Growing Up in Public
Daniella Monet on Hollywood Arts, Trina Vega, motherhood, reinvention, and discovering that the greatest role of all may be becoming yourself.
Daniella Monet Interview: The actress, producer and former Victorious star opens up to INLOVE Magazine about returning as Trina Vega in Netflix’s Hollywood Arts, motherhood, reinvention, success and growing up in public.
Some actors become famous because audiences fall in love with a character.
Others spend their lives trying to step beyond one.
Daniella Monet has done something far more interesting.
She has allowed every chapter of her life to become part of the story.
Millions first met Monet as Trina Vega, the wonderfully chaotic and endlessly confident older sister on Nickelodeon’s Victorious. More than a decade later, the character remains part of popular culture as longtime fans rediscover the series and introduce it to a new generation.
Now Daniella Monet returns to the world of Victorious as both the star and an executive producer of Netflix’s Hollywood Arts. Reprising her role as Trina Vega, Monet returns to the fictional performing arts school where her character’s story began—this time as a substitute teacher encountering a new generation of ambitious students.
It is a full-circle moment that mirrors Monet’s own evolution from young actress to producer, entrepreneur, mother and creative force working both in front of and behind the camera.
Yet what makes Daniella fascinating today extends well beyond television.
She has built a life centered around family, wellness, conscious living and creative independence. Rather than remaining defined by the character audiences first knew, she has allowed her career—and herself—to evolve.
Perhaps that is why this moment feels so compelling.
The entertainment industry celebrates reinvention, but rarely acknowledges the courage required to evolve publicly. Returning to the character who introduced you to millions could easily become an exercise in nostalgia. Instead, Daniella is approaching the experience from an entirely different place in her life.
In this Daniella Monet Interview, she reflects on growing up in front of an audience, returning to Hollywood Arts, balancing ambition with motherhood, stepping into the role of executive producer, and discovering that meaningful success can look very different from what we once imagined.
Daniella Monet Interview: Returning to Hollywood Arts
INLOVE: Returning to Hollywood Arts means stepping back into a character the world already knows by heart. When you walked onto that set again, what surprised you most—not about Trina, but about yourself?
Daniella Monet: I was most surprised by the sense of pride I felt. I was really proud to be back, to be leading the charge, in a way, for a whole new cast and, hopefully, a whole new generation. Playing a character who continues to be watched in homes around the world is a privilege that fills me with pride. I’ve always felt a strong sense of responsibility, but since having kids of my own, that responsibility feels even more meaningful. Seeing how inspired my children have been after visiting Hollywood Arts has been such a full-circle moment for me.
Returning as Trina Vega After Victorious
INLOVE: For so many people, Victorious represents a piece of their childhood. How do you honor that nostalgia while giving Trina the freedom to grow into someone audiences have never met before?
Daniella Monet: “Trina is gonna Trina” has become my little mantra since revisiting her. She is who she is, just in a different stage of life, and I really appreciate her authenticity and unapologetic way of living. Every choice I make for her comes from that place. She kind of organically flows through me, so I hope people feel that natural evolution and love it.
Daniella Monet on Reinvention and Success
INLOVE: You’ve lived several remarkable lives in one career—actor, producer, entrepreneur, wellness advocate, wife, and mother. Looking back, which version of yourself do you feel finally reflects the woman you’ve always been?
Daniella Monet: I don’t know if any one version represents who I’ve always been because, without living through those different versions of myself, I wouldn’t be who I am today. But I feel lucky to say there isn’t a version of me that I didn’t like. Each one served a purpose and was simply doing her best with where she was in life. Today’s version of me is definitely my favorite. I feel so fulfilled and incredibly lucky. I’ve always believed in putting my dreams out into the universe—speaking them into existence—and it feels like so many of those dreams are finally coming together in this chapter of my life.
Growing Up in Public
INLOVE: Your audience has grown with you. They’ve watched you evolve from television star to someone building a life rooted in intention, wellness, and family. Has success changed its meaning for you over the years, or has your definition of it simply become more honest?
Daniella Monet: Good question. Success is such a personal marker, and sometimes it feels like the goalpost is constantly moving. But there’s something about that which keeps life interesting and purposeful. Simply put, success today looks like spending my time the way I truly want to spend it.
A lot of my career has been about laying the groundwork and proving myself in whatever lane I’m in. Now I feel like my work is beginning to speak for itself, and that makes me feel like I’m succeeding.
INLOVE: There is something incredibly vulnerable about growing up in public. Was there ever a moment when you had to stop performing for everyone else and quietly rediscover who Daniella was when the cameras weren’t rolling?
Daniella Monet: Several times. Even today, I regularly check in with myself to make sure I’m being present and not performative. That’s probably the biggest growth I’ve noticed in myself—the ability to recognize when I’m “putting it on” or forcing something.
