The Emily in Paris star spills the best advice she’s ever been given, her secret culinary skills and her adoration for reality TV.

shley Park is back in the French capital. The 33-year-old actress returns for the fourth round of Emily in Paris, which sees Park’s character Mindy having blossomed from babysitter to star singer. The new season will feature Mindy and her band as they have a shot at the famous Eurovision Song Contest – but as always, the path to success isn’t always straightforward on the Parisian streets.

Like Mindy herself, Park has a history on stage, having played the original Gretchen Weiners in the Broadway version of the Mean Girls musical. But if Park hadn’t caught the performing bug, a very different career would have awaited her.

“I would have really loved to be a great chef,” she tells Harper’s Bazaar. “TikTok makes me believe that I am. I can re-read cookbooks over and over again.

“I’ve wanted to be that person who’s like: ‘A splash of this, dice this, shall I throw this cumin in?’ I don’t even know what cumin tastes like!”

However, what has kept Park on the right track when it comes to her acting career is some sage advice from a former professor, imparted back when she studied musical theatre at the University of Michigan.

“He told us: ‘You can’t move forward if you keep looking side to side,’” she explains. “Especially in this industry, and really in everything, I’ve really tried not to look side to side and compare because everyone’s path is so vastly different and unique.

“I’m someone who is very hard on myself – and rather than sitting in it, it’s more fun to celebrate everyone around you.”

Park also has her boyfriend, Emily in Paris co-star Paul Forman, to thank for raising her spirits. Forman stars as Nicolas de Leon, Mindy’s partner in the show, and the pair made their real-life relationship Instagram official in January this year.

“The most romantic thing anyone’s ever done for me? When my boyfriend has left really thoughtful, unexpected notes,” she says. “Words are so meaningful to me. That gesture always makes me feel warmest and safest.”

But Park is not all work and no play. In her downtime away from filming, you can find her flipping her hair on the dancefloor, singing along to Cascada, or indulging in a little reality TV – although she’s reluctant to call her binge-watching sessions a guilty pleasure.

“A lot of people love reality TV!” Park laughs. “I love [Netflix’s] The Circle, I’ve been watching all of that. Perfect Match, Love is Blind; give me a Netflix original reality show. Dated and Related – oh my gosh, the drama… I don’t want to shame it because I love it so much!”

Emily in Paris is available to stream on Netflix now.