Who is Margaret Qualley? 7 Things You Didn't Know About the ‘Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood’ Star

From the moment she first catches the eye of Brad Pitt and goes on to deliver a brief, but bewitching performance as a hitchhiking hippie (and member of the Manson family) in Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, Margaret Qualley has been on our radar. She’s just 25, but even with minimal screen time in the film, Qualley proves instantly she can hold her own next to cinematic legends like Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, not to mention acting under the direction of Quentin Tarantino. She captivates for another reason, too: While watching her, you’re all but convinced you’ve seen her somewhere before. Spoiler alert...she’s the daughter of rom-com superstar Andie MacDowell. (It all makes sense now.) 

So, what else do you need to know about Qualley? Quite a bit.

Her mother enrolled her in classes when she was just four years old, according to an interview in British Vogue. She went on to join the American Ballet Theatre, where she danced six days a week. But just as she was set to start an apprenticeship with the North Carolina Dance Theatre Company, she quit. (“I’m tired. My knees constantly hurt. I walk with a limp because my hips don’t turn out perfectly, which means I’ll never be the dancer I want to be. So, I walked out mid-class. It was my dream and I threw it all away,” she told BV.)

It was the brand’s first fragrance launch in 16 years, so they tapped Spike Jonze to direct a much-buzzed-about short film to announce the product back in 2016. The opportunity allowed Qualley to bust out her dance moves yet again, but also get a little crazy. (“I hope Margaret Qualley takes over the world,” Jonze told BV.)