TRENDING

She's not just the girl who beat out 3,000 other actors to land a starring role as Noodle in Wonka (and low-key become besties with Timotheé Chalamet, nbd): Calah Lane, 14, is authentic, positive, inspiring and all around a whole mood. Consider this your start-to-finish A-Z guide.

Album In The Works 🎶

"I'm coming out with new music and I'm super excited. I'm going for something that's encouraging, inspirational and faith-based."

Baggy Fashion Love 👖

"I am definitely not one of those, like, cottagecore girls. I love big, baggy '90s style. But I don't want to look like a trash bag—like, not that baggy."

Crying (Generally and On Cue) 😢

"I have a crying scene toward the end of [Wonka], and it was really hard. I mean, it's just hard to cry in general, let alone on cue,"

Dream DM 📱

"I just love Mariah Carey so much. All of her music—especially her Christmas album—is so amazing. I would love to DM with her."

"Everyone Else" Syndrome 💗

"Something I've really struggled with is the need to 'fit in' and dress like everyone else. I used to want to wear crop tops and short skirts, but one day, my mom asked me why. And I was like, 'Because everyone else is doing it!' And she said, 'That is the reason you shouldn't want to do that. You shouldn't want to be like everyone else. You are Calah Lane. You have to be you."

Flying Stunts 😱

"Filming the flying scenes [in Wonka] actually became really fun. I was like, 'Well, even if I do fall, guys are literally standing on the side to help pull me up.' So I wasn't really scared."

Greatest Fear 🤢

"I haven't thrown up since I was 5, so now I'm like, scared of it. Like, how does it feel? Because I've forgotten, the idea of it is frightening for me."

Hair Dares 💇‍♀️

"There are so many people who are not confident enough to do something really wild with their hair. And that's what I really want to do. I want to try something different, like a huge mohawk."

Influences On Her Music 🎤

"I'm a big '90s girl: Brandy, Lauryn Hill, TLC, all of them. And I'm a huge Michael Jackson fan. But I've also been getting into some of *this* era of music, too. Right now, I'm listening to D4vd. 'Here With Me' is really good."

Just Go For It—Whatever "It" Is 💪

"I have a song on my album called 'The Other Side' that has a lyric like, 'Don't let your moment slip away.' And that's what I've done a lot. I've let my moment slip away. So I just want to encourage people to go after what they want. Don't overthink it."

King Of The World Crushin' 👑

"My first celebrity crush was definitely young Leonardo DiCaprio. Titanic is one of my favorite movies ever—and he's just beautiful."

Love Lists ⭐

"I'd love to work with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson—but I also want to work with actors who are closer to my age like Millie Bobby Brown, Marsai Martin and China Anne McClain."

Making Moves Behind the Scenes 🎞️

"I'm writing a script for a sci-fi kind of film about this girl who has the power to freeze time. It's really cool."

Noodle vs. Calah 💜

"We're both witty. We're both really observant. And we're both very loyal. I feel like Noodle is me—I really love that."

Original Wonka Love 🍫

"I used to think the Johnny Depp Willy Wonka movie was the original. When I got the Wonka audition, I watched the *actual* original, and I really liked it!"

Pronouncing Calah ✨

"People almost always say my name wrong! They either say it like Cal-Uh or Call-Uh." (For the record, it's pronounced like "Cay-Luh.")

Quitting TikTok 📷

"I used to make tons of TikToks. It was a lot. Like, I didn't want to be too obvious about it, but I was still trying to be cute. It was terrible. So I deleted TikTok and social media completely. I just couldn't do it anymore."

Roald Dahl Reading List 📚

"The Wonka director [Paul King] sent me a big box of Roald Dahl books with a card. I got into them and read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Witches."

Song for the Stressed 😰

"'Stress' is another song on my album that I'm excited about. It's straight to the point: Why are you so stressed about what other people think? The message is to just feel good about yourself, without caring about other people's thoughts."

Timotheé-sgiving 🥧

"One of my favorite memories from filming Wonka was when Timotheé and Natasha Rothwell [Piper Benz] joined me and my family for Thanksgiving. We were filming in England at the time, so we were just, like, a bunch of Americans eating good food."

Unrequited Love Advice 💔

"If you have a crush and they act some way and you don't feel good about it, don't soak in it. Go get somebody else. You don't need that person."

Veruca Salt in Another Life 💋

"If I could play a character from the original Willy Wonka movie, it would be Veruca Salt. All the characters that I've played are, like, nice. It would be cool to play, you know, the little bratty girl."

Wonka 2 ⁉️

"Is there a chance we could see more of Noodle and Willy's story? I don't know. I hope so!"

Xmas Texts 🎄

"On set, Timotheé and I had this joke about Home Alone. Timmy was convinced that when [Kevin] realizes he's on his own, he says, 'I'm home alone!' But I knew he says, 'I made my family disappear!' So I took a video of the whole scene that showed I'm right and texted it to him—and he still wouldn't admit he was wrong. Last Christmas, Timmy texted me, 'Just so you know, the Home Alone thing? I won.' So every December when I watch Home Alone, I'm gonna send him another video and say, 'I will always be right.'"

Younger Sibling Bonding 🥰

"I have a little brother [Mark, 7] and little sister [Rose, 10]. They also act, sing and dance. Actually, our whole family loves music and singing—we have karaoke nights!"

Zoom Calling Timotheé (For the First Time Ever) 💻

"I met Timotheé for the first time on Zoom when I was doing the screen test for Wonka. I was really nervous, but he was really nice about it. And he's really fun to work with, too. He is definitely a perfect Willy Wonka."

Hey, girl! Just wanted to let you know that this story originally ran in our February/March 2024 issue. Want more? Read the print mag for free *today* when you click HERE.

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Photographed by Emily Malan. Styled by Amanda Lim. Hair by Tiffany Daugherty. Makeup by ShaDara Holmes. Dress, Betsey Johnson. Earrings, Karo Koru. Necklace, Ayana Designs. Pink rings, Uncommon Matters. Heart and pearl rings, Kate Spade.

by Kayleigh Roberts | 1/17/2024