With her porcelain features, razor-sharp intelligence and fearless approach to roles, Anya Taylor-Joy has become one of the most compelling actors of her generation. An ambassador
for Dior Beauty since 2021, she embodies the house’s mix of modern elegance and creative daring. Born in Miami and raised between Buenos Aires and London, Taylor-Joy’s global upbringing has shaped both her distinctive presence and her ease slipping between genres, accents and worlds.
Her breakthrough came with a chilling, critically-lauded performance in the 2015 horror film The Witch, announcing her as a talent to watch. She went on to achieve global recognition
five years later with Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, where her portrayal of chess prodigy Beth Harmon earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award and cemented her status as a cultural force. Since then, she has built an eclectic filmography spanning psychological thrillers, period drama, stylish noir and blockbuster epics, including 2024’s Dune: Part Two and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Off-screen, Taylor-Joy married American musician and actor Malcolm McRae in a secret, intimate courthouse ceremony in New Orleans on April 1, 2022, then again at a celebrity-studded
wedding in Venice in 2023. Marie Claire sat down with the star to talk about her love for being in the moment, what beauty means to her, and her desire for a signature style.
Marie Claire: You have been a global ambassador for Dior since 2021. What is it about the maison that resonates with you?
Anya Taylor-Joy: “I think the opportunity to work with Dior allows me to combine a lot of my great passions. I have a deep love of history, a deep love of craftsmanship and a love of innovation. The fact that Dior has managed to stay at the forefront of beauty and fashion for such a long time says so much about the way they approach their craft. It really feels like a love affair that I’m very grateful to be part of. I think about how much I knew about fashion when I first joined the house and where I’m at now and how much I adore it. That’s been a real period of growth and one that I’m very grateful for.”
MC: What is it like collaborating with a brand that has such a strong sense of history?
ATJ: “I relish anything that allows me to be a student. I really love to learn. When I first started working with the house, I went deep into [the history of] Monsieur Dior and then followed the trajectory of the house from there. It’s so interesting when you see how closely it blends with culture. When the New Look came out, it was such a response to what was going on in the world at the time. I find that really interesting about fashion: that the things we live our lives in tend to be an amalgamation of our response to what’s happening in the world.”
MC: You’ve worked closely with Dior Beauty’s creative and image director, Peter Philips, many times. What do you enjoy about that relationship?
ATJ: “I always feel like I learn more from him. Passion and inspiration are contagious. He is both an artist and a scientist. After we catch up about our lives, I’m always like, ‘OK, now tell me why you’re so excited about the product we’re choosing today,’ and he just lights up. Hearing about the different formulas he and his team have come up with is always really fascinating.”
The Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil has new finishes. What have you tried and loved? “I love the Lip Glow Oil, especially the Juicy [finish]. There’s a Sparkly one that definitely does what it says on the tin. It’s highly sparkly, which is what you want and there’s also a Glaze finish, which is a little bit thicker. When I was a kid, I avoided sticky formulas because my hair would get stuck in them. What Peter has managed to do with this formula is make it deeply hydrating, but it also stays and doesn’t feel sticky. It doesn’t migrate everywhere and I can totally attest to that. When we
were doing the campaign, my lips were very coated and it did not move.”
MC: Is it something you’d wear every day?
“Oh, absolutely. I was modelling the Peachy shade, which I really loved because it just accentuates your natural lip. The colours I tend to gravitate towards personally are the darker shades, like Black cherry, because they make you feel like you’re attending something special. But it’s so easy: you just put it on and you’re like, ‘OK, I’m ready.’”
MC: The Dior Addict range also has a new trio of fragrances created by Francis Kurkdjian. Which one from the collection stands out to you?
“I really love the Peachy Glow [scent]. There’s a jasmine accord in it, and my mum loves jasmine. When I was growing up in Argentina, our house was just covered in it, so it brings back a really strong emotional memory for me.”
MC: What was your childhood like in Argentina and then London?
“It was the best. I’ve got five brothers and sisters; I’m number six. We were born in America but we never lived there and we never had family there. Growing up in Argentina, my childhood was very free. I was always outside, surrounded by animals. I’m a big animal lover. We moved to the UK when I was six.”
MC: The Dior Addict campaign speaks to “a generation that won’t wait”. How does that resonate with you personally?
“I love that statement. I’m a big believer in fate and destiny but I also think you have to say yes to it. Even if something is laid out for you, it’s still your choice. I think the idea of not waiting is empowering. Life is what you make of it and, from my experience, you live best when you’re out there getting your hands dirty and really participating.”
MC:Are there any areas of life where you struggle with patience?
“I think about this quite a lot because despite the fact that this is for a generation that won’t wait, I do try to exercise patience where I can. I have extraordinary patience for some aspects of my life and absolutely none for others. I can sit very quietly in a makeup chair and let everyone do their work. But if I’m on the sidewalk and someone is walking slowly and taking up the whole sidewalk, my temperature rises immediately. If I can walk somewhere I will, and I walk quickly. I can bob and weave. I think it comes from growing up in London. It comes in handy at festivals. When you are used to doing that on a sidewalk, you can get to the front of a crowd.”
MC: When do you feel your most radiant?
“When I’ve forgotten myself. When I’m in pure creation [mode], usually with other people. There’s no self-consciousness or self-awareness; you’re just following inspiration. That’s the feeling I chase most in my life. It’s almost an out-of-body experience, where you’re completely in service of something bigger than yourself.”
MC: Do you ever look back at your work and not remember doing it?
“All the time. When I first started working, I was very determined to do things alone because I wanted to be taken seriously. In the past year or so, I’ve started working
with my best friend and my husband, and it’s been really helpful. Sometimes I do leave my body and then I come back and think, ‘Wait, what happened?’ It’s nice to have people there who can reflect it back to you and validate that it really happened.”
MC: How do you prepare for roles?
“I’ve always been very lucky with my lines. I tend to learn a lot of them in the makeup chair because people don’t think about words in real life; they have feelings and then attach words to them. If I understand the emotional journey of the character, the lines come very naturally. If you are willing to surrender to what’s there – rather than what you expect it to be – that’s when the magic happens.”
MC: Finally, how would you describe your personal fashion style?
“I’m very attracted to silhouettes and very touch-oriented. My favourite materials are silk and cashmere. I love anything soft and sensuous against the skin. I also hope that one day I do have a Steve Jobs–type uniform. I’m currently in a stage of such fun experimentation because a lot of my life is lived in other people’s clothes so I’m still figuring out [my own style] – but in quite a lovely way. As I get older, I do hope I’ll find a silhouette that works and then just live in that. It helps [end the] decision fatigue. Making too many decisions before you have to go out and actually make decisions can use a lot of brain power, so I’d love to grow into a lady who just wakes up and has like the same thing in 17 colours.”
Dior Addict Lip Glow Oils, $67 each and Dior Addict EDPs are available at Dior.com.
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