Margaret Qualley says early acting career left her fearing women would hate her

Margaret Qualley says she felt “overwhelmed” starting out and feared women would hate her

Margaret Qualley has said she feared women would hate her when she began her acting career, describing the early years as “overwhelmed”.

In an interview published on February 12, the 31-year-old actress reflected on entering the industry after first working as a model. The daughter of Andie McDowell and Paul Qualley, she said the transition into acting during her late teens and early twenties brought intense pressure.

“I started working so young, and when I first started acting, I was just overwhelmed,” she said. Her early screen roles included HBO drama The Leftovers in 2014 and the 2016 action comedy The Nice Guys alongside Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.

Qualley added: “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. 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.”

She described herself as “supercompetitive” and “very driven”, and acknowledged making career “mistakes”, clarifying: “When I say mistakes, I don't mean it was the wrong thing, I mean I wouldn't do it again.”

Qualley said her marriage to musician Jack Antonoff, whom she wed in 2023, has helped build her confidence. “Jack has helped me for sure, because he has made me feel more confident to explore all the parts of myself,” she said.

Her recent film The Substance received a 13-minute standing ovation at Cannes and earned her a second Golden Globe nomination. She previously received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Netflix drama Maid.

The Substance is now streaming on HBOMax. Qualley will next appear with Glen Powell in How to Make a Killing, released in cinemas on February 20.