Looking at old photos of yourself can be a sobering experience. Often it’s cringey. Occasionally it’s shocking. Sometimes it’s wild how differently you remember an outfit or a haircut from what it actually looked like.
Or sometimes, you find an old photo that fully encapsulates who you are, hilarious haircut and all.
That’s what Canadian actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan did, and she shared it with the world to celebrate her first major acting nomination. The 19-year-old is up for an Independent Spirit Award for her role in Mindy Kaling’s semi-autobiographical teen dramedy “Never Have I Ever.”
In a stream-of-consciousness caption, Ramakrishnan explained that she was going to post a selfie, because “we’re in the middle of a pandemic and social media is everything,” but she also just woke up and doesn’t “look THAT hot (still hot tho dw).” But she found a solution: she remembered she had “this photo. The BEST photo.”
And that’s how we ended up seeing little Maitreyi, in a plaid shirt and with a bowl cut, giving a thumbs-up to the camera and looking like she doesn’t have a care in the world.
In November, along with Kaling, Ramakrishnan accepted the People’s Choice Award for Best Comedy Show. This is her first major acting nomination. She’ll be up against Elle Fanning, Shira Haas, Abby McEnany, and Jordan Kristine Seamón,
Ramakrishnan had never acted professionally before getting cast on “Never Have I Ever.” But “you would not know it to watch her completely confident and natural lead performance,” Rolling Stone wrote. Variety called it a “breakout performance,” and the New York Times named her one of 2020′s best actors. Not bad for a girl from Mississauga, Ont.