For a 23-year-old, Reneé Rapp has had a lot of practice telling powerful people “no.” Her first time came at age 19, when Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels offered her one of the lead roles in the national touring production of the “Mean Girls” musical.

Practically speaking, Rapp was hardly in a position to turn it down. She needed money to make the move from her hometown in North Carolina to New York permanent as she sought to realize her dreams of becoming a pop star.

Though she admitted the decision was, “in a way, difficult,” she was sure she could land something better, citing her upbringing, work ethic and financial security all as factors in that confidence.

“I was also really fortunate to have that delusion of like, ‘Yeah, I’m doing that,’ ” she said. “I really do have a certain level of trust in myself when it comes to work that I’m going to figure it out.”

And it wasn’t long before she did. A few months later, Fey and Michaels came back to Rapp with an offer to play Regina George in the show’s Broadway production, the first of many opportunities to which she would say “yes.”

Although her initial big breaks were acting gigs, Rapp wasted no time in capitalizing on that fame to fulfill her dreams of being a recording artist, releasing her debut album, “Snow Angel” in 2023.

She eventually starred in the upcoming movie adaption of the “Mean Girls” musical, set to hit theaters in January, and played Leighton, one of the leads in Mindy Kaling’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” a coming-of-age HBO comedy-drama series that helped turn Rapp into a recognizable name.

But she had another round of practice saying “no” when she decided not to return as a series regular for the third season, in a move she hoped would solidify her identity as a pop star — something she maintains has always been her plan.

Rapp demonstrates a savvy restraint of her Broadway pipes in “Snow Angel,” embracing a pleasing pop sound that balances easy listening with poignant, sometimes dark lyrics.

But it’s not just Rapp’s music that is vulnerable. In true Gen Z fashion, she has been frank online about intimate aspects of her life, including being bisexual and her struggle with eating disorders.

She is proud of that vulnerability, but Rapp said honesty in the limelight can be a double-edged sword.

“I get asked about my sexuality and eating disorders like it’s my right and left arm. And in a lot of ways, I love that because I’ve been so incredibly open about it, and it’s something that I really, not enjoy talking about, but I feel like I want to,” she said. “Sometimes I think with that comes being asked a lot of really dumb questions and being asked things that make me uncomfortable and then having to reroute in my head and be like … ‘Did I ask for this?’ And then I’m like, ‘Actually, no, I didn’t.’ ”

Dec. 31 birthdays: Actor Anthony Hopkins is 86. Guitarist Andy Summers is 81. Actor Ben Kingsley is 80. Actor Tim Matheson is 76. Bassist Tom Hamilton is 72. Actor James Remar is 70. Actor Bebe Neuwirth is 65. Actor Val Kilmer is 64. Guitarist Scott Ian is 60. Musician Joey McIntyre is 51. Singer Psy is 46. Musician Drew Taggart is 34.