The next era of the Quenaissance has just begun. You may know Quenlin Blackwell from playing herself on I Love LA or from her hit YouTube cooking show, Feeding Starving Celebrities, featuring fellow It girls such as Charli xcx, PinkPantheress, and Addison Rae. Next up, she’ll be ruling the red carpet as one of Vanity Fair’s Oscar Party livestream hosts.
Hollywood’s biggest night of the year doesn’t end when the Oscars ceremony comes to a close; in fact, the night doesn’t really start until the winners find their way to the annual Vanity Fair Oscar Party. While the Vanity Fair Oscar Party has a brand-new location and three new livestream hosts, one thing that hasn’t changed is that Vanity Fair knows how to throw a party.
“I’m looking forward to speaking to people that I would’ve not gotten the chance to really speak to in any other sort of situation, unless it was my cooking show,” Blackwell says with a laugh. And hosting the star-studded Vanity Fair Oscar Party could be the perfect opportunity for Blackwell to meet future guests for Feeding Starving Celebrities. “I have so many dream guests, but right now, I want Olympian Alysa [Liu] to come on the show. I don’t know if she’ll be at Vanity Fair, but we’ll see.”
As for who she’s rooting for this Oscar season, only one film has her vote. When it comes to the best-picture race, she tells me, “I loved Bugonia so much, I love surrealist things.” Which is not that surprising when one takes into account how surreal the rise of Blackwell’s star has been over the course of the past year. Last year, Blackwell attended the Oscars for the first time, and this year, she’s hosting the livestream at the biggest Oscar party of the season. Her voice takes on a more serious tone as she explains what this moment means to her. “It feels really nice. I feel seen and I feel like I am creating a path for other girls like me to do the same thing. I’m really just blessed to be in this space and have this opportunity that I have.”
And for what she’ll wear on the Vanity Fair Oscar Party red carpet, Blackwell has been known to gravitate toward archival pieces from the ’90s. At the moment, she’s not yet sure what she’ll be wearing to the bash, but she’s definitely feeling inspired. “I like Dita Von Teese. I just love showgirls so much, the culture, history, and heart of it.” When it comes to her general style, on the other hand, she says she has no style inspiration. “I just like to dress like me.”
Business aside, Blackwell is determined to have fun on Oscar night, and she laughs as she shares that she’s most looking forward to “just running into the homies.”