DIOR dress and PANDORA earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings. — **DIOR** dress and **PANDORA** earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings.

Zión Moreno is the moment. A breath of fresh air wrapped in a bathrobe, she cooly answers my call as if we’re old friends sharing our latest updates via FaceTime. The 26-year-old is taking a break from her role on HBO Max’s Gossip Girl reboot—an opportunity she embraced in an effort to respect her inner teenager and channel childhood nostalgia—she just couldn’t say no.

Gracing the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and attending parties of New York’s young adult elite, Moreno plays Luna, one of the closest friends and confidants to Julien (Jordan Alexander). Much like Blair Waldorf’s real-time followers in the original series, Luna is pulled into Julien’s online influencer whirlwind with twists and inevitable drama at every corner. Although she holds an undying love for the old Gossip Girl, the new iteration brings a broader perspective. “Overall, [the reboot is] better than the original,” Moreno asserts. “It’s so campy, but it has darker elements which I enjoy. It’s also a lot more diverse, which we love to see. It is very queer. Who isn’t gay in the show? It’s amazing. I just think that it’s HBO money, and that’s really reflected.”

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN dress and PANDORA bracelets and rings. — **ALEXANDER MCQUEEN** dress and **PANDORA** bracelets and rings.

Besides the interest in fashion and a desire to be pretty, Moreno doesn’t identify with her character other than on the surface. “I’d like to think that I differ from her in that I’m not psychotic,” she shares. “Well, I am in my own way, but I’m psychotic and it comes from a place of benevolence. Hers just seems evil, so I’d like to think I’m quite different. I’m also not so quick with my comebacks. Sometimes I don’t even know what she’s saying... But I like to think that there’s more to her than her evilness, so I think we’ll get to explore that later.”

Born in El Paso, Texas and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Moreno moved to New York when she was a bright-eyed 19-year-old. From couch surfing in NYC to waiting tables at BOA Steakhouse in Los Angeles, her unfamiliarity with the world of celebrities and fast living quickly became evident the moment she stepped on set. “That was a really big change,” she recalls. “I think that I was just really excited to be in a metropolis for the first time in my life, because I was just so used to the desert and the wasteland of the Southwest... I was just so eager to get out there that I didn’t realize that, at times, I was in over my head... maybe I was too trusting of some people, because I was just this naive country bumpkin.”

MÔNOT dress and gloves, and PANDORA earrings and necklaces. — **MÔNOT** dress and gloves, and **PANDORA** earrings and necklaces.

Identifying as a Mexican-American, Moreno didn’t learn English until the age of nine at the earliest. As a youngster, she starred in Mexican TV series, Control Z, which was entirely filmed in Mexico City. “I think that that’s the way to do it—just to fully immerse yourself in the culture,” she says, “because, by the end of it, I’ve not really spoken better Spanish in my life. It made me realize how important my culture is to me because I feel like I’ve forgotten it a little bit.”

Stronger now than ever, the model-turned-actress is a self-proclaimed cinephile with big dreams to one day write, star, and direct her own film. With a deep appreciation for indie flicks, Moreno has been influenced by the likes of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as well In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai. When she’s not immersed in a film or tending to her many plants, she writes. “I think that it’s just the best outlet for me,” she shares on putting her thoughts and insights to paper. “I’m not the best speaker, so when it comes to writing, I’m just really able to connect with myself in a way that I’m not able to otherwise. It’s just art that kind of flows out of me, and I never feel more fulfilled than when I write something that I feel not only resonates with me, but will resonate with others. I feel like writing is just the most intimate look into our souls.”

As quickly as she appeared, Moreno is off to her next appointment, and that feeling of being old friends returns—like we’ll soon be seeing one another again. With her commitment to advancing in Hollywood, and hopes of building a solid platform for marginalized individuals, Moreno disappears in the twilight of New York alongside her new family at Gossip Girl. “I feel like it was written in the stars for us to meet,” she concludes. “I know that’s so cheesy. We all just clicked right away, and I’ve never worked with people that understand me so well, and I understand them.”