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Despite her impressive and enviable resume, Cierra Ramirez still admits to one fear: FOMO, a.k.a. the fear of missing out. “I also have JOMO—joy of missing out—but even when people text me, I’ll say, ‘Fine, I’ll go out!'” she tells Playboy. It’s no surprise that the rising star is getting plenty of invites these days, as the 23-year-old actress reprises her role of Mariana Foster on Freeform’s newly debuted Good Trouble, a spinoff of her previous series The Fosters.
Those four words—”Fine, I’ll go out!”—are more than just a response for Ramirez; they’ve become something of a mantra. She launched her new Instagram account FineIllGoOut last week, featuring pics Ramirez has shot with disposable cameras during those aforementioned outings, and the social-media page racked up 20K followers in less than 24 hours. (Her proper Instagram account has 2.7 million followers.) “We live in such a world that we take a million pictures, and we pick the best out of them,” she says. “I love the idea that with film, you get what you get. It’ll be months after I get photos back, and it’s always a nice little gamble and something fun that I like to carry around with me.”
The star knows a thing or two about gambles paying off. She made her television debut on the legendary Showtime at the Apollo stage at the age of just 10, wowing the toughest of crowds by belting out “I Am Changing” from the musical Dreamgirls. This led to gigs opening for such musical acts as Ruben Studdard and Earth, Wind & Fire. Soon, her natural onstage charisma caught the eye of Hollywood, and she started landing roles ranging from an angry tween on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, to a pregnant high school student on The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Ramirez is best known for playing the brainy and sociable Mariana on The Fosters, as audiences watched her transition from a teenager to a young adult over the course of five seasons. When the show came to an end, the story line wasn’t quite over for Mariana or adopted sister Callie Foster (portrayed by Maia Mitchell). Ramirez jumped at the chance to not only star but take on the role of executive producer in spinoff *Good Trouble, *which airs Tuesdays on Freeform.
“I love being in front of the camera, but I’ve always liked the idea of being behind the camera as well … So when that opportunity arose, I was so over the moon,” Ramirez says about her new venture. “I feel more responsibility. As an actor, I want to be very successful, but as a producer, I’m hoping that people like it. I’m taking it day by day. It’s been a really fun experience.”
One doesn’t have to be up to speed with The Fosters to fall in love with the diverse cast of Good Trouble. Mariana and Callie trek from San Diego to Los Angeles to start their new, exciting lives. Fresh out of law school, Callie gets a coveted position with an ultra-conservative judge; Mariana scores a job at a tech start-up. Gael (Tommy Martinez) meets the sibs and mentions that he lives in a swanky communal living loft called The Coterie. Secretly hoping to spark romance with Gael by living in close proximity, Mariana rushes to sign the lease.
“I love the idea that with film, you get what you get.”
A variety of housemates warmly welcome the duo—and that’s where the eponymous trouble begins. Callie encounters Gael during a sleepless night and slips into bed with him, only to realize soon after that he was the reason Mariana wanted them to live there. Sibling rivalry heats up when Callie fesses up to the fling with Mariana’s crush, after which they both notice Gael getting it on in his room with another guy.
Martinez, who has had roles on Shameless and Riverdale, is proud that bisexual Gael and the show in general can inspire conversations about the way young people currently live. “There are so many things in the show that come up that have not been challenged,” he tells Playboy. “It’s put into an entertaining story that people can relate to in one way or another. I think people will absorb that and see the raw emotion. The show is about change and about challenging the social norms right now. I’m super grateful to be a part of it.”
“I feel more responsibility. As an actor, I want to be very successful, but as a producer, I’m hoping that people like it.”
Ramirez, who left Texas for Los Angeles midway through high school, finds it easy to relate to her character’s time of instability. “It’s scary moving to a new city,” she says. “It’s like with The Fosters—you don’t necessarily need to be bonded by blood or DNA to be a family. Callie and Mariana create a family of their own at The Coterie. Everyday life and true stories inspire a lot of what is on the show.”
With big changes in their lives, Callie and Mariana encounter a slew of surprises faced by millennials. Who doesn’t remember the dread of their first parking violation? Or your U-Haul—filled with every possession you own—getting ransacked? No matter how modern technology evolves, follies of youth remain constant.
Ramirez, who live-tweeted the Good Trouble premiere last week and has a new album dropping this spring, teases that Fosters fans will get some surprises in upcoming episodes. “Everyone’s going to really enjoy seeing where the characters are in life and all of the good trouble we all get in together,” she says. “You can expect some familiar faces from The Fosters showing up—a lot of them.” Apparently, Ramirez isn’t the only person who can fall prey to a bit of FOMO.