About
Margaret Qualley (born October 23, 1994, in Kalispell, Montana) is an American actress and former ballerina who leaped from modeling catwalks to acclaimed screen roles. Viewers first noticed her as Jill Garvey on HBO’s The Leftovers (2014 – 17), but the real surge came with Emmy-nominated work in Netflix’s Maid (2021), a raw portrait of a young mother fighting for stability. Since then, Qualley’s range has stretched from the quirky Drive-Away Dolls (2023) to the body-horror satire The Substance (2024) and, most recently, the private-eye thriller Honey Don’t!—which drew a standing ovation at Cannes in May 2025 and arrives in theaters August 22, 2025. Her résumé also includes a Chanel ambassadorship, a viral Spike Jonze perfume short, and voice-capture duties in Hideo Kojima’s video game Death Stranding.
Before Fame
Qualley grew up the youngest of three children of actress Andie MacDowell and former model-turned-rancher Paul Qualley. Childhood was split between a Montana ranch and the wooded outskirts of Asheville, North Carolina, after her parents’ separation when she was five. A gifted dancer, she left home at 14 to study ballet at the North Carolina School of the Arts, later training with American Ballet Theatre in New York. Injuries and the grind of professional dance nudged her toward fashion modeling—she walked for Alberta Ferretti at 16 and soon after for Valentino and Chanel. Acting classes at NYU (briefly) and a summer at London’s RADA opened the final door; by 18 she had landed a bit part in Gia Coppola’s Palo Alto, and the momentum never slowed.
Trivia
- Debutante days: Before red carpets, Qualley twirled through Paris’s glamorous Bal des Débutantes alongside sister Rainey—a nod to their Southern family tradition.
- Viral choreography: Her exuberant, wall-climbing dance in the 2016 Kenzo World fragrance short, directed by Spike Jonze, racked up millions of views and confirmed her physical comedy chops.
- Multiverse of media: Besides film and TV, she provided performance capture for twin characters Mama and Lockne in the 2019 video game Death Stranding.
- Emmy club: In 2022 she earned her first Primetime Emmy nomination for Lead Actress in a Limited Series thanks to Maid.
- Fashion favorite: A frequent Chanel muse, she looped back to the maison for the blush-pink gown that lit up the 2025 Cannes carpet.
Family Life
Family remains central to Qualley’s story. Her mother Andie MacDowell, best known for Groundhog Day and Four Weddings and a Funeral, guest-starred opposite her in Maid, turning fiction into something that felt close to home. Father Paul Qualley keeps a lower profile, ranching in Montana after earlier modeling days. Siblings Justin (a real-estate broker) and Rainey (an actress-singer performing as Rainsford) round out the tight-knit trio; Rainey welcomed baby Bluebell in 2024, promoting Margaret to proud aunt. In August 2023, Qualley married Grammy-winning producer Jack Antonoff during a sun-splashed Long Beach Island ceremony attended by Taylor Swift, Zoë Kravitz, Lana Del Rey, and other friends from their overlapping creative circles. The couple now splits time between New York and Los Angeles, often bringing along their rescue dogs.
Associated With
- Andie MacDowell: Mother, on-screen partner in Maid, and ongoing mentor.
- Jack Antonoff: Husband and producer for artists such as Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey; he inspired Qualley’s newfound interest in songwriting notebooks.
- Quentin Tarantino: Cast her in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019) opposite Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, a role that boosted her profile globally.
- Christopher Abbott: Co-star in the two-hander thriller Sanctuary (2023), praised for electric chemistry.
- Ethan Coen & Tricia Cooke: Directors of Drive-Away Dolls and Honey Don’t!, cementing Qualley as a recurring face in their off-kilter universe.
- Spike Jonze: The auteur whose perfume short revealed her comedic athleticism and opened doors to more adventurous roles.
