The Untold Truth Of Alana Haim

When Haim first exploded onto the music scene in 2013 with their first album, "Days Are Gone," they quickly made waves with their effortlessly cool, LA rock girl-group vibes. In addition to their straight-out-of-an-Urban Outfitters-ad type of charm, the three Haim sisters who helm the band — Este, Danielle, and Alana — also oozed charisma and personality, which quickly became a big part of the band's appeal. Plus, with songs like "The Wire," "Something to Tell You," "Falling," and "Want You Back" in their catalogue, the trio are clearly one of the most talented, exciting groups out there today.

Until 2021, the three Haim sisters were always a unit, performing, recording, and giving interviews together. However, when Alana was cast in the much-hyped Paul Thomas Anderson film "Licorice Pizza," she earned herself some well-deserved attention. In fact, her performance in the film even generated some Oscar buzz from the likes of Vulture, i-D, and Variety. Clearly, the youngest Haim sister is even more talented than we realized. Curious to learn a little more about her? Here is the untold truth of Alana Haim.

Wondering how the Haim sisters are so good at making music together? Well, it turns out they've had plenty of practice. As their mother Donna explained in a video for Vogue, "From the time the kids were little, I think my husband found them instruments and said that we were going to make a family band and we started the Rockinhaim band and we played for charity." She added that in terms of instruments, "Alana got whatever we needed."

Rockinhaim mainly performed covers of classic rock songs, and, as the Haim sisters told The Guardian, their father had come up with the name in a dream. Eventually, when the Haim sisters grew up, they ditched their parents and renamed their group Haim. The rest is history. But, the family band has actually reunited for some concerts over the years (via Billboard). Could this family be any more adorable?

Many musicians have a reputation of going a little wild — especially when they're on tour. However, the Haim sisters could not be more different than this stereotype.

For Alana, having quiet, low-key time after a show is hugely important. "There is nothing better than coming off stage and being all sweaty and not partying," she told Entertainment Weekly. So what do they do instead of hitting the town? "It's us in our Snuggies watching random John Cusack movies and eating post-show pizza," she confessed. For one thing, the sisters want to stay healthy so that they can keep performing for their fans. Plus, the girls apparently really enjoy the down time. In fact, the whole band is the same. "No one parties!" Alana said. Instead, they all prefer movie nights. Looking for proof? Just check out the picture of Haim hanging out with Taylor Swift in animal onesies with takeaway pizza after the Met Gala (via Refinery29). This band is literally the cutest!

"It's, like, the most proud I've ever been of our music," Alana Haim said of the band's third studio album, "Women in Music Pt. III," while speaking on the podcast "Table Manners." Based on her interviews, it's pretty clear that Alana is particularly fond of this album. For Alana, this album was her first chance to make music without catering to other people's expectations or rules about what they could or couldn't do.

"I think you can hear it on this record that we really do not give a f***," she told the Independent. In fact, she added, she and her sisters weren't even thinking about pleasing the critics or fans. Instead, they were writing songs that they enjoyed. "This is our record. It's our music. We refuse to fit in a box," she summed up. It's amazing to see Alana and her sisters breaking through the industry's boundaries and creating music that they really can be proud of.

Being one third of one of the most popular bands around can't be easy. And Alana Haim was only 20 when she and her sisters rocketed to fame. At first, the young singer didn't really understand the importance of taking care of herself. "I had to go through many different kinds of traumatic things in my early twenties, and I think sometimes you push things away and you don't want to deal with things," she confessed to Coup de Main in 2017.

However, as she got older, she began to slow down and take time to heal from these traumatic things. "I think it really just comes with time. ... It's all a learning experience." As Alana explained, everyone has different ways of self-healing. For her, it's about making art, reading, travelling, or just doing something nice for herself. It sounds like Alana really has learned a lot about the art of self-care over the past few years.

Even though Alana Haim has had plenty of experience of being in the spotlight, she was extremely intimidated by the prospect of starring in a feature film. As she told Interview Magazine, her only experience with acting had been in high school plays. "Shooting a movie was totally out of my depth," she said. "The first time Paul called 'Action!' I pissed my pants a little bit. And I kept looking at the camera." Clearly, it was a steep learning curve. As she went on to confess, she was even scared that they'd re-cast her role.

However, she quickly found her feet on set with the help of director Paul Thomas Anderson. She explained to the Independent, she would love to keep working with him as an actress. "He made me feel like I could accomplish anything," she said. "And that's how he's made me feel since the day that I met him."

In a 2021 interview with Vanity Fair, Alana Haim revealed what she called her "most prized possession." Apparently, it's a "Sisters of the Moon" necklace that was given to her by none other than Stevie Nicks. "When I had to take it off for the movie, I was so sad," she explained. "'But this is my power! Everything is in this necklace!'"

Of course, anyone would love to own something given to them by Stevie Nicks. But for Alana, this gift was extra special. In 2014, Nicks chose to invite the Haim sisters to her home from a New York Times interview. Apparently, Alana was fascinated by Nicks and couldn't take her eyes off her during the conversation — which is no wonder, considering the fact that she's a huge icon for the three sisters. After a three-hour long conversation, Nicks gave each sister her own necklace, inspired by a necklace that her own mother used to wear. "I already feel more powerful," Alana said when she got the gift. That must have been a truly magical day for Alana — no wonder she loves the gift so much.

"We are too obsessed with each other. It's disgusting. I just love my sisters so much," Alana Haim told Cosmopolitan in 2014. One thing's pretty clear — the three Haim sisters are inseparable. As the youngest — Alana calls herself "Baby Haim," — she has relied on her older sisters a lot over the years. In fact, "Licorice Pizza" was Alana's first real solo project. "My two older siblings have carried me through life," she told Interview Magazine, "so it was jarring to be like, 'Oh, they can't get me out of this one.'"

The sisters even wrote the song "Hallelujah" about their love for one another. At first, they found it hard to open up about how much they cared for each other — "Every time we tried, we were like, 'Gross, like, why are we being so nice to each other? We are siblings, after all,'" Alana told Paper Mag. But in the end, they got it all down on paper — and as fans of the song will know, it's pretty clear that these three siblings love each other more than anything.