I’ve been a fan of Margaret Qualley since she starred in The Leftovers. When I found out she was Andie MacDowell’s daughter, it didn’t change my opinion of her, but I definitely thought, “Oh, she got this role because of her mom.” Since then, Margaret has been slowly making a name for herself and coming into her own as an actress. She fell onto the Swifties’ radar after she married Jack Antoff in 2023 and since then, has appeared in more artsy movies. Most recently, Margaret really proved herself by going up against Demi Moore in The Substance. Well, y’all, the tables have turned for Margaret and Andie. Things have come full circle and we are starting to see our first cases of “reverse nepotism.”
Andie MacDowell shared her own twist on the conversation around nepotism in Hollywood. The longtime actor told Jimmy Fallon on Thursday’s episode of “The Tonight Show” that she’s experiencing “reverse nepotism” due to the fame of her daughter, “The Substance” star Margaret Qualley.
MacDowell, who starred in the 1993 hit “Groundhog Day,” has become what “they always accuse the children of,” she told Fallon.
“I’m now cool, because I’m Margaret Qualley’s mom,” she said, noting it’s a “double whammy” because she’s also mother-in-law to Qualley’s husband, music producer and “Bleachers” singer Jack Antonoff.
She added that she’ll find “letters in the mailbox” from fans, “and you know, they’re 13!”
Qualley herself has no problem acknowledging the leg up she got from having a movie star mom. The actor reassured podcast host Josh Horowitz earlier this month, “You can call me a nepo baby.”
This is too funny! I’m trying to think of other instances in which I became familiar with a nepo baby before I knew who their famous parent was, and the only ones I can think of off the top of my mind are Gwyneth Paltrow (Meet the Parents was my intro to Blythe Danner), Ben Stiller (Jerry was before my time), and Michael Douglas (Kirk was also before my time). I consider Margaret to be in the same nepo baby lane as Jack Quaid, Colin Hanks, and Jason Ritter. They absolutely benefited from nepotism but also are talented and well-liked enough within the industry to have forged legitimate careers beyond that. I’m also glad that Margaret is one of those nepo babies who’s grown up to be not only talented but also not a mess. I admit, I was a little worried for her when she was dating Pete Davidson and then Shia LaBeouf, but if that was the most of her acting out phase, then Andie did good.
Jimmy also brings up that Andie is currently celebrating her 40th anniversary as a spokesperson for L’Oréal. As he’s joking with her about how many times she’s said their catch phrase, “Because I’m worth it” over the years, Andie brings something up that I thought was really poignant. She said that she used to think it was nice when they changed it up to say, “Because you’re worth it”, but as she’s aged, she finds the first-person version of it to be more powerful, explaining, “People tend to diminish you as you age, so it means something to me to be able to say, ‘Because I’m worth it.’” I love that so much.
Photos credit: Marion Curtis/StarPix for Focus Features/INSTARimages, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
Welp, I literally learned about the ”nepo” connection today in this very post.
🤣🤣🤣 And that says something about Margaret’s talent
Margaret Qualley is an exception in the nepo baby club in my book. She can act and boy can she act!!
She can also dance! She’s very gifted. And I love her slightly quirky beauty.
She was great in Netflix’s Maid ( Andie was in it as well).
Forget Groundhog Day, if you want a truly beautiful romance that she’s in, lets not forget Green Card. My DREAM was to have Brontë’s NY apartment and have a French man fall for me (back when Gerard Depardieu wasn’t the mess he is now)
I had forgotten that one! I loved “Groundhog Day” but more as a dark comedy than a romance. I might be one of the only people who didn’t find “Four Weddings And A Funeral” romantic at all. I liked the movie for the settings and for Hugh Grant and his group of friends. Andie McDowell was charming in the movie too, but the relationship (if you can call it that) left me cold.
FWAAF is one of my favorite movies ever, but I sort of agree with you. If anything, it was the relationship between Hugh and Kristin Scott Thomas that moved me the most, even if her love was unrequited. Theirs and John Hannah’s and Simon Callow’s characters’s.
Would we say Margaret is a better actress than Andie? I’m leaning towards that. I do think Andie would agree, as it’s always nice for a (good) parent to see their child go above and beyond.
I never thought Andie was a good actor, she was horrible in Four Weddings. I think Margaret is a lot more talented.
I first saw Margaret in a perfume ad. She is a very talented dancer. As a nepo baby, she has the talent at least. She was great in the Substance too, I was surprised she didn’t get much nominations as the supporting actress.
“I’m trying to think of other instances in which I became familiar with a nepo baby before I knew who their famous parent was, and the only ones I can think of off the top of my mind are Gwyneth Paltrow (Meet the Parents was my intro to Blythe Danner), Ben Stiller (Jerry was before my time), and Michael Douglas (Kirk was also before my time)”
Ditto. And adding Jamie Lee Curtis to the group.
Chris Pine, Sean Astin
I wish they would have waited to make “Black Swan” because Qualley would have been perfect as the lead for that movie. Someone who could act AND dance the part would have brought another dimension to it.
That’s funny I’ve had that exact thought. Margaret is actually classically trained in ballet. She worked hard at it for years
Margaret was very good in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. There have always been nepo babies (students of film history will know that Douglas Fairbanks Junior, a star, was the son of Douglas Fairbanks Senior and Mary Pickford, massive stars). I think parentage gives an entry to the profession – as it does with many professions – but directors won’t keep giving you parts if you can’t cut it. Many nepo babies of massive stars never became stars: Charlie Chaplin’s son being an example that springs to mind.
I love Margaret Qualley. I would say she’s my favorite in the younger actress category. The one I learned was a nepo baby after I saw them in actually several TV shows Bono’s baby Eve Hewson.
Andie has such a famous family. Her son is married to Lily Collins (another nepo baby who has been very successful in her own right)
He’s not her son!!