Before she had any real prospects of becoming an actress, Sydney Sweeney lived an average life growing up in Idaho. She was incredibly close with her family, given that her lifestyle was far more rural than she’d later find in Hollywood. However, Sweeney’s interests were always extra-curricular, as she was heavily involved with sports while growing up. As she told The Herald Courier, “I was in every single sport possible. I was on the soccer team, the baseball team, the snow slalom ski team, I was wakeboarding …”
Unfortunately, it was the latter of these athletic interests that nearly derailed Sweeney’s life. At 11 years old, Sweeney was involved in a traumatic wakeboarding accident that left her face scarred, requiring 19 stitches. Nevertheless, her mom was adamant that Sweeney not give up on wakeboarding despite her fears, pushing her to return to the water shortly after recovering. Sweeney would later adopt this hard work ethic when she began pursuing acting as her profession.
In her adult life, Sweeney continues to push herself athletically, sharing her adventures skiing, hiking, and rock climbing on social media. Sweeney also hasn’t let her gender prevent her from a challenge, telling Women’s Health that after moving to Los Angeles, “I really wanted to find something that was as physically challenging as everything [back home],” which led her to explore MMA training after taking cues from her male friends.
