Sarah Margaret Qualley (born October 23, 1994[1]) is an American actress. The daughter of actress Andie MacDowell and the sister of actress Rainey Qualley, she trained as a ballerina in her youth. She made her acting debut in the 2013 drama film Palo Alto and gained recognition for her supporting role in the HBO drama series The Leftovers (2014–2017).
Margaret Qualley | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Qualley in 2020 | |
| Born | Sarah Margaret Qualley October 23, 1994 Kalispell, Montana, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Spouse | |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Rainey Qualley (sister) |
Qualley then appeared in films such as The Nice Guys (2016), Death Note (2017), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), and performed a voice role in the video game Death Stranding (2019). She received critical acclaim and nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards for playing Ann Reinking in the FX biographical miniseries Fosse/Verdon (2019) and the title role in the Netflix drama miniseries Maid (2021).
Early life
Sarah Margaret Qualley was born in Kalispell, Montana.[2] She is the daughter of actress and model Andie MacDowell and former model Paul Qualley. Margaret has an older brother, Justin, and an older sister, actress and singer Rainey Qualley.[3]
The Qualley siblings lived on a ranch in Missoula, Montana and moved to Asheville, North Carolina, when Margaret was four.[4] Margaret's parents separated when she was five years old and she split her time equally between them.[5] For many years her parents lived just 3 miles (5 km) apart.[6] Her family home with MacDowell is in North Carolina and they have extended family nearby.[7][8]
As a teenager growing up in Asheville,[9] Margaret and her sister were both debutantes; Margaret and her sister made their debuts at the Bal des débutantes in Paris.[10] Margaret left home at 14 to board at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied dance.[5] She trained as a ballerina, earning an apprenticeship at the American Ballet Theatre and studying at New York's Professional Children's School.[11] However, at the age of 16, after she received an offer to become an apprentice with the North Carolina Dance Theater company, she decided to quit dance. In order to stay in New York, she began working as a model. She says of that time, "I wrote to my mom saying 'Look, I don't think I want to be a dancer any more so I'm going to quit ballet and stay here. I will have this and this income next week.' I laid it out in a way that she couldn't say no because I was so organized."[5] Margaret later changed her focus to acting and attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art summer program.[5][12][13] She attended New York University[11] but left after a semester for acting roles.[14]
Career
Modeling
In 2011, at age 16, Margaret Qualley made her modeling debut during New York Fashion Week, walking for Alberta Ferretti. She modeled during Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 for Valentino and Chanel.[15] She walked for Chanel again during their Fall/Winter 2012 show.[16] She has appeared on the covers and editorials of Evening Standard, Jolie, Teen Vogue, Paper, Elle, W, Hunger, Porter, Document Journal, AnOther, Interview, Vogue (including Vogue Russia and China), Vanity Fair, Nylon, V, The Cut, and C.[17][18] She appeared in advertising campaigns for Kenzo, Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, and Celine. Qualley was in numerous campaigns for Chanel, for which she is a house ambassador.[19][20][21]
Acting
Qualley first appeared on screen in 2013 playing a small part in Gia Coppola's film Palo Alto.[22] Qualley received the part because she happened to be on set visiting her then-boyfriend, Nat Wolff.[23][24] In June 2013, she was cast as a series regular in the HBO television series The Leftovers.[25] She reprised her role as Jill Garvey for the second and third seasons of the HBO drama series The Leftovers in 2015 and 2017, respectively.[26] In 2015, Qualley appeared in the short promotional film L'Américaine for American fashion label Tory Burch.[27] In 2016, Qualley appeared as the central character in a Spike Jonze-directed commercial for KENZO World;[28] choreographed by Ryan Heffington, Qualley improvised much of the dance routine using her training in classical ballet.[29] She next appeared in Shane Black's 2016 comedy The Nice Guys starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.[30]
In April 2016, Qualley was announced to have joined the cast of Shawn Christensen's The Vanishing of Sidney Hall.[31] She and her sister Rainey appeared in the music video for Soko's 2017 single "Sweet Sound of Ignorance".[32] The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, alongside another film of hers, Novitiate.[33] In Novitiate, Margaret Qualley stars as Sister Cathleen, a young woman who begins to question her faith as she trains to be a nun.[34] The film was released on October 27, 2017.[35] In the same year, Qualley starred in Death Note, directed by Adam Wingard.[36] In 2018, Qualley appeared in Donnybrook, directed by Tim Sutton and co-starring Jamie Bell and Frank Grillo. The film had its premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.[37]
In 2019, Qualley starred in the Netflix science-fiction film IO.[38] Also in 2019, Qualley portrayed the role of Mary Dalton in Rashid Johnson's HBO adaption of Native Son.[39] She portrayed actress and dancer Ann Reinking in the FX miniseries Fosse/Verdon, for which she received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie[40][41] and a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries. She appeared in Quentin Tarantino's epic comedy-drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), playing a member of the Manson Family named Pussycat.[42] For the film, Qualley and the rest of the cast were nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
