From the Magazine
March 2020 Issue

Charlotte Lawrence Is Pop Music’s Newest California Cool Girl

With her edgy sound and Hollywood roots, the musician is a bold new voice with some famous friends and unexpected style icons.
Charlotte Lawrence
Clothing by Givenchy; rings by Repossi.Photograph by Luke Gilford.

Raised on sitcoms and surfing, Charlotte Lawrence grew up listening to the sounds of Hollywood. Now the 19-year-old singer writes her own music, eschewing teen pop confection for emotionally raw songs. After her 2018 hit EP, Young, she plans to debut her first full-length album this year and contributes to the soundtracks for Birds of Prey, the latest film in the DC Comics universe, and the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. Here, some insights gleaned from a day on the ski slopes with a bold new voice.

SHE WAS RAISED between the L.A. enclaves of Brentwood and Malibu by TV titan parents: Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence and actor Christa Miller.

HER MOM hosted Sunday jam sessions for the family’s Grammy-winning friends. “At 13, I played for my music idols and worked hard until I was confident that this wasn’t just a hobby.”

Photograph by Luke Gilford.

SHE INSISTS she was “a very shy child. I’m still not good with speaking about real, emotional, darker stuff. I like to box that up for my music.”

SHE REVEALS she’s “in love” but is no longer dating fellow musician Charlie Puth, who produced some of her songs. “I never regret any of my ex-boyfriends. He opened my eyes to a whole different side of music.”

SHE WILL TOUR with Lauv this summer and is particularly excited to perform at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Colorado. “It’s my dream venue for the acoustics.”

SHE COLLECTS vintage band T-shirts and keeps them in “little mini closets everywhere,” from duffel bags in her car to storage units.

HER STYLE ICONS are Jonah Hill and Shia LaBeouf.

A FORMER MODEL, she remains friends with Kendall Jenner and Kaia Gerber, whom she calls “my sister until I die.”

SHE SEARCHES for meaning in modern chaos with “God Must Be Doing Cocaine,” her provocative single. “I find a higher power in a lot of things: a sunset, how a song flows out of me. But we’re not doing the best with our world, and if he’s not helping us, he must just be doing drugs,” she says. “It’s blasphemous, but I didn’t want to speak for anybody but myself.”