Margaret Qualley has leaned into her Southern upbringing to transform her work as an actress.
During a cover story for Vanity Fair, Qualley shared that, in some ways, she had a normal childhood despite being the daughter of Andie MacDowell and former model Paul Qualley.
Margaret, her sister Rainey and her brother Justin grew up loving grits, sweet tea and spending time at Waffle House, she told Vanity Fair.
In an interview with The Evening Standard in 2023, Qualley recalled her experience of being raised by “probably the only Hollywood actress in Asheville.”
“I grew up always being like, ‘Well, it’s just normal to me. She’s my mom. So, it’s my normal life.’ But also I knew it was weird,” she began.
“It’s weird. I’m really lucky. It was a strange thing, but then I did go to a normal school, [had] normal friends and have a somewhat normal life. Then my mom would go off and do movies, and sometimes I’d go with her. And sometimes I’d meet, like, Gérard Depardieu.”
“The Substance” star shared that spending her early years in Montana, before moving to North Carolina, greatly shaped how she performs as an actress.
Much of Margaret’s childhood was spent in competitive dance. For high school, she went to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, a boarding school. She told the outlet that her experience as a competitive dancer in the South still sticks with her today.
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“I remember a teacher saying to me in front of everyone, ‘You’re dancing like a peacock when you should be dancing like a pigeon.’ I think I interpreted that as I’m physically asking for too much attention,” Qualley told Vanity Fair.
At 16, Margaret decided to leave the world of competitive dance behind and moved to New York City. She signed to IMG, and by the time she entered her 20s, she was already feeling the effects of the industry.
“I was controlling my body and my body had control over me: I must go to sleep now, must wake up now, must work out now,” Margaret said. At this point in her life, the “Maid” star decided to follow in her famous mother’s footsteps and began auditioning for acting roles.
Although she is rising to superstar fame, Margaret has decided to keep her personal life private, which includes her marriage to Taylor Swift’s producer, Jack Antonoff.
Qualley and Antonoff met in 2021 at a party and tied the knot two years later. She has kept most details about her marriage private, but told Vanity Fair, “I’ve always been very love-oriented. I’ve always been looking for my person, and I met Jack.”
During an interview with Cosmopolitan in 2025, Qualley told the outlet that she had won Antonoff over with her “Southern girl etiquette.”
“I’m very old-school about stuff like this,” she said, referring to him saying, “I love you” first.
“I would never put myself out there first. I never text twice. I mean, now we’re married, and I can text him anything at any time. We’re always having a conversation; he’s like my human diary. But, before we were together, at the beginning, I would always follow Southern girl etiquette.”
In her relationship with Jack, Qualley felt “safe and comfortable.”
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“In every other relationship I’ve ever been in, I still felt really lonely because I wasn’t with my person, and it’s like I was seeking something,” she said. “I don’t feel like that anymore. Jack makes me feel safe and comfortable.”
“I spent so many years trying to be someone’s perfect girl, and that girl changed over and over again,” Qualley admitted. “But I can’t lie to Jack. I can’t be that for him. He’d see through it. So, I just have to be myself. He’s been the person I’ve pictured my whole life. And I’m not even saying that metaphorically. My first crush was Adam Sandler in ‘Happy Gilmore’ and ‘Big Daddy,’ and I’ve been looking for that essence my whole life. I’m like, ‘That’s Jack.’”
