Somewhere between “just watch Maid” and “she was incredible in The Substance,” most people end up more confused than when they started.
The problem is not that Margaret Qualley has a small filmography. She has over 25 credits since 2013. The problem is that nobody tells you which ones actually matter, which ones are skippable, and where a first-time viewer is supposed to land.
A 31-year-old actress with two Emmy nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, and films at Cannes three separate times deserves a better answer than “just Google it.”
So here it is: The three films and shows that define her range are Maid, The Substance, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Everything else builds around those three.
She grew up on a ranch in Montana, trained as a classical ballet dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, dropped ballet at 16 to model in New York, left modelling for acting, and has since worked with Quentin Tarantino, Yorgos Lanthimos, Claire Denis, and Coralie Fargeat, four of the most demanding directors working today. Her net worth sits around $3 million as of 2026, built almost entirely on roles she chose for the director rather than the paycheck.
5 things worth knowing before you start:
- The Leftovers (HBO, 2014) was her first real role, she was 19.
- Maid on Netflix is where most casual viewers first found her.
- Her ballet training shows up physically in nearly every performance.
- Her mother is Andie MacDowell, but her critical reputation is entirely her own.
- She currently has Ridley Scott and a Ryan Gosling-produced film in the pipeline.
This guide ranks her 10 best Margaret Qualley movies and TV shows using four factors: acting performance, critical reception, cultural impact, and what each role actually meant for her career.
Quick Answer: What are Margaret Qualley’s Best Movies and TV Shows?
If you need a fast answer for the top five from her complete Margaret Qualley movies list:
- Maid (Netflix, 2021): Emmy-nominated lead performance
- The Substance (2024): Golden Globe nominated, Cannes Best Screenplay winner
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019): Tarantino ensemble, SAG nominated cast.
- Fosse/Verdon (FX, 2019): Emmy nominated supporting role
- The Leftovers (HBO, 2014–2017): The role that started everything
Now the full ranked list.
Ranking Criteria
Every entry was evaluated on 4 factors:
- Performance quality: Did she carry the scene, the episode, the film?
- Critical reception: Rotten Tomatoes scores, awards attention, reviewer consensus
- Cultural impact: Did the project reach beyond its niche audience?
- Career significance: Did this role change what directors and producers believed she could do?
Below is the List of 10 Best Margaret Qualley Movies and TV Shows, Ranked
#1 – Maid (Netflix, 2021)
Role: Alex, a young mother escaping domestic abuse who takes cleaning jobs to survive
Platform: Netflix | Episodes: 10
This is the one. The Maid TV series is the performance that turned Margaret Qualley from a critically appreciated actress into someone audiences genuinely fought to defend online. The show follows Alex as she navigates the impossible bureaucracy of surviving poverty while protecting her daughter and recovering from an abusive relationship.
What makes it remarkable is how restrained the performance is. There are no big crying scenes designed for awards reels. The emotion sits in her face during the quiet moments, when she is scrubbing someone else’s bathroom and processing her own impossible situation. Qualley carries nearly every scene across all ten episodes, and the show earned her nominations for both the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Limited Series and the SAG Award.
Her real-life mother Andie MacDowell plays her free-spirited, unstable mother in the series, which adds a strange, beautiful layer to certain scenes between them.
This is the best place to start with Margaret Qualley movies and TV shows if you have never seen her work.
Critical reception: 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics called the performance “outstanding” and “undeniably powerful.”
Awards: Golden Globe nominee, SAG Award nominee, Emmy Award nominee
#2 – The Substance (2024)
Role: Sue, a younger, more perfect version of Demi Moore’s aging celebrity character
Platform: Available on MUBI | Runtime: 141 minutes
The Substance is one of the most talked-about films in the complete Margaret Qualley movies collection, and also one of the most demanding. Directed by Coralie Fargeat, the film won Best Screenplay at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. It follows a fading TV fitness host who takes a black market drug that produces a younger version of herself, that younger version is Sue, played by Qualley.
The role required extraordinary physical commitment. Qualley wore custom prosthetics for some scenes, underwent hours of makeup application daily, and performed highly choreographed dance sequences that she described learning as a “nightmare.”
Despite training as a classical ballet dancer, she found the specific physicality of this role uncomfortable and had to build her confidence privately before filming. On the day of the major dance sequence, she was, by her own admission, very nervous.
The film earned $79 million globally against a $17.5 million budget, making it MUBI’s highest-grossing release ever. It received 5 BAFTA nominations and 5 Academy Award nominations. Qualley earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress, her second Globe nomination overall.
Among the best Margaret Qualley performances, this one shows the widest creative risk.
