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Margaret Qualley
MJK 68550 Margaret Qualley (Berlinale 2020) (cropped).jpg
Qualley in 2020
Born
Sarah Margaret Qualley

(1994-10-23) October 23, 1994 (age 30)
Occupation Actress
Years active 2011–present
Spouse(s)
Jack Antonoff
(m. 2023)
Parent(s)
Relatives Rainey Qualley (sister)

Sarah Margaret Qualley (pronounced /ˈkwɔːli/ kwaw-lee; born October 23, 1994) is an American actress. A daughter of actress Andie MacDowell, she trained as a ballet dancer 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).

Qualley then appeared in films such as The Nice Guys (2016), Death Note (2017), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), and performed in the video game Death Stranding (2019). She received praise 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). Qualley has since featured in Yorgos Lanthimos' films Poor Things (2023) and Kinds of Kindness (2024), and earned a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the body horror film The Substance (2024).

Early life

Sarah Margaret Qualley was born in Kalispell, Montana. 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. Through her mother, she has Scottish ancestry. The Qualley siblings lived on a ranch in Missoula, Montana and moved to the Biltmore Forest suburb of Asheville, North Carolina, when Margaret was four. Margaret's parents separated when she was five years old and she split her time equally between them. For many years her parents lived just 3 miles (5 km) apart. Her family home with MacDowell is in North Carolina and they have extended family nearby.

Stephane Bern and the Debs 2011 at le bal des débutantes in Paris
Qualley (third from right, front row) as a debutante in Paris

As a teenager growing up in Asheville, Margaret and her sister were both debutantes; they made their debuts at the Bal des débutantes in Paris. Qualley left home at 14 to board at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied dance. She trained as a ballet dancer, earning an apprenticeship at the American Ballet Theatre and studying at New York's Professional Children's School. 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." Qualley later changed her focus to acting and attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art summer program. She attended New York University but left after a semester for acting roles.

Career

Modeling

In 2011, at age 16, 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. She walked for Chanel again during their Fall/Winter 2012 show. She has appeared on the covers and editorials of Evening Standard, Jolie, Teen Vogue, Paper, Elle, W, Hunger, Harper's Bazaar, Porter, Document Journal, AnOther, Interview, Vogue (and international editions Vogue Australia, Vogue China, Vogue Russia, Vogue Ukraine and youth edition Teen Vogue), Vanity Fair, Nylon, V, The Cut, and C. 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.

Acting

Margaret Qualley by Gage Skidmore
Qualley at San Diego Comic-Con in 2017

Qualley first appeared on screen in 2013 playing a small part in Gia Coppola's film Palo Alto. Qualley received the part because she happened to be on set visiting her then-boyfriend, Nat Wolff. In June 2013, she was cast as a series regular in the HBO television series The Leftovers and reprised her role as Jill Garvey for the second and third seasons of the drama series in 2015 and 2017, respectively. In 2015, Qualley appeared in the short promotional film L'Américaine for American fashion label Tory Burch. In 2016, Qualley appeared as the central character in a Spike Jonze-directed commercial for KENZO World; choreographed by Ryan Heffington, Qualley improvised much of the dance routine using her training in classical ballet. She next appeared in Shane Black's 2016 comedy The Nice Guys starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.

In April 2016, Qualley was announced to have joined the cast of Shawn Christensen's The Vanishing of Sidney Hall. The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, alongside another film of hers, Novitiate. In Novitiate, Qualley starred as Sister Cathleen, a young woman who begins to question her faith as she trains to be a nun. The film was released on October 27, 2017. In the same year, Qualley starred in Death Note, directed by Adam Wingard. She also appeared in the music video for Soko's 2017 single "Sweet Sound of Ignorance" alongside her sister Rainey. 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.

In 2019, Qualley starred in the Netflix science-fiction film IO. Also in 2019, Qualley portrayed the role of Mary Dalton in Rashid Johnson's HBO adaption of Native Son. 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 and a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries. She appeared in Quentin Tarantino's period comedy-drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), playing a member of the Manson Family named Pussycat. 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. 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, 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.

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. In 2022, she starred in Claire Denis's Stars at Noon, opposite Joe Alwyn.

