Margaret Qualley assumed that both men and women would dislike her in different ways when her acting career took off.
While talking with Vanity Fair for a profile, Qualley remembered her initial trepidation and thoughts on how she’d be perceived by men and women. She admitted that her young age had a lot to do with why she struggled with those thoughts and fears of being herself.
“I started working so young, and when I first started acting, I was just overwhelmed,” Qualley said. “I felt like if I was fully myself, women would hate me and men would hurt me. And so that took away some of the tools that come with being a woman because I was scared.”
She added: “Gradually, now that I feel like I have more control of my life, I can kind of lean more into the sensual and the feminine.”
Qualley made her film debut in 2013’s “Palto Alto.” She’s enjoyed a significant career since then. She worked with Quentin Tarantino in “Once Upon a Time..in Hollywood,” the HBO series “The Leftovers,” received critical acclaim for Netflix’s “Maid” and enjoyed a second breakout opposite Demi Moore in 2024’s “The Substance.”
She went on in the profile to say that her husband, Grammy-winning producer Jack Antonoff, has helped her grow more into herself.
“Jack has helped me for sure, because he has made me feel more confident to explore all the parts of myself,” Qualley said. “But I’m also thinking about Mother Earth and the divine feminine and surrender. Those are the things I’m trying to lean into, that moment in my life.”
Qualley has a busy 2026 ahead of her. She stars in “How to Make a Killing” opposite Glen Powell at the beginning of the year, and follows that by starring with Jacob Elordi in Ridley Scott’s “The Dog Stars” in August.
