In 2018, Miss Benny considered quitting showbiz. She had just turned 19 at the time and had been trying to land mainstream roles for nearly a decade. Rejections often come with an explanation: "Now is not the time" to air teen LGBTQ+ content. The actor doesn't want to hide her sexuality or gender expression. "I never got through, so I went through a lot of difficulty auditioning," Miss Benny tells Bustle.
But then she appeared in two episodes of Season 4 as the first openly gay character on Full House , Kimmy's 17-year-old event planning intern Cassie. "It felt like a confirmation that, 'Okay, if this show that every average household in America is watching prepares me for a role like this, that must be a sign that something is about to happen for me."
While filming "Full House" in 2018, she met the creators of the new Netflix series "Charmed ," a comedy in the vein of " Ugly Betty" and "The Devil Wears Prada." Benny stars Marco Mejia, a gender-nonconforming makeup enthusiast who is recruited by beauty mogul Madolyn Addison (Kim Cattrall) to work for her brand.
It's something Miss Benny could never have dreamed of, having grown up in a "very conservative environment" near Dallas, Texas, where she "didn't even know what the word 'gay' meant."
As a child, while exploring her identity, she secretly experimented with self-expression. Miss Benny, now 24, said: “I would use my mum and sister’s make-up and wait until everyone was asleep. Then the next morning I would go to church with my mascara on, thinking no one could clock me in, but Those were the most important moments of my childhood when I felt like I had to be completely myself."
After years of secretly searching for role models like Tyler Oakley, Michael Buckley and America's Next Top Model contestant Isis King, the actor made his debut on YouTube in 2010 achieved success. In her early videos, Miss Benny, who won hundreds of thousands of followers on the platform, used an ironic pop culture icon as inspiration for her campy persona: Samantha Jones from Sex and the City . Played by Cattrall).
"When I found out it was going to be Kim, I cried," Miss Benny said of the glamorous casting. “A lot of the scenes I did with Kim, Marco was starstruck and in awe of Madoline, which was easy to do because I felt that way about Kim too.”
Learn more about Miss Benny in the Bustle Booth questionnaire below.
in a noisy stall
What was your coffee order?
If I have anxiety, an iced oat milk latte. If my anxiety is really bad, I’ll have an iced matcha latte. It's never hot because I'm LGBT.
What weather locations are saved on your phone?
Los Angeles, Dallas, and Gravenhurst [Ontario], starting with the Charmed cast going on a sexy cabin vacation together during our downtime.
What is your logo?
I want the zodiac sign to mean something to me because I'm a Pisces and when I tell people that, it obviously means something to them.
Favorite overused movie line?
Every line of Cher's dialogue comes from the scene in Burlesque where she does Christina Aguilera's makeup.
What was your favorite cartoon as a child?
"Avatar: The Last Airbender ."
What’s a movie or TV show that you’re currently obsessed with?
I watched the first few seasons of Keeping Up with the Kardashians for the first time. As the time gets closer, I have less and less interest, so I guess I'm just regressing in age.
Who is your celebrity idol?
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. You can imagine the impact "Rain on Me" had on me.
If you had to be on a reality show, what would you choose?
RuPaul's Drag Race !!
Karaoke songs you often listen to?
"Love on Top" by Beyoncé so I could scream.
What has inspired you recently?
Homemade smoothies.
How would you like people to describe you?
Beautiful teeth.
Editor's note: Just before this article was published, Miss Benny publicly identified as a transgender woman and uses she/her pronouns. This article has been updated to reflect her new pronouns.
