15 Facts to Know About Margaret Qualley
From her dance experience to her relation to acting royalty, here are the most interesting details to know about the actress.
Margaret Qualley has created an impressive résumé in Hollywood, starring in films and TV series like Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, The Nice Guys, and Netflix's Maid. The dancer-turned-model-turned-actress has demonstrated her talents on the silver screen and some of fashion's biggest runways, including several couture shows in Paris where she showed everyone that she has an alluring catwalk.
In 2019, Qualley was nominated for an Emmy for her role as dancer and Tony Award-winning choreographer Ann Reinking in the FX limited series Fosse/Verdon. "I was nervous because I wanted to do right by her," she said in an interview with IndieWire. "I looked up to her for so long and was so familiar with her. More than anything, I wanted her to like it."
In celebration of Qualley's most recent role in The Substance, here are 15 facts you should know about the actress.
Margaret Qualley is the daughter of actress Andie MacDowell and former model Paul Qualley. MacDowell has starred in many notable films, including Groundhog Day and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
In her first TV lead role, Margaret Qualley plays Alex, a mother trying tirelessly to flee an abusive relationship in the Netflix limited series Maid. Acting alongside her mother, Qualley proved herself as an actress in this role. Her emotional vulnerability, facial expressions, and ability to develop a strong relationship with the child actress playing Alex's child seem utterly effortless.
Before becoming an actress and model, Qualley left home to study dance at the North Carolina School of the Arts. However, at the age of 16, she decided to quit dancing. "I didn't have the proper training when I was really little that would have made me be in the companies that I wanted to be in," she said in an interview with Paper. "And I was like, if I'm not going to be the best, then it's not worth it. Which I know is a really messed up thing to say."
Rumors of Margaret Qualley and musician Jack Antonoff's relationship have stirred since August 2021, but on August 19, 2023, the pair married in Long Island alongside celebrity guests like Lana Del Ray and Taylor Swift. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Qualley said "I am so happy that I found my person. And it’s real. It’s amazing," she continued. "It’s the best feeling in the world. I’m so excited and so at ease all at once.”
At the age of 17, Qualley made her debut as a debutante at Le Bal des Debutantes in Paris. She wore a beaded Elie Saab Haute Couture gown for the evening.
Before appearing in films like The Nice Guys and Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, Qualley made her film debut in Gia Coppola's Palo Alto. She portrayed Raquel in the 2013 indie movie, which stars Emma Roberts, James Franco, and Qualley's then-boyfriend, Nat Wolff.
For one semester in 2014, Margaret Qualley attended NYU's acting school. After deciding to defer her enrollment, Qualley landed her breakout role in The Leftovers, a supernatural series based on a book of the same name.
Qualley is the youngest of her parents' three children. She has an older sister named Rainey and an older brother named Justin. Rainey is also an actress as well as a singer under the stage name, Rainsford.
In an interview with W Magazine, Margaret Qualley revealed that she initially did not book a part in Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood. Her dad encouraged her to buy a plane ticket to visit him in Panema, hoping that once she made plans, she would "get a Quentin Tarantino movie." Three days into the trip, she booked her role.
Qualley walked for Alberta Ferretti during New York Fashion Week in 2011. Since her modeling debut, she has been featured in multiple publications and modeled for several well-renowned designers, including Chanel and Valentino. For Chanel's Fall/Winter 2021 Haute Couture show, Qualley closed the show as the Chanel bride.
Margaret Qualley's birthday is October 23rd, which makes her a Scorpio. Like her fellow Scorpios, she is driven and passionate about her career and future endeavors.
Margaret Qualley stars in The Substance, a horror/sci-fi film that premiered in September 2024. In the film, Qualley plays Sue, using her experience of dance and her acting skills to become her character, a young aerobics instructor.
In 2021, Margaret Qualley walked in Chanel's Haute Couture show. She became the leading lady, and people in the show could not take their eyes off her in her all-white outfit.
Qualley also starred in Kinds of Kindness, a comedy/drama also starring Emma Stone that premiered in June 2024. Her role helped prompte the film's central message: that making painful sacrifices to achieve what we want can be haunting.
She is the dancer in Kenzo World.
Although she ended her pursuit of becoming a professional dancer, Qualley still showcased her dance skills in Spike Jonze's fragrance ad for Kenzo World. Qualley worked with choreographer Ryan Heffington, but she also improvised many of her moves in the short film.
