Lee Rodriguez: The ‘Never Have I Ever’ Star Shares Her Love For Sustainable Fashion, Acting, and Music

Lee Rodriguez first fell in love with acting while attending a performing arts high school. She now plays Fabiola Torres, a nerdy robotics genius who constantly finds herself trapped in high school drama, in the hit Netflix series Never Have I Ever. 

We caught up with Lee to talk about her ever-evolving character, the importance of diversity on screen, her love for sustainable fashion, and her debut EP in the works. 

Season 2 of “Never Have I Ever” just came out! How are you feeling about the new season? 
I’m so excited for people to watch the new season, especially the people who watched season one in quarantine and have been waiting to know if it will be team Paxton or team Ben, what happens with Fabiola’s character, what happens to Eleanor’s character and so many different characters that everybody loves. I'm excited for it to come out and just see what everyone's response is.

Without giving us any major spoilers, tell us a bit about what we can expect from this new season? 
A lot of juicy love triangles and some new love triangles. A lot of new cool characters and just growth with the characters and their journeys in life, in love, and in drama. It's going to be a really good season. 

This show is your first major project. How has it changed you as an actor? What have you learned from working on the show?
I feel like I've learned so much. In season one, I was kind of just dipping my toes in and learning all the mechanics of being on a set, trying to do a good job, and just really working hard. I feel like in season two, I was so much more relaxed because I've already established my character, and I just got to come in and have fun. I mean season one I had lots of fun, but in season two, I felt a lot more comfortable because I already knew everybody, and it was just a great time filming season two. It was nice to have that level of comfortability. 

You play Fabiola Torres. How would you describe her? 
I would say Fabiola is ever-evolving. She is constantly discovering herself and trying to navigate her new relationship with Eve. She ends up in a lot of sticky situations that are very Fabiola-like. I feel like it'll be interesting for the audience to see her journey this season. 

Are there any of your own high school experiences you incorporated into your character? 
Honestly, I have very different high school experiences. I was very much a theater kid, I knew a lot of people in high school, and I was just a lot more social. Also, I was not into the robotics lab whatsoever. So my high school experience was pretty opposite to Fabiola’s. 

Do you have a favorite memory from shooting the show?
There is this scene in the second season that kind of gives you Law and Order investigation vibes. Look out for that scene. I love it mostly because of the behind-the-scenes of working on it. We shot that scene really, really late. And so me, Maitreyi, and Ramona were just goofing off and having a blast. That's one of my favorite scenes, and also all the best friend trio moments because we have so much fun on set together filming all of those fun moments. 

What was it like working with Mindy Kaling? 
She's so supportive and she’s always on your side. She actually cares about your input and gives you a space to be creative. I really am grateful to be able to work with Mindy.

Fabiola has a pivotal scene in season 1 where she comes out to her mom. Why do you think this scene is so important? 
Coming out to her mom was probably the biggest thing for Fabiola and wanting her mom's approval and acceptance was so important to her. Just wanting to not be closeted was big for her. It's so important to just be who you are, and I felt like a lot of people really resonated with that scene in particular. I have many DMs where people were saying that Fabiola inspired them to come out. Moments like that are so heartwarming and so touching. 

Why do you think Never Have I Ever is an important show for young people to watch?
A big thing is the diversity. It's really nice to see such a diverse cast, not only on screen but also on set. It brings this level of comfort that’s really refreshing. I'm glad that a lot of people watching the series feel represented because I feel like that’s so important.

You are a certified leader for the Climate Reality Project. What does this position entail? What does it mean to you?
It allows me the ability to spread the message of our climate crisis in a very effective way. It’s mostly kind of a learning process for me, but I’ve taken away so much from it. I've done panels. I have this little Instagram series that I'm working on called “Learning With Lee” where I talk to different climate activists and gain knowledge while sharing my knowledge with the world. It's been such a journey with my activism, and I'm happy to grow, be a part of effective change, and inspire others to also be a part of effective change. 

How do you hope to use your platform to shape the future of our planet? 
I would say by having the conversation, sharing the conversations that I have, talking to people about it, and posting about the different things I'm learning, I feel like it helps other people learn. It may sound like a small thing, but honestly, conversations do spark action. It's one thing to just learn about something and sit on that knowledge, but it's another thing to have that knowledge and actually do something with it. 

You just attended the Sustainable Style Awards. What was that night about? Why was it important to you? 
I was dressed by Jonathan Cohen and he dressed me in this sustainable blue floral suit that was major boss girl vibes. It showed that sustainable fashion can be high fashion. Sustainable fashion is very important to me because I used to shop fast fashion and didn't know the effects that it had on our planet. Moving forward, I want to spread that message of being more sustainable because fast fashion is the second polluter of our planet and the second most consumer of water. It's very important to talk about those things because a lot of people shop fast fashion. I hope that sustainable fashion can become more attainable. 

You’re also working on some music! When did you start getting into music?
I've been doing music forever since I was a little girl. I always say that it's my first passion and it's something that is my own version of therapy. It's very therapeutic to me. I love creating. I love writing. I love making music. I love putting my thoughts and feelings into the song, and I just love the way music makes me feel. I want to emulate that same feeling and share my music with other people. In the near future, I'm going to be dropping a lot of my music. I'm very excited to share that side of me. 

You’re currently working on your upcoming EP. What do these songs mean to you? 
It means the world to me to be putting out music. It's sharing a piece of myself. What I love about this time in music is that you can play with any kind of genre. You don't have to be stuck in one box. So right now I'm playing rock, I love a lot of slow songs and R&B. I want my music to represent how I feel inside. I'm highly excited to share my music. It's going to be such a huge accomplishment for me. 

What do you hope people feel when listening to these songs? 
I hope that they can connect to it and that they can sing along to it. That's what's most important to me because that's what music does for me. It makes me feel connected and allows me to feel related to my own feelings.

STORY JACQUI PASH
PHOTOS LEE RODRIGUEZ