Witch, queen and simply beautiful. 10 facts about Ana Taylor-Joy (11 photos)
Anya Taylor-Joy conquered Hollywood with her unusual appearance and bright acting.
Complexed because of its origin
Anya Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy was born in Miami, but childhood held in Buenos Aires and London. To the capital of Argentina, her family moved almost immediately - they lived there for six years, and then went in England. These moves were not accidental, of course. with South America and Anya's parents are connected to the UK: her father is half Argentine, half Scottish, and mother is an Englishwoman with Spanish roots, who grew up in Zambia. Despite the fact that Anya has brothers and sisters, it did not help to adapt to the new environment. Due to frequent travel, she felt discomfort, complexed about her appearance and could not join any company.
“In Argentina, I was a girl from England. In England I was “exotic” because it came from Argentina. I was in America English and Argentine. I didn't fit anywhere and tried desperately find your place."
Learned English from the Harry Potter books
After moving to the UK, Anya refused for two years learn English and spoke only Spanish until the age of eight - the naive girl thought that this would help convince her parents to return to Argentina. Children's stubbornness managed to be overcome thanks to books about Harry Potter - their uncle read them in the original language to the future Hollywood star.
“My language proficiency was beyond my years developed through these books. Also, I was very good at spells since childhood, ”the actress admits.
Got into movies through modeling
The career of the future movie star began with modeling and this is not no wonder - in the 2010s, the fashion industry was ruled by girls with unusual appearance, and "exotic" Anya fit into this world. Her noticed Sarah Dukas, who opened the world to Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne. One day, sixteen-year-old Anya went for a walk with her dog, and already on the next day she signed a contract with the Storm modeling agency. She could make a brilliant career on the podium, if not for the desire to become actress. At one of the photo shoots, Taylor-Joy got into a conversation with a British actor Allen Leach and shared with him her ambitious plans for conquest of Hollywood. This meeting brought her one step closer to her dream: actor introduced Anya to his agent - and so began her film career.
Instead of a sorceress, she played a witch
Anya failed one of the first castings in the movie. In 2014 She auditioned for the role of the young Maleficent in the Disney film of the same name. a screen adaptation of the fairy tale about the sleeping beauty, filmed from the point of view of a sorceress. Unusual facial features that opened the girl the door to the modeling business, this time they played against her - her type was very different from her appearance Angelina Jolie, so convincingly playing her in her youth is not even with great talent. The first rejection hit hard Anya’s self-esteem, but she didn’t have to shed tears for a long time - the aspiring actress offered a leading role in the author's horror Robert Eggers "Witch".
Anya Taylor-Joy decided that such a role suits her even more, and not wrong. The film of an unknown director not only shot on Sundance, but also made Anya a star - her portion of glory girl has received numerous nominations and awards.
Received the title of "Scream Queen"
Anya Taylor-Joy's first film roles were predominantly gloomy. After the success of The Witch, she was cast in a fantasy film. horror "Morgan", then starred in the thriller "Split" and the Spanish horror "Resident of shadows". The Hollywood starlet has a certain the image that earned her the nickname of the new "Scream Queen". However, Anya did not plan to get stuck within one role and wanted to get rid of horror star status as soon as possible.
"It's interesting how much people want to conclude you in some framework. I am very grateful to the directors who see beyond this image.
In 2020, she presented to the audience three bright and dissimilar images: in the TV series "Queen's Move", superhero action movie "The New Mutants" and in the film adaptation of Jane Austen - melodrama Emma. So the young actress was able to prove that her rangeacting talent is much wider and is not limited to one role.
As a child, she studied ballet
As a child, Anya Taylor-Joy studied ballet, but because of constant moving with dancing did not work out. However, then the girl she was not particularly upset, because she dreamed of a career in cinema. Despite the fact that professional choreography is a thing of the past, the actress admits that every morning he dances “stupid dances” - this helps get a boost of energy for the day.
Her dancing experience came in handy on the set of the thriller The Past at night in Soho ”- Anya played the aspiring singer Sandy, who is forced work as a backup dancer for the main star of the local nightclub.
Dyed her hair dark
At the beginning of her career, Anya Taylor-Joy dyed her hair dark. shades, although her natural color is blond. The aspiring actress thought that blond hair limits the choice of roles and will be associated with a weak character.
However, she later changed her mind and returned to natural color, deciding to use vulnerability as strength. Numerous image changes allowed the actress to experiment with images and be different: to play a famous chess player in the series "Queen's move", she became red, and bleached for the movie "Morgan" hair and eyebrows. Her first role model was Saoirse Ronan
The idol of thirteen-year-old Anya Taylor-Joy was an Irish actress Saoirse Ronan. The last one had barely turned fifteen, and in her portfolio already included several high-profile projects and even a nomination for Oscar: She starred in Peter's The Lovely Bones Jackson, starred with Joe Wright in "Atonement" and signed contracts for new films. Despite the small difference in age, Saoirse was already an actress of a big movie - such an example inspired Anya.
"Saoirse Ronan meant a lot to me when I was 13. She became the first actress about whom I thought: “You are one with I'm my age and doing films that I like. Is not there's some rubbish there."
Anya is the face of the women's fragrance Flowerbomb
Model background and atypical appearance made of movie stars favorite of fashion houses and fashion publications. Already an actress Anya starred a lot for gloss: for example, her face graced the covers of Marie Claire, Elle and Tatler. In 2019, Viktor & Rolf made Anya Taylor-Joy is the ambassador of her new women's perfume Flowerbomb midnight. The girl starred in several commercials and photo shoots for the promotional campaign of the floral fragrance.
“Anna is passionate about art, so it’s perfect fits into our vision of the fragrance. She embodies the message in her image about femininity that we want to share with our audience. Anya - resolute, sincere and self-sufficient,” is how the actress is described in Viktor & Rolf.
Plays the guitar and acts in music videos
After the success of The Witch in 2015, the still inexperienced actress began to call for the shooting of music videos: at first she played with Skrillex, and four years later surprised Hozier fans. Anna doesn't mind star in a musical, but so far she has only partially managed to realize this dream in the film "Last Night in Soho", where she played the role an aspiring singer from the 1960s. Musical ability, by the way, Taylor-Joy is not deprived: she can play the ukulele and electric guitar and She even writes songs herself.
“I play more for myself: I write my songs, I compose music. All this is nothing more than a hobby, but I really like it, ”says the actress.