With the highly anticipated third season of Ginny & Ginny premier on June 5, the 27-year-old actress is taking the summer by storm. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Antonia Gentry, aka Ginny Miller, opens up about her journey to stardom, her passion for representation, and finding confidence in her clothes.

A Normal Life to Netflix Stardom

Gentry's breakout role as Ginny Miller, a biracial teen struggling to find her identity while dealing with mental health issues, catapulted her to stardom. "I'm just so grateful to have the privilege to be able to play a character like this," she tells PEOPLE. The show quickly climbed the Netflix charts, dethroning Wednesday to become the number one show on the platform.

Gentry's early beginnings in acting started when she was just five years old, and she went on to attend a fine-arts high school in Augusta, Georgia, and later studied drama at Emory University. The same week she graduated, she got the audition for the Netflix show – and the rest is history.

A Platform with a Purpose

Along with the excitement of being a streaming superstar comes the pressure of being a role model. Gentry has championed representation on the show, including wearing her natural curly hair texture as Ginny, which has been a game-changer for young, impressionable girls who look like her or have curly hair," she says.

Gentry has partnered with brands like Aveda for its curly-hair product range, with the intention of helping others embrace their textured hair. "You don't always meet people who know how to take care of curly hair, and I think we're seeing that kind of change in a positive way," she says.

Finding Her Style

Gentry's fashion sense is undeniable, and her Instagram feed is filled with her love for designer labels. "I feel so insanely lucky to just be introduced into the world of fashion in the ways that I have been," she says. "I used to hate wearing dresses my whole life, but now I feel like I have my life together when I'm wearing a Carolina Herrera dress."

Gentry's go-to uniform consists of a nice pair of sneakers, a good pair of pants, and a cropped top because I'm short, and I need to pretend that I have long legs," she quips, "with a slicked-back bun and sunglasses. When I'm comfortable, I'm confident. That's my 'I've got things to do today' look."

For more celebrity news, check out The 11 Most Stylish Mothers and Daughters on TV and Love Island USA Season 7: Everything to Know About the Bombshell-Filled Dating Show's Return.

Third Season, Best Season

After an explosive cliffhanger and a painful two-year wait, season 3 of Ginny & Ginny will premiere on June 5, with a continuation of all the nail-biting storylines it's known for. "The highs get really high, and the lows get really, really low," Gentry says with a head shake. "You're going to have whiplash. Like you need painkillers for the amount of times you're going to double take. It's going to be a good one."

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