Margaret Qualley has revealed she’s been in therapy since the age of 16 as she opened up about her mental health journey and how her latest role in The Substance helped her process both her own and her mother’s trauma.
The American actress, 30, who won critical acclaim for her role in the 2024 horror film, admitted that she began therapy to better understand herself – and that she suffered from severe insomnia in her early 20s.
Speaking to Cosmopolitan, she said: ‘I’ve been in therapy since I was 16. In my early 20s, I had severe insomnia that got in the way of a lot. I would be awake until 9 in the morning and just begging for sleep.
Margaret also recalled missing the Cannes Film Festival for one of her earliest roles in The Nice Guys due to her insomnia.
She added: ‘One of the first movies I did was The Nice Guys. It premiered at Cannes, and I didn’t go to Cannes because I hadn’t slept in four days and I felt like I wasn’t going to survive.’
The actress, who now meditates twice a day, admitted she still feels deeply connected to the version of herself she was as a child, but said growing up as a woman has made her question how much of her identity is truly her own, and how much is shaped by societal pressure and expectation.
Margaret Qualley has revealed she’s been in therapy since the age of 16 as she opened up about her mental health journey and how her latest role in The Substance helped her process both her own and her mother’s trauma (Andie MacDowell and Margaret pictured last year)
In a new interview and photoshoot with Cosmopolitan, the American actress, 30, who won critical acclaim for her role in the 2024 horror film, admitted that she began therapy to better understand herself – and that she suffered from severe insomnia in her early 20s
Margaret also spoke candidly about how her character Sue in The Substance allowed her to confront generations of trauma within her family.
When asked what the role taught her about womanhood, she said: ‘The Substance was like entering the eye of the storm. It was like dealing with all of my sh**, my mum’s sh**, generations of trauma.’
She added that playing an ‘idyllic, youthful fembot’ in the film was ‘a nightmare’ as no one thinks of themselves like that.
The star also noted that the movie is not a good touchstone for what femininity is, and is quite masculine in a lot of ways.
Margaret’s mother, Andie, 67, has previously spoken about her traumatic upbringing, marked by her mother’s alcoholism and bipolar disorder, which led to anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that she continues to manage.
Andie has also reflected on the emotional responsibility she felt as a child and how it impacted her nervous system.
She drew on these experiences while starring alongside Margaret in the 2021 Netflix series Maid, often using self-soothing techniques to cope with anxiety on set.
The new interview comes after Margaret revealed last month the A-list actor she is trying to set up with her mother, Andie.
she said: ‘I’ve been in therapy since I was 16. In my early 20s, I had severe insomnia that got in the way of a lot. I would be awake until 9 in the morning and just begging for sleep’
Margaret also spoke candidly about how her character Sue in The Substance (pictured) allowed her to confront generations of trauma within her family
While making an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the 30-year-old actress revealed she has been playing matchmaker since her mother is single.
On the late-night talk show, she made a confession to Jimmy while they were playing a game of true or false.
‘I once tried to set up Bill Murray with my mom,’ she said on the show, to which Jimmy guessed was false as he noted that they previously played love interests in a movie together.
Andie and Bill, 74, once starred opposite each other in the 1993 fantasy romantic comedy Groundhog Day.
Then, the Honey Don’t star revealed she was telling the truth and that she had just tried to set up her mom with Bill ‘just now’ in her backstage dressing room.
While chatting backstage, she said that she learned that Bill has been living in Charleston, the South Carolina city that her mother recently moved to after becoming an empty nester.
‘He’s wearing a Piggly Wiggly shirt. And I grew up in North Carolina, and Piggly Wiggly is a southern thing. I think, right? And, I mean, there was one where I grew up, so I was like, “Oh yeah, Piggly Wiggly.”
‘Then, cut to I find out he’s living in Charleston. My mom’s living in Charleston,’ she continued.
When asked what the role taught her about womanhood, she said: ‘The Substance was like entering the eye of the storm. It was like dealing with all of my sh**, my mum’s sh**, generations of trauma’
During their conversation, she recalled Bill explaining that he and Andie had a hard time working together on set.
‘He was like, “You know, your mom and I, we didn’t get along so good while we were making that movie.” And he was like, “You know, she took a long time to get her hair done, and she didn’t know her lines this one time.”
Margaret then shared her quick-witted comeback: ‘And I was like, “Yeah, well, I heard a different story, sir.”‘
She then explained how she got the idea to help them reconnect and potentially set them up.
‘And then, you know, come to find out, I’m putting two and two together, they’ve got this kind of rage towards each other, but maybe he’s trying to make amends,’ she said.
‘And I’m like, she’s single, he’s single. They’re both crazy. Let’s get it together.’
