Margaret Qualley Believes Her Dad Manifested Her “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Role

12 months ago

Margaret Qualley first stepped on the scene when she starred in the 2013 film “Palo Alto. Since then, the 28-year-old actor has gone on to land roles in HBO’s drama series “The Leftovers” and the feature film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” just to name a few. Not only did her career quickly flourish, making her a well-known name, but her personal life also made headlines when she dated Pete Davidson in 2019 and later became engaged to Jack Antonoff in May 2022.

Before all of this, however, Margaret was simply the beloved daughter of Andie MacDowell and Paul Qualley. The couple – who welcomed Margaret into the world on Oct. 23, 1994 – were married from 1986 to 1999, and are both famous in their own right. MacDowell is a seasoned actor who even starred alongside her daughter in Netflix’s 2021 drama “Maid,” while Paul was a successful model. The pair are also parents to 33-year-old daughter Rainey and 37-year-old son Justin.

To find out more about Margaret’s parents, keep reading.

Getty / Emma McIntyre

Margaret Qualley's Mom, Andie MacDowell

MacDowell was born on April 21, 1958. She landed her first role in 1984’s “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes” as Miss Jane Porter, and the following year, she appeared in “St. Elmo’s Fire.” Her breakout role, however, came in 1989 when she starred as Ann in “Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” which landed her a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a motion picture drama. Throughout MacDowell’s nearly four-decade career thus far, she’s starred in dozens of movies and TV shows including “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Groundhog Day.”

In 2021, Margaret told E! News that it was her idea to work alongside her mom in “Maid,” saying, “I pitched the idea to Margot Robbie, because she’s one of the producers on this, and she loved it.”

Ahead of the premiere of “Maid,” MacDowell praised her daughter on Instagram, writing, “I am incredibly proud to be part of this very special series. Working alongside my daughter @margaretqualley was an extraordinary honor, and an experience I will cherish forever.”

Getty / WWD

Margaret Qualley's Dad, Paul

Paul was born in 1958, and very little is known about him other than his work as a model and his relationship with MacDowell, which ended in 1999. Despite their split, MacDowell still honors Paul as the father of her three children, Margaret, Rainey and Justin. “Created 3 Beautiful Souls with this guy – happy Father’s Day ✨,” she wrote in a Father’s Day tribute to Paul in 2018.

In February 2020, Margaret told W magazine that she believes her dad spoke her “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” role into existence after he told her to come visit him in Panama, where he was living at the time. “He said that I should book a plane ticket, and then I’ll get a Quentin Tarantino movie,” she said. “He was saying it with the logic that if I made plans, that life would get in the way and I would have work, you know? He had no idea that there was actually a Quentin Tarantino movie that I had just auditioned for. I did book the ticket and went to see my dad. My third day there, I got a call saying that I had to come back home and do a chemistry read with Brad Pitt. That was crazy that my dad called it and now he feels like he has magical powers. I’m just plugging in every director that I want to work with and be like, ‘Hey dad, will you say this?'”