isn't it? [taylor swift]

chapter 40

Leia & Georgie Hudson on Fame, Friendship, and Staying Grounded

By Noah Acorn for Rolling Stone

February 3, 2019

Leia Hudson is the pop phenomenon who skyrocketed to fame with her debut album, Hudson, a chart-topping, arena-filling whirlwind that left the world begging for more. But now, after a sold-out international tour and a few years of non-stop media and press attention, Leia is taking a well-earned creative breather. 

By her side—always—is her sister, Georgie Hudson (who I'm told occasionally will go by George, but only to those that she knows best). Unlike Leia, Georgie isn't a pop star, but she is famous-adjacent  nonetheless, thanks to her close proximity to the action. A college student in New York, Georgie has managed to carve out her own life in the chaos of her sister's meteoric rise and step into the instagram influencer limelight.

Rolling Stone sat down with the Hudson sisters in a small cafe near the West Village–the Bus Stop, Georgie reminded me as I made notes–where they opened up about balancing fame, friendships with some of the biggest names in the industry, and how they keep each other sane.

Rolling Stone: Leia, Hudson was an incredible breakthrough era. Your debut album blew up in a way few do. You were everywhere. Now you're on a break. How does it feel to hit pause?

Leia Hudson: Honestly? Kinda weird. But like... necessary. I spent two years in constant motion: writing, recording, performing, traveling. I had this moment on the rep tour, where I realised I hadn't had a single day to myself in months. So, I promised myself that after the tour, I'd just... stop. Recharge. And that's what I'm doing now.

Rolling Stone: Georgie, you were there for the whole ride. You weren't on stage, but you were there with Tate. What was that like for you? (Tate is Leia's goofy black German Shepard, who currently sits underneath our feet at the small table, his ears swivelling every time he sees a bike cycle by.)

Georgie Hudson: Wild. And exhausting. I'm the younger sister, but I feel like I aged ten years. (Laughs.) I joke that I'm Leia's unpaid assistant, but honestly, it's been incredible to see everything up close. Also, I was constantly in charge of keeping her and Tate fed and hydrated. She's really bad at that.

Leia: I am. It's a flaw.

Rolling Stone: You two live together in New York. That's rare—most celebrities, especially pop stars at your level, have entourages, managers, assistants, security teams...

Leia: Oh, I have security and an entire team. But I don't want to live in a bubble. Georgie keeps me human.

Georgie: I remind her that she is, in fact, a person and not just a brand. Like, she'll be talking about marketing strategies with Riv [Riven Harris, Leia's publicist, has recently been featured in Forbes as one of PR's rising names to watch], and I'll be like, "Okay, Miss CEO, but have you done your laundry this week?"

Leia: The answer is always no.

Rolling Stone: You've both become close with some big names—Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne. What's it like navigating those friendships while also keeping things normal?

Leia: It's funny because people think it's this big, glamorous thing, and sometimes it is. Like, one night you're baking cookies at Taylor's house, and the next, you're in Upper Manhattan at a party with people you grew up watching on TV. But at the end of the day, our friendships are... just that. Friendships. Taylor is one of my closest friends because she gets it—she knows what this life is like and how intense it can be. She's given me some of the best advice ever.