She also starred in Seberg (2019) opposite Kristen Stewart and Jack O'Connell. directed by Benedict Andrews.[43] On May 29, 2019, it was revealed that Qualley would be playing "Mama" in Hideo Kojima's PlayStation 4 game Death Stranding. She also played the character of Lockne, Mama's twin sister, in the game. In 2020, Qualley starred in Wake Up, a short film directed by Olivia Wilde,[44] and in the feature My Salinger Year, opposite Sigourney Weaver and directed by Philippe Falardeau, which had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020.[45][46] In 2020, Qualley was cast in psychological thriller A Head Full of Ghosts, set to be directed by Scott Cooper.[47]
In 2021, Qualley starred in the miniseries Maid based upon Stephanie Land's memoir for Netflix. For her performance she received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.[48] In 2022, she starred in Claire Denis's Stars at Noon, opposite Joe Alwyn.[49][50]
In 2023, Qualley executive produced and starred in the erotic thriller Sanctuary opposite Christopher Abbott.[51] In the same year, she appeared in director Yorgos Lanthimos's surrealist fantasy film Poor Things, along with Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo.[52] Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan star in director Ethan Coen's comedy road film Drive-Away Dolls, which was released on February 22, 2024.[53] She reunited with Lanthimos and Stone in Kinds of Kindness, playing four different characters in three separate storylines. The film premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and was released on June 21, 2024.[citation needed] She stars as Sue in the body horror film The Substance with Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid, which also premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. The film is set for release on September 20th.[citation needed]
She will next star in Ethan Coen's upcoming detective comedy film Honey Don't! with Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans, and John Patton Ford's upcoming black comedy thriller film Huntington with Glen Powell.[citation needed]
Personal life
As of November 2019, Qualley lives in New York.[54] Qualley formerly lived in Los Angeles with her sister Rainey,[5][24] whom she described as "my idol, my best friend in the whole world".[5]
Qualley was briefly romantically linked to Pete Davidson in 2019.[55] She began dating actor Shia LaBeouf in 2020 after they were co-stars in Rainey's music video "Love Me Like You Hate Me".[56] Qualley and LaBeouf's relationship ended in January 2021 after controversies began with LaBeouf,[57] including his ex-girlfriend and singer FKA Twigs's lawsuit against him for sexual battery and assault.[58] In September 2021, Qualley told Harper's Bazaar that she believed FKA Twigs's allegations.[59]
In May 2022, Qualley announced her engagement to musician Jack Antonoff.[60] They married on August 19, 2023.[61][62]
She is the subject of the 2023 song "Margaret" by Lana Del Rey from her album Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.[63] Her voice is on the track "Taco Truck x VB" which is on the same album.[64]
Filmography
Film
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Palo Alto | Raquel | [65] | |
| 2016 | The Nice Guys | Amelia Kuttner | [66] | |
| 2017 | Novitiate | Cathleen Harris | [67] | |
| The Vanishing of Sidney Hall | Alexandra | [68] | ||
| Death Note | Mia Sutton | [69] | ||
| 2018 | Donnybrook | Delia Angus | [70] | |
| 2019 | Io | Samantha "Sam" Walden | [71] | |
| Native Son | Mary Dalton | [72] | ||
| Adam | Casey Freeman | [73] | ||
| Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | "Pussycat" | [74] | ||
| Strange but True | Melissa Moody | [75] | ||
| Seberg | Linette Solomon | [76] | ||
| 2020 | My Salinger Year | Joanna | [77] | |
| 2022 | Stars at Noon | Trish Johnson | [78] | |
| Sanctuary | Rebecca | Also executive producer | [79][80] | |
| 2023 | Poor Things | Felicity | [81] | |
| 2024 | Drive-Away Dolls | Jamie Dobbs | [82] | |
| Kinds of Kindness | Vivian / Martha / Ruth / Rebecca | [83] | ||
| The Substance | Sue | [84] | ||
| TBA | Honey Don't! † | Honey O'Donahue | Post-production | [85] |
| Huntington † | Filming | [86] | ||
| Blue Moon † | Filming | [87] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2017 | The Leftovers | Jill Garvey | Main role (22 episodes) |
| 2018 | Asesinato en el Hormiguero Express | Herself | Television special |
| 2019 | Fosse/Verdon | Ann Reinking | Miniseries (5 episodes) |
| 2021 | Maid | Alexandra "Alex" Russell | Main role (10 episodes) |
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Death Stranding | Mama / Lockne | Also provided the 3D model and motion capture for both characters |
Music Videos
| Year | Song | Artist | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Sweet Sound of Ignorance" | Soko | As the mascot dancer with sister, Rainey Qualley | |
| 2019 | "For Your Eyes Only" | Cashmere Cat | Danced as Princess Catgirl using motion capture | |
| "Emotions" | ||||
| 2020 | "Love Me Like You Hate Me" | Rainsford | Danced with Shia LaBeouf | |
| 2023 | "Alma Mater" | Bleachers | Cameo, as Jack Antonoff's wife | [88] |
| "Tiny Moves" | Danced as Jack Antonoff's wife | [89] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | L’Américaine | Girlfriend | For Tory Burch's limited edition Paris collection |
| 2016 | Kenzo World | Margaret (dancer) | For Kenzo's perfume |
| Dream Girl | Nora | For Free People | |
| 2018 | Light Beings | Girl | For DITA Eyewear |
| 2020 | Wake Up | Jane Doe | For HP |
