2015: Unknown model in London, auditioned 1,300+ times for one role.
2017: The Witch breakout, critics called her "the next big thing."
2020: The Queen's Gambit — 62 million households, Golden Globe win.
2024: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga lead, $7M net worth, most in-demand actress.
This is how Anya Taylor-Joy went from a shy Argentine girl who moved 6 times before 18 to Hollywood's fastest-rising star—and became the new face of one of cinema's most iconic franchises.
The Early Years (1996-2014)
Born April 16, 1996
Birthplace: Miami, Florida (brief stay)
Parents:
- Scottish-Argentine father (former banker)
- Spanish-English mother (photographer)
Raised: Buenos Aires, Argentina (until age 6)
Languages: Spanish (first language), English (learned later)
Childhood: Upper-middle-class, creative household
The Move That Changed Everything (2002)
Age 6: Family moved to London
Her reaction: Devastated
Culture shock: Massive
Language barrier: Refused to learn English for 2 years
School: Struggled, felt like an outsider
Coping mechanism: Lived in her imagination
The isolation: Actually helped her acting
Discovering Performance (2009-2014)
Ballet: Trained as child
Modeling: Started at 16
Height: 5'8", striking features
Storm Management: Signed to major agency
The realization: Wanted to act, not just model
Drama school: Considered, chose to audition instead
Age 17: Decided to pursue acting seriously
The Breakthrough (2015)
The Witch Audition
The role: Thomasin, Puritan teenager in 1600s New England
Director: Robert Eggers (first feature)
Competition: 1,300+ actresses auditioned
Audition process: Multiple rounds over months
Her age: 18 years old
Experience: Almost none
What stood out: Otherworldly presence, period face
Eggers' decision: "She was the only one who could do it"
Filming in the Woods (2015)
Location: Remote Ontario wilderness
Conditions: Freezing, isolated
Budget: $4 million (tiny)
Shooting time: 5 weeks
Her commitment: Total immersion
The accent: Perfected 17th-century New England dialect
The performance: Carried entire film
Sundance to Stardom (2015)
January 2015: Sundance Film Festival
Premiere: The Witch
Reaction: Standing ovation
Reviews: "A star is born"
Distribution: A24 acquired for wide release
Her life: Changed overnight
Status: Unknown to "it girl" in 48 hours
The Release (February 2016)
Box office: $40 million (10x budget)
Reviews: 90% Rotten Tomatoes
Her notices: "Mesmerizing," "revelation," "extraordinary"
Age: Still 19
Overnight: Industry's most wanted young actress
Offers: Flooded in
Building Momentum (2016-2019)
Split (2016)
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Role: Casey, kidnapped teenager
Co-star: James McAvoy (23 personalities)
Budget: $9 million
Box office: $278 million
Her performance: Held her own against McAvoy's tour de force
Age: 20
Proof: She could carry a commercial thriller
Thoroughbreds (2017)
Role: Lily, wealthy sociopath teenager
Co-star: Olivia Cooke
Genre: Dark psychological thriller
Box office: Small, but critical darling
Her range: Proved she could play anything
The pattern: Choosing interesting, risky roles
The Miniaturist (2017)
Format: BBC miniseries
Setting: 17th-century Amsterdam
Role: Nella, young bride
Reception: Solid
Her accent work: Dutch-accented English, flawless
The consistency: Every performance acclaimed
Emma. (2020)
Release: February 2020
Role: Emma Woodhouse (Jane Austen)
Director: Autumn de Wilde
Style: Colorful, stylized period piece
Her performance: Witty, complex, layered
Reviews: Best Emma since Gwyneth Paltrow
Box office: $26 million (pre-pandemic)
The proof: She could do comedy and period pieces
The Phenomenon (2020)
The Queen's Gambit (October 2020)
Platform: Netflix
Format: 7-episode limited series
Based on: 1983 novel by Walter Tevis
Role: Beth Harmon, chess prodigy
Setting: 1950s-1960s Cold War America
Her preparation: Learned chess for 4 months
The Production
Filming: Berlin, 2019
Director: Scott Frank
Budget: Estimated $25 million
Chess consultant: Garry Kasparov
Her commitment:
- Learned actual chess moves
- Memorized complex games
- Performed all chess scenes authentically
The challenge: Carrying entire 7-hour story
The Launch
Release date: October 23, 2020
Timing: COVID-19 lockdown, perfect storm
Week 1: Quiet buzz
Week 2: Word of mouth exploded
Week 3: Cultural phenomenon
By Week 4: 62 million households watched
The Impact
Chess sets: Sales increased 1,000%
Chess.com: 5x traffic spike
Google searches: "How to play chess" surged
Cultural moment: Everyone was watching
Her performance: Universally praised
The hair: Red hair and 60s fashion became iconic
The Awards
Golden Globe: Best Actress in Limited Series (January 2021)
SAG Award: Outstanding Performance (April 2021)
Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress (September 2021)
Age at Emmy win: 25 years old
Total Emmy nominations: 11 for the series
Total Emmy wins: 11 (sweep)
Her status: A-list confirmed
Post-Queen's Gambit (2021-2024)
Last Night in Soho (2021)
Director: Edgar Wright
Genre: Psychological horror
Role: Sandie, 1960s aspiring singer
Co-star: Thomasin McKenzie
