Brec Bassinger of ‘Stargirl’ Talks CGMs, Superheroes, and Acting
Every week on her podcast Diabetes Connections, Stacey Simms tackles issues and news relevant to the type 1 community. In the newest episode, Stacey talks to Brec Bassinger—the star of the CW’s newest show, ‘Star Girl.’
Do you wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM)?
Brec: Yeah, I started living by myself. And it was either a CGM or one of the diabetes service dogs. And I had the CGM for the very first time I was like, “Okay, I can’t imagine a life without this just for safety reasons.” And my mom wanted me to have something where she could feel more secure.
Stacey: Do you share your blood sugars with your mom?
Brec: I share with my mom, my dad, my boyfriend and my fellow diabetic on ‘Stargirl,’ named Cameron Gellman, we have each other’s Follow apps. And that’s really fun.
Stacey: Well, there’s another person with diabetes on the show.
Brec: Yes. And we’re both superheroes on the show. I’m like, come on.
Stacey: Did you know each other before the casting?
Brec: No. Well, that’s the thing we had never met. He had filmed something with one of my one of my friends. And she had reached out to me, she was like, “Hey, can I give this guy your number? He’s type 1 diabetic. He’s talking about wanting to get involved with JDRF, and I thought you were so can I give him your contact info?” So I got this random text like saying, “Hey, are you going to the Walk next month? If you are I’d love to join you, I know your friend, Christina.” And we kind of sprinkled away. We never connected again. It just never worked out. And then he booked it in like, he goes to give me my number. And we’re like, “Oh my gosh, we talked like three years ago.” And he’s like, “Oh, it’s all coming back to me.” So it was like because we hadn’t met, we had talked it was really funny and weird.
Do you have any issues wearing diabetes technology under your costume?
Brec: When I was doing the cuts to the costume. It took in about 12 to 15 sittings hours and hours upon work like dozens of people touched and worked on it. And while we were doing the sitting, I saw the G five which was bigger than the G six. It’s still small, but bigger. And they’re like, “Oh, but you can take that off.” And I was like, “I can, but I’m not going to because for safety reasons. It makes me feel more comfortable.” And LJ, the costume designer, she was super understanding. But yeah, I have my Dexcom, my super suit is super tight. So I’m sure if you watch close enough when the series comes out, you’ll be able to spot it sometimes, but it is what it is.
Does it make you nervous to be somebody’s role model?
Brec: Fortunately, I feel like ‘Bella and the Bulldogs,’ which was the Nickelodeon show I was on for a couple years, prepared me for that. I played a female quarterback, a very strong female lead. I had girls dressing up for me of Halloween. So I think that was a good stepping stone for what this will be. I mean, I’m not sure what this will be. But I hope it’s big and I hope girls are watching it and feeling inspired. I feel prepared. I’m not scared.
Listen to the full podcast here:
For more from Stacey, check out her discussion of sharing your diabetes numbers online, and an interview with Beyond Type Run Marathoner Mike Greenberg.
