Margaret Qualley Explains Why She Felt Men Would Hurt Her & How Husband Jack Antonoff Helped Her
Margaret Qualley is posing for Vanity Fair and opening up about her life and career.
The 31-year-old The Substance actress covers the March 2026 issue, out on newsstands on February 24.
During the conversation, the Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood star opens up about her path to success, her public persona, making career mistakes, and how husband Jack Antonoff helped her find confidence in herself.
Keep reading to find out more…
On growing self-confidence in a challenging industry…
“I started working so young, and when I first started acting, I was just overwhelmed. 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.”
“Jack [Antonoff] has helped me for sure, because he has made me feel more confident to explore all the parts of myself.”
A text message Margaret sent to VF author Marissa Meltzer following their first interview, in which Margaret was guarded about what to share…
“I love my husband, my family. I love dancing and horses. I love the moon. Happy crying is the best. I love listening to Tara Brach and books on tape. And anything Jack writes. Female friendships are so holy, shout out Talia Ryder. My sister was my first soulmate. I wanna die on a farm. I need to learn how to drive stick, my brother tried to teach me but I was 12 and it didn’t land. Smokey, dog, god. I love you world, thank you for having me.”
Reflecting upon making mistakes throughout her career…
“I’m supercompetitive with myself, and I’m very driven. I have learned the lesson of my eyes being too big for my stomach professionally. That means taking all the opportunities I can get and then crashing and feeling like I have a schedule I can’t keep up with.”
On taking on roles she thinks were mistakes…
“When I say mistakes, I don’t mean it was the wrong thing, I mean I wouldn’t do it again.”
On why she chooses to keep her private life an enigma…
“I don’t feel like I’m always good at representing myself publicly in real time, so I would almost rather say nothing at all? Because rather than have the wrong idea about me, someone just wouldn’t have any idea about me.”
On being a faithful student of twice-a-day Transcendental Meditation…
“I used to use my job as an excuse to check out of my life. I find that now staying checked in to my life is the best medicine.”
For more, head to VanityFair.com.
She also just starred in her husband’s music video!