"Never Have I Ever" Star Ramona Young on Playing Eleanor and Breaking Down Taboos
Minor spoilers for Never Have I Ever below.
Ramona Young, who stars as Eleanor in the new Netflix coming-of-age comedy Never Have I Ever, didn’t have the typical high school experience. She’s been to over 40 different schools because she moved around a lot of a kid, which might sound turbulent to many, but was solidifying for Ramona.
“Going from school to school a lot gave me a sense of who I was. Maybe more so than the average kid in high school,” she tells Teen Vogue. “I really learned about who I wanted to be and who I could be and that could really be anything. And I feel like Eleanor does the same thing. She's very much her own person and overall she's incredibly confident for a high school student.”
Ramona’s Eleanor is one part of the trio of friends at Sherman Oaks High School known as the UN on Never Have I Ever, which consists of protagonist Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez). Bringing Eleanor to life was a welcomed challenge for Ramona, who considers herself a bit more introverted than the dramatic theater kid. Getting to play a character that’s very much outside of the box, Ramona pushed herself out of her comfort zone. She found inspiration for the character from old Hollywood movies and stars, which clearly influenced Eleanor’s style and personality.
Of course, Ramona isn’t a stranger to the world of acting. You probably have seen her in one of her numerous roles, including appearances on The Real O’Neils, Santa Clarita Diet, Legends of Tomorrow, Blockers, and more.
The performer shares that the set of NHIE was incredibly collaborative, with executive producer Mindy Kaling and showrunner Lang Fisher allowing the actors to play around and improvise. That improvisation helped Ramona flesh out her character, fully going for it when it came to amping up the goofiness and physical comedy.
One of the most notable things about Never Have I Ever is how it breaks down stigma about young women and sexuality, starting from the get go at the end of the first episode of when Devi approaches Paxton (Darren Barnet) about wanting to have sex. In one scene, Devi, Eleanor, and Fabiola open up Wikipedia and start doing their own research, including how to do Kegels. It’s a scene that Ramona says was one of the most fun to film, which solidified the three performers’ friendship. It also further demonstrated that this comedic series was unafraid to bring laughs to realistic experiences.
“It's important to show that portrayal because it's accurate. I think sex is something that teenage girls are naturally curious about and it shouldn't always be so taboo,” Ramona says. “It can totally be vulnerable when you're filming an intimate scene about sex, right? But I think one thing that really helps is that we have such a great relationship with each other.”
Additionally, the show doesn’t shy away from showing the complicated relationship that each of the high school girls has with their family. Devi is still dealing with the grief of losing her father while finding common ground with her mother and Fabiola struggles with telling her family about her budding queer sexuality. Meanwhile, Eleanor’s arc focuses on her relationship with an absent mother, a fellow actor who often splits from her home life and duties as a mom to pursue her dreams.
“Eleanor in the beginning looks up to her mom so much, and she has this idea of her mom that she's perfect and can do no wrong,” Ramona says. “The reality is parents are still people and parents are still flawed. Eleanor matures in a way where she realizes that her mom isn't this idea of perfection. She's just like anyone else. It makes Eleanor have to depend on herself and her friends more.”
Never Have I Ever also subverts many of the reductive stereotypes we’ve seen of Asian American teens in popular culture, such as being nerdy and being good at school. With her interest in the performing arts and imperfect family home, Eleanor puts a spotlight on experiences that many Asian people can see themselves represented in, even if they’ve hardly seen that in other shows and movies.
“It's quite unfortunate that an Asian American with a complicated family life and artistic background isn't represented a lot because I related to that very personally and I think a lot of other Asian Americans do too,” she says. “I played my truth when I played Eleanor and her background for sure.”
Throughout the first season of Never Have I Ever, Devi, Eleanor, and Fabiola’s friendship hits some rough patches, which Ramona is glad to see portrayed. Like many friends, fights can happen, but that doesn’t mean the friendship has to end. Everyone, and especially in high school, is just trying to figure everything out the best that they can. Sometimes that means getting into disagreements with your closest buds.
“I hope that if anyone watching is either feeling down or facing issues that these characters are going through, that they could find some sort of resolution or peace watching it,” Ramona says. “Also the representation in all of the different aspects of the show. It's totally empowering. I want more of it. I'm obsessed with it. I can't wait to see what we do next.”
Related: Meet the Cast of Netflix's Never Have I Ever, Your Next Fave Teen Comedy
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
