Emma Roberts, the eternal girl-next-door-who-might-also-secretly-be-a-witch, is reflecting on her childhood roles, and it seems like there’s one character she just can’t shake. Hint: It’s not the girl who figured out how to shoplift joy at age nine in Blow. No, Emma’s got her magnifying glass pointed at a much more pressing mystery: Where did Nancy Drew go, and why hasn’t she filed her taxes in ten years?
Now a sophisticated 33 (because, yes, time happens to all of us, even celebrities), Emma spilled the tea during a chat with Cosmopolitan. And what was on her mind? Not just her legendary roles or skincare routines, but the idea of reprising her Nancy Drew character as an adult—because who doesn’t want to see a grown woman in a plaid skirt solving the mystery of why there’s always only one sock after laundry day?
“I always joke that I want to do grown-up Nancy Drew,” she said, completely serious and not joking at all. “Like, where is she now? Maybe she’s been living off boxed wine and true crime podcasts, and someone needs to drag her back into solving crimes that don’t involve how she ended up with 14 cats.”
For those who’ve been living under a rock (or just don’t remember 2007, which is totally fair), Emma portrayed Nancy Drew when she was a fresh-faced 14-year-old, brimming with youthful optimism, detective skills, and what we can only assume was a Pinterest-level obsession with Argyle sweaters. “I remember buying Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock at a flea market with my mom,” she reminisced. Apparently, that moment was life-changing. Move over, Ivy League dreams. The flea market was where the real action was happening.
When she auditioned for the role, Emma went full method—well, as much as a teenager can when they still have braces and a curfew. She walked into the audition dressed as the human embodiment of Nancy Drew, with an Argyle sweater and headband that screamed, “Yes, I WILL figure out where you hid your last piece of chocolate.”
“I was like, ‘This is who Nancy Drew is—I know who she is,’” she said, probably while clutching her sweater like a 45-year-old librarian who’s seen too much. Apparently, this bold sweater choice paid off, because she nailed the role, and, as Emma put it, this whole Nancy Drew business got her hooked on the idea that you could read a book and then, magically, turn it into a movie. Mind blown.
“I was like, ‘Wait, you can read a book and then make it into a movie? How does that even work?’” Emma said, as if this was the same level of sorcery as learning how to make sourdough during lockdown. But, alas, Hollywood answered her question with a resounding, “Yes, Emma. That is exactly how it works.”
So now, Emma dreams of a Nancy Drew comeback. One where Nancy isn’t just tracking down missing people but maybe also doing some serious adulting: balancing checkbooks, finding out why her favorite café closed, and possibly taking on an even greater mystery—figuring out where all her high school friends went after graduation.
The world is waiting, Emma. Nancy Drew, but make it midlife crisis.
