Olivia Rodrigo has a lot of influences. Throughout her career, she’s always been candid about her love and respect for a wide range of musicians, from Avril Lavigne, to Fiona Apple, to Taylor Swift, to Lorde. Most recently, in her new Dazed cover interview, she revealed that post-punk bands such as The Cure, New Order, Depeche Mode, and Siouxsie and the Banshees helped shape the sound of you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. “Hopefully it translated,” she said.

But an artist like Rodrigo isn’t just inspired by the music she listens to. Her artistry is also informed by books, films, TV shows (special shoutout to Sex and the City) and more. During the course of our conversation, the 23-year-old star shone some light on some of her top cultural picks – below, we delve into some of them in a little more detail.

THE COLOR PURPLE, ALICE WALKER

When we spoke back in April, Rodrigo revealed that she was currently reading The Color Purple by Alice Walker. The 1982 novel follows Celie and Nettie, two African-American sisters living in rural Georgia at the dawn of the 20th century. The pair are subject to appalling gendered and racialised abuse, and are eventually torn apart when Nettie refuses the advances of Celie’s husband and is forced to flee. Nettie promises to write once she’s safe – but Celie doesn’t hear anything for weeks, then months, then years.

It’s a devastating, heart-rending read – but it’s also remarkable in its ability to find hope even in the bleakest of circumstances. In Walker’s own words, it’s a “story of passion, of growth, of turmoil and confusion, of triumph over so many calamities”. 

THE VIRGIN SUICIDES

Rodrigo told Dazed that she counts Sofia Coppola’s cult classic as one of her favourites. The 1999 film, based on Jeffrey Eugenides’ 1993 novel of the same, follows the tragically short lives of the five Lisbon sisters – Cecilia, Lux, Bonnie, Mary, and Therese. The story is told from the perspective of a group of boys, now men, who grew up in the same Michigan neighbourhood as the Lisbon sisters – and remain just as obsessed with them in adulthood as they were during their teenage years.

If you like Rodrigo’s music for its ability to capture what it’s like to be a melancholy-stricken young woman or count “ballad of a homeschooled girl” as one of your favourite songs, then chances are you’ll resonate with The Virgin Suicides too.

ABORTION, JESSICA VALENTI

According to Rodrigo, this is a must-read for “anyone who’s interested in protecting our reproductive freedoms.” Published in 2024, this non-fiction book from New York Times bestselling author Jessica Valenti lifts the lid on the ongoing assault on women’s bodily autonomy from the political right, “cutting through the misinformation and overwhelm to inform, engage, and enrage”.

Rodrigo has been outspoken about reproductive rights for years – notably, during her 2022 Glastonbury performance, she brought Lily Allen on stage for a rousing rendition of “F**k You”, dedicated to the US Supreme Court Justices following the overturning of Roe v Wade. 

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

Rodrigo cited Joachim Trier’s 2022 film as another of her favourites. The Worst Person in the World follows Julie, an angsty, self-destructive young woman living in Oslo who flits from lover to lover all while struggling to find her feet in the world of work. The film is a life-affirming watch for any twenty-something who feels a little lost and unsure of their identity, or has ever thought of themselves as ‘the worst person in the world’. (And if you’re a Rodrigo fan, you’re almost definitely ticking a couple of these boxes.)

SIMPLE PASSION, ANNIE ERNAUX

Annie Ernaux’s Simple Passion is a firm favourite for many of us here at Dazed – and it’s one of Rodrigo’s most-loved books too. The autobiographical novel recounts the narrator’s experience of a two-year, head-scrambling relationship with a married man. It’s an evocative, gripping read about the myriad ways in which love can drive you mad.

During our conversation, Rodrigo revealed that one song in the album was particularly inspired by the novel and “that feeling of liking someone so much that you just feel kind of miserable and insane, like a disease you can’t shake.” More recently, speaking on Popcast, the New York Times critics’ podcast, she said that “stupid song” – track two on the album – is the Ernaux-inspired song in question.

TWILIGHT

Any Livie will know that Rodrigo is a Twihard at heart. The story needs no introduction – chances are you’re already familiar with Bella, Edward, Jacob and their human-vampire-werewolf love triangle. During Rodrigo’s dA-Zed Guide to Being, she revealed that she’s been Team Edward since day dot. “I used to make Team Edward signs and hold them up to the TV,” she recalled, laughing.