Francesca Eastwood Is Beyond Her Birkin-Burning Days

You might think it would be embarrassing to ask Scott Eastwood's sister about the recent steamy photo shoots that put him on the map. As it turns out, it's not so bad — Francesca Eastwood is, after all, his biggest fan. Well, besides, possibly, their father, Clint. Yes, the Clint, and Francesca is that Eastwood. "It's so funny," she told us of his newfound sex-symbol status. "I was at a hotel this weekend, and as soon as I walked in, there was my brother staring back at me from the cover of a magazine. I sent him a text saying I had such a good time at the pool with him."

But, we didn't come here to talk about Scott — Francesca's working on her own budding acting career. Despite the fact that Eastwood comes from straight-up Hollywood royalty — Clint's four Oscars have earned him that descriptor — beefing up her own IMDb page doesn't come as effortlessly as it might seem.

"Everyone thinks it must be so easy for me," said Eastwood. "But, it's challenging to differentiate yourself from your family and have your own identity. I want to have longevity and to do things that are meaningful, and you have to really prove yourself [for that]." Still, the actress is careful not to mince words: She's very lucky. "That struggle isn't bad — nothing in my mind is bad," she stresses, showing some of that Zen Angelenos are so famous for. "It gives me a stronger drive to have my own career."

Francesca made her big debut into the pop-culture conversation two years ago while starring in her family's reality show, Mrs. Eastwood & Company. And, remember when photographer Tyler Shields did a photo shoot featuring a gorgeous blonde destroying a six-figure Birkin bag? Yep, that was Francesca. Soon after, she turned her attention toward a different kind of camera. Her first big gig is a starring role on Oh, You Pretty Things!, a Maker.TV series.

The show follows a group of 20-somethings as they try to build careers while living in L.A.'s hipster Eastside. Eastwood plays Olivia Jones, a blogger who also happens to be struggling with, well, everything you might imagine a 20-something budding blogger to be struggling with. A far cry from your first impression of Francesca, sure, but she found many ways to connect with her chracter. "The similarity between me and my character is that we both have dreams about our lives but don't really know how to go about accomplishing them," she said. "I can relate to her frustration in trying to figure her life out. There's so much that's unknown, and I think everyone deals with that stress and anxiety."

Another major theme of Oh, You Pretty Things! is L.A.'s underground music and fashion scene, which is deeply entrenched in neighborhoods like Echo Park. While Francesca grew up on the tony Westside and in northern California, she let slip that she still managed to sneak away for some under-the-radar fun back in the day. "When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time in Silver Lake and Echo Park, so I'm pretty familiar with that kind of gritty culture."

Now that the web series has wrapped, Francesca is looking to what's next in her rise to stardom: She appears in her father's adaptation of the Broadway play Jersey Boys, out later this month. While she's not exactly a stranger to Clint's day job ("I grew up on the sets of his movies," she noted), being on the receiving end of his direction was a bit of an adjustment. "It was more nerve-racking than a normal acting job since the director was also my dad, so it was extra pressure," said Eastwood. "But, I think it went well. I'm fascinated with the Four Seasons and that kind of music, and if you love the play, you're going to love the movie."

Later this year, Eastwood can also be seen alongside Abigail Breslin in Final Girl, directed by the aforementioned Tyler Shields (no Birkins were harmed in this filming, however), and she's got a few other things up her sleeve as well. For now, though, Francesca's taking in some much-needed R&R — which, for her, includes catching up on her favorite guilty-pleasure TV shows. Just don't spoil this week's episode of Game of Thrones — it's never wise to get on an Eastwood's bad side.