Critical reception: Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Praised for Fargeat’s direction and the dual performances of Moore and Qualley.
Awards: Golden Globe nominee (Best Supporting Actress), BAFTA nominated film, Academy Award nominated film
#3 – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
Role: Pussycat, a young Manson Family member who hitches a ride with Rick Dalton
Platform: Available on major streaming platforms | Runtime: 161 minutes
This is the Margaret Qualley movie that made Hollywood directors pay attention to her. In Tarantino’s sun-drenched, revisionist love letter to 1969 Los Angeles, she appears across several scenes as a Manson Family girl who is relaxed, barefoot, and strangely magnetic.
The role is not large. She is supporting. But her scene opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in his pickup truck is one of the most memorable in the film, she does almost nothing, and yet you cannot stop watching her. That tension between stillness and presence is something very few younger actors can pull off.
The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast, which includes DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, was nominated for a SAG Award for Outstanding Cast Performance. Qualley appeared on the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast list alongside some of the industry’s biggest names and held her own entirely.
The film grossed over $374 million worldwide and won two Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Brad Pitt.
Career impact: This is the role that confirmed she was ready for major league films.
Critical reception: 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. Tarantino called it one of his most personal films.
#4 – Fosse/Verdon (FX, 2019)
Role: Ann Reinking, legendary Broadway dancer and choreographer, Bob Fosse’s muse
Platform: FX / Hulu | Episodes: 8
Fosse/Verdon is one of the most underrated entries in the Margaret Qualley TV shows catalog. The miniseries chronicles the complicated personal and creative partnership between choreographer Bob Fosse (Sam Rockwell) and dancer Gwen Verdon (Michelle Williams). Qualley plays Ann Reinking, a real Broadway dancer who became central to Fosse’s later life and work.
The role demanded everything her ballet background had built. She had to move like a professional stage performer, not merely suggest it. Her physical precision in dance sequences gave the role authenticity that a non-dancer could not have faked. Critics noticed. She earned both a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series and a Critics’ Choice nomination for the same category.
Among all Margaret Qualley TV roles, this one probably demanded the most technical skill, and she delivered.
Critical reception: 97% on Rotten Tomatoes for the full series.
Awards: Emmy nominee, Critics’ Choice nominee
#5 – The Leftovers (HBO, 2014–2017)
Role: Jill Garvey, troubled teenage daughter of the town’s police chief following a mysterious mass disappearance
Platform: HBO Max | Episodes: 3 seasons
Most people who followed the Maid TV series later went back and found The Leftovers, realizing Qualley had been doing excellent work years earlier. The Leftovers is one of the strangest, most emotionally demanding dramas HBO has ever produced, a show about 140 million people who simply vanished, and the survivors trying to make sense of a broken world.
Qualley joined the series at 19 years old, as a series regular across all three seasons. Playing a teenager processing grief and chaos in a nihilistic household, she held her own alongside Justin Theroux in a show that required quiet devastation rather than dramatic fireworks.
This is the role that first showed she had the range to anchor long-form drama. It remains one of the most important Margaret Qualley TV roles for understanding where her instincts for underplaying come from.
Why it stands out: She grew alongside the show. The difference between her Season 1 and Season 3 work is genuinely striking.
#6 – The Substance: Runners-Up Mention: Poor Things (2023)
Role: Felicity, a young woman who replaces Bella Baxter’s life
Platform: Available on streaming platforms | Runtime: 141 minutes
Poor Things won the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Venice Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Actress for Emma Stone. In director Yorgos Lanthimos’s wild, ornate Victorian fantasy, Qualley plays Felicity, the woman whose life Bella effectively displaces. The role is smaller than she usually gets, but she brings a specific wounded dignity to it that makes the scenes land.
The film is one of the most visually ambitious in recent memory. Working in the Poor Things Margaret Qualley scenes meant navigating enormous sets, period costumes, and Lanthimos’s famously precise direction. Her comfort in that environment, and her reunion with Lanthimos in 2024’s Kinds of Kindness, showed that the director had found a reliable collaborator.
Critical reception: 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Won Best Picture at the BAFTAs, among many other awards.
#7 – Novitiate (2017)
Role: Cathleen, a young woman who enters a convent and wrestles with her faith and identity
Platform: Available for digital rental | Runtime: 123 minutes
This is probably the most underrated Margaret Qualley film on any list. Novitiate premiered at Sundance in 2017 and received strong reviews that most mainstream audiences simply did not see. The film is a quiet, achingly sincere drama about a girl from a non-religious family who finds herself drawn deeply to Catholic faith, and then confronts the institution’s brutal hierarchy.
Qualley carries the film almost entirely. Melissa Leo plays a formidable Mother Superior, and the push-pull between them