cowrote “Just for a Moment,” a song she sings with Joshua Bassett, her costar on the show. Also, not to mention the certifiable hits like “Driver's License,” “Good 4 U,” and “Deja Vu.”

You probably recognize her from a very popular Disney Channel show

Paige from Bizaardvark? Yep, that’s her!

She signed with a pretty major record label

It’s Geffen Records, which is owned by Universal. Even bigger things are comin’ for her!!

She’s a Taylor Swift fan

We can only imagine how Olivia felt when Taylor commented on her Instagram picture saying, “I say that’s my baby and I’m really proud 💗👏.” I’M WEEPING.

People are convinced her number one hit single “Drivers License” is about Joshua Bassett

There’s a lot of dramz involved, but the gist is: Fans speculate that Olivia and Joshua were actually in a low-profile relationship and then he cheated on her with Sabrina Carpenter. At least, that’s what people speculate based on the “Drivers License” lyrics. Keep in mind that Sabrina used to be on the show Girl Meets World—which also aired on the Disney Channel. Yep. This is all one big, rumored, complicated Disney love affair.

She really did get her driver’s license when she penned the song

When I got my license, I drove myself to McDonald’s for some nugs to celebrate, whereas Olivia casually wrote a hit single. An icon!!!

She wrote a song almost every day in quarantine

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight alongside Joshua, she shared that they challenged each other to write a song every single day in quar. Joshua didn’t keep up with his end of the deal, but Olivia sure did. All I gotta say is: I must hear those songs…now.

Ethan Wacker, her costar in Bizaardvark, is her ex-boyfriend

The vibes were cute.

She texts Niall Horan

In an interview with Billboard, she opened up about how he gives her advice about working in the music industry. She also told Billboard that she was a huge fan of 1D and that she’d come up with cheesy fantasies about herself and the members of the boy band. She revealed: “I actually was the hugest One Direction fan when I was younger. This is sort of embarrassing, but I’m going to tell you anyway…I used to write One Direction fan fiction when I was in middle school.So the fact that [Niall’s] reached out to me is amazing. We’ve actually been texting. He’s been giving me advice about the craziness of the music industry. So it’s been really amazing.” Welp. We all start somewhere, y’all.

Lorde is one of her biggest inspirations

For Olivia's 19th bday, the singer-songwriter documented her celebration in an Instagram post and captioned it, “thank u for all the birthday luv! i am now 19!!!!!!!”

One of the pics included a cake that referenced a lyrical quote from Lorde’s song “Perfect Places” off her Melodrama album: “I’m 19 and I’m on fire.”

We love a stan.

Other acting roles of hers include An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success and New Girl

She has quite the résumé for being just 17 years old.

She’s an institute speaker and panelist for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Clearly, she can do it all.

You Might Also Like

• A Cleaning Expert Explains the Best Way to Clean Cloth Face Masks After You Wear Them — Good Housekeeping

• 35 Delicious Pantry Recipes That Use What's Already in Your Cabinets and Freezer — Good Housekeeping

• The Amish keep to themselves. And they’re hiding a horrifying secret. — Cosmopolitan