Margaret Qualley at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival 2
Qualley at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2023, Qualley appeared in director Yorgos Lanthimos's surrealist fantasy film Poor Things, along with Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo. In 2024, Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan starred in director Ethan Coen's comedy road film Drive-Away Dolls. 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. She starred in the body horror film The Substance with Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid, which also premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

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 Huntington with Glen Powell.

Personal life

As of November 2019, Qualley lives in New York. Qualley formerly lived in Los Angeles with her sister Rainey, whom she described as "my idol, my best friend in the whole world".

Qualley was briefly romantically linked to Pete Davidson in 2019. She began dating actor Shia LaBeouf in 2020 after they were co-stars in Rainey's music video "Love Me Like You Hate Me". Qualley and LaBeouf's relationship ended in January 2021.

In May 2022, Qualley announced her engagement to musician Jack Antonoff. They married on August 19, 2023.

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. Her voice is on the track "Taco Truck x VB" which is on the same album.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2013 Palo Alto Raquel
2016 The Nice Guys Amelia Kuttner
2017 Novitiate Cathleen Harris
The Vanishing of Sidney Hall Alexandra
Death Note Mia Sutton
2018 Donnybrook Delia Angus
2019 Io Samantha "Sam" Walden
Native Son Mary Dalton
Adam Casey Freeman
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood "Pussycat"
Strange but True Melissa Moody
Seberg Linette Solomon
2020 My Salinger Year Joanna Rakoff
2022 Stars at Noon Trish Johnson
Sanctuary Rebecca Also executive producer
2023 Poor Things Felicity
2024 Drive-Away Dolls Jamie Dobbs
Kinds of Kindness Vivian / Martha / Ruth / Rebecca
The Substance Sue
2025 Honey Don't! Not yet released Honey O'Donahue Post-production
Blue Moon Not yet released TBA
Happy Gilmore 2 Not yet released TBA
TBA Huntington Not yet released TBA
Key
Films that have not yet been released Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2014–17 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
"Tiny Moves" Danced as Jack Antonoff's wife

Awards and nominations

Accolades for Margaret Qualley
Award Year Work Category Result Ref.
Alliance of Women Film Journalists 2024 The Substance Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Astra Film Awards 2024 Nominated
Best Performance in a Horror or Thriller Nominated
Austin Film Critics Association 2025 Best Supporting Actress Won
Boston Online Film Critics Association 2024 Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Nominated
Chicago Indie Critics Awards Won
Columbus Film Critics Association 2025 Best Supporting Performance Nominated
Critics' Choice Awards 2020 Fosse/Verdon Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries Nominated
2022 Maid Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries Nominated
2025 The Substance Best Supporting Actress Pending
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association 2024 The Substance Best Supporting Actress Runner-up
DiscussingFilm Global Film Critics 2025 Bronze
Dorian Awards 2025 Best Supporting Performance Pending
Film Critics UK Association 2024 Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Georgia Film Critics Association Nominated
Golden Globe Awards 2022 Maid Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated
2025 The Substance Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated
Great Western New York Film Critics Association 2025 Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Hawaii Film Critics Society Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society Best Actress - Supporting Role Pending
Indiana Film Journalists Association 2024 Best Supporting Performance Won
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actress Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Nominated
London Film Critics' Circle Pending
Michigan Movie Critics Guild Nominated
Minnesota Film Critics Association Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards 2024 "Tiny Moves" Best Direction (with Alex Lockett) Nominated
Best Choreography Nominated
Music City Film Critics' Association 2024 The Substance Best Supporting Actress Won
North Carolina Film Critics Association Won
North Dakota Film Society Won
Online Association of Female Critics Won
Online Film Critics Society Pending
Philadelphia Film Critics Circle Won
Primetime Emmy Awards 2019 Fosse/Verdon Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Nominated
2022 Maid Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Nominated
Portland Critics Association 2025 The Substance Best Supporting Performance Female Pending
Prix Iris 2021 My Salinger Year Best Actress Nominated
Phoenix Critics Circle 2024 The Substance Best Supporting Actress Won
Satellite Awards 2025 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Pending
Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Film Pending
Screen Actors Guild Awards 2020 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated
2022 Maid Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries/Television Movie Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Society 2024 The Substance Best Supporting Actress Won
Television Critics Association Awards 2022 Maid Individual Achievement in Drama Nominated
Vancouver Film Critics Circle 2025 The Substance Best Supporting Actress Pending
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