Whether I chose to step back or life simply made that decision for me, I always treated those quieter moments as opportunities to prepare for what was next. My optimism has always kept me focused on the future, and sometimes living in the meantime simply meant taking care of myself so I’d be ready when the next opportunity arrived. I still believe that’s true.
From Victorious Star to Hollywood Arts Executive Producer
For Monet, returning to Hollywood Arts is not simply about reprising Trina Vega. It also represents a new level of creative responsibility behind the camera.
INLOVE: You’re returning not only as Trina, but also as an executive producer. How has sitting on both sides of the camera changed the way you tell stories and the way you want audiences to experience them?
Daniella Monet: Getting to see behind the curtain as an executive producer has been incredibly enlightening and empowering. When we started pre-production on Hollywood Arts, the executive producers and I had one overarching rule: everyone involved had to pass the vibe test.
Having worked as an actor for over 30 years, I’ve experienced every kind of working environment imaginable. Being able to help create one of our own meant we could be intentional about making sure every piece of the puzzle felt right. That intention has paid off in a big way. Our cast and crew are so aligned, and there’s so much gratitude across the board. We all understand how lucky we are to be making a show like Hollywood Arts. No matter what your role is, everyone matters.
How Motherhood Changed Daniella Monet
INLOVE: Motherhood has a way of rearranging every priority without asking permission. How has becoming a mother influenced the roles you accept, the businesses you build, and the legacy you’re hoping to leave behind?
Daniella Monet: Woof. No joke! In so many ways, I’m a completely different person after having kids because every decision I make now begins with my family. Thankfully, even before becoming a mom, I was always mindful about the roles I chose. While I’m in a different stage of life and career now, the kinds of stories I want to tell are actually very similar.
I love family-friendly comedy. I love storytelling that feels uplifting, easy to watch, and makes people feel good—something you can have on in your home without worrying about who walks into the room. That’s the kind of work I plan to keep doing. And it’s incredibly special that my kids are now old enough to watch the shows and movies I’ve been part of.
INLOVE: Hollywood has always loved reinvention, but true reinvention rarely happens overnight. Was there a defining chapter in your life that quietly transformed everything—even if the public never saw it?
Daniella Monet: I experienced a moment like that when I was about 15 or 16 years old. It felt like so much was happening at once, both personally and professionally. I came out the other side with a much greater sense of perspective, and I’ve carried that strength with me ever since. Sometimes all it takes to reinvent yourself is realizing that you’re capable of making it through whatever life is putting in front of you.
Throughout this Daniella Monet Interview, her evolution emerges as something deeper than a professional reinvention—it is the story of learning how to define success on her own terms.
Daniella Monet on Life Beyond Hollywood
INLOVE: Millions know Daniella Monet the actress, but your closest friends know the woman behind the spotlight. What is something beautifully ordinary about your life that people would never expect?
Daniella Monet: Ha! It’s all pretty ordinary. My friend Kylie makes fun of me all the time for pretty much everything I do—from the way I dress to how brain-dead I can be sometimes. In my real life, I’m actually pretty laid-back and go with the flow. I think I save a lot of brain space for work.
Honestly, my close family and friends probably wonder how I remember any lines at all because I can barely remember what I did yesterday.
INLOVE: When people read this interview years from now, after the premieres, the headlines, and the applause have all faded into history, what do you hope they understand about the woman who chose to keep growing instead of simply remaining unforgettable?
Daniella Monet: That’s such a cool and introspective question. Hmm… I hope they remember the little girl who used to perform in her living room, dreaming that one day she’d get to keep doing exactly that. Only instead of performing in her own living room, she’d be performing in millions of living rooms around the world.
The Daniella Monet Interview also reveals why returning to Trina Vega feels less like revisiting the past and more like bringing everything she has learned into a new chapter.
What Being in Love Means to Daniella Monet
INLOVE: Our famous question: What does being in love mean to you?
Daniella Monet: Feeling safe. Feeling understood. And knowing that even if everything changed tomorrow, love would still be there. It’s a constant, with no contingencies.
The Daniella Monet Interview reveals something more compelling than a conventional Hollywood comeback story. It is the portrait of a woman who has learned that growth does not require rejecting the person you once were. Sometimes it means returning with a completely different understanding of who you have become.
For millions of viewers, Daniella Monet will always carry a piece of Trina Vega with her. But Hollywood Arts arrives at a moment when Monet is no longer simply returning to a beloved character. As an actress, executive producer and mother, she is helping shape the world surrounding that character for another generation.
Perhaps that is the most meaningful kind of reinvention.
Not becoming someone entirely new, but allowing every version of yourself—the young performer, the television star, the entrepreneur, the mother and the producer—to become part of something larger.
Daniella Monet grew up in public.
Now she gets to decide what the next chapter looks like.
Words by Elena Vasilevsky