Her performance: Dual role (past/present)
Box office: Modest, but showed range
Critical response: Praised her versatility
The Menu (2022)
Genre: Dark comedy thriller
Setting: Exclusive restaurant
Role: Margot, mysterious guest
Co-stars: Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult
Box office: $79 million
Her performance: Grounded the absurdist premise
Audience reaction: Breakout thriller hit
Amsterdam (2022)
Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington
Her role: Supporting
Experience: Working with A-list ensemble
Box office: Disappointed
Her reviews: Still positive despite film's reception
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Role: Princess Peach (voice)
Box office: $1.36 BILLION
Biggest hit: Of her career
Voice work: Praised for bringing strength to character
Reach: Introduced her to new audience (kids, families)
The shift: Mainstream commercial success
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Announcement: 2020
Role: Young Furiosa (Charlize Theron's character)
Director: George Miller
Franchise: Mad Max
The pressure: Following Charlize Theron's iconic performance
Filming: 2022-2023, Australia
Budget: $168 million
Physical transformation: Shaved head, intense action training
Stunt work: Performed many of her own stunts
Release: May 24, 2024
Box office: $173 million
Reviews: Praised her intensity and physicality
The achievement: Proved she could lead action franchise
The Pattern of Success
Role Selection
No formula: Every project different genre
Risk-taking: Chooses challenging, unconventional roles
Director-driven: Works with auteurs (Eggers, Wright, Miller)
Character depth: Prefers complex, flawed women
No franchises: Until Furiosa, avoided sequels
Quality over quantity: 2-3 films per year, carefully chosen
Acting Approach
Preparation: Intense research for every role
Accents: Masters different dialects flawlessly
Physical transformation: Willing to change appearance drastically
Method: Fully inhabits characters
Fearlessness: Takes on intimidating roles without hesitation
Public Persona
Privacy: Keeps personal life very private
Social media: Minimal presence
Interviews: Thoughtful, intelligent
Fashion: Risk-taker on red carpets
Humility: Credits others, downplays own talent
Mystery: Maintains aura of intrigue
The Challenges
Early Struggles
Language barrier: Refused to speak English for 2 years
School bullying: Felt like outsider in London
Identity crisis: "Too English for Argentina, too Argentine for England"
Self-doubt: Nearly quit acting multiple times
Rejection: Countless auditions before The Witch
Industry Pressure
Typecasting attempts: Period piece specialists wanted to box her in
Age pressure: "You're too old for ingénue roles at 25"
Image control: Refused to be marketed as "the next [insert actress]"
Schedule: Back-to-back films, exhausting
Expectations: Every role compared to Beth Harmon
Personal Cost
Anxiety: Publicly discussed struggles
Perfectionism: Self-described overthinker
Work-life balance: Difficult to maintain relationships
Homesickness: Still misses Argentina
Privacy loss: Struggled with sudden fame
The Numbers
Age at first major role: 18 (The Witch)
Age at Golden Globe: 24
Age at Emmy: 25
Films (2015-2024): 20+
Box office total: $2+ billion
Current net worth: $7 million
Instagram followers: 7+ million
Fastest rising actress: 2020-2024 metrics
What Makes Her Different
The "Period Face"
Timeless features: Works in any era (1600s to 1960s to future)
Wide-set eyes: Otherworldly, memorable
Chameleon quality: Transforms completely between roles
Classic beauty: Old Hollywood star quality
The advantage: Can play any time period convincingly
The Accent Mastery
American accents: Multiple regional dialects
British accents: Multiple classes and eras
Spanish: Native fluency
Polyglot ability: Learns accents with perfect precision
Vocal range: From whisper to scream, always controlled
The Fearlessness
Horror: The Witch, Split, Last Night in Soho
Action: Furiosa
Comedy: Emma, The Menu
Drama: The Queen's Gambit
Period: Most of her filmography
The range: No genre intimidates her
From Unknown to Icon
2014: Anonymous model in London
2015: Sundance breakout with The Witch
2016-2019: Steady climb, critical darling
2020: The Queen's Gambit makes her household name
2021: Golden Globe and Emmy winner
2024: Leading Mad Max franchise
Time span: 9 years from nothing to A-list
The Lesson
You can:
- Move 6 times before age 18
- Refuse to speak the language for years
- Be painfully shy and anxious
- Have almost no acting experience
But if you:
- Choose quality over quantity
- Take risks on unconventional roles
- Fully commit to every character
- Work with visionary directors
- Stay humble and private
You become:
- Emmy and Golden Globe winner
- Lead of major franchise
- Most in-demand young actress
- $7M net worth
- Critical and commercial success
From 1,300 rejections to 62 million viewers.
From Argentine outsider to Hollywood icon.
From unknown model to Furiosa.
In less than a decade.
That's Anya Taylor-Joy.
Who proved you don't need decades to become a legend.
Just one perfect role—and the talent to back it up.
