At 28, Diana Silvers has hit her cross-disciplinary stride. While acting in projects including Booksmart, Ma, and last year’s The Abandons, she recorded her debut album, From Another Room, at Electric Lady Studios; opened on tour for Fletcher and Jon Batiste; and hit the runway for Miu Miu.
What keeps you up at night?
Sometimes I’ll replay a social or work situation where I felt I could have done something better over and over and over—it could be recent or from years ago. Sometimes there’s music stuck in my head, either something I’ve just been working on or a song I haven’t heard in years. One time I woke up from a dream singing this melody and thought I’d just written the greatest song ever, until I realized it was “Mama Who Bore Me” from Spring Awakening.
What’s your biggest vice? Your greatest virtue?
Self-criticism. I had to ask my friend what she thought my biggest virtue was because I don’t know how to answer that for myself. (That probably tells you a lot.) She says it’s that I don’t hold grudges, that I’m a very forgiving person… almost to a fault.
What do you want to see more of in your industry? Less of?
I’d like to see less in general. I think there’s too much of everything. I don’t know. A collective pause.
What’s been the hardest part of your career so far?
Saying and receiving “no.” Sometimes—a lot of the time— you really, really want something and you don’t get it. And some- times, you really, really want something and you do get it but you can’t do it. It’s hard to know if you’re making the right decisions. A friend recently told me, “Rejection is protection.”
What are you looking forward to this year?
Putting out another record. And hopefully touring, playing shows. Making art with friends. Continuing to find purpose in a very chaotic world.
What question do you ask yourself most often while you’re making work?
Does this scare and/or move you? Good. Keep going.
What would you be doing if you weren’t working in your field?
If I hadn’t fallen in love with the arts, I’d probably have stuck with tennis. Who knows how far I’d have gone. I’d like to think (and hope) all the way to Wimbledon. I can’t really imagine doing anything else to be honest. It’s this or nothing. No other choice. (GREAT film, by the way).
To read more from the 2026 CULT100 honorees, see the full list here.
in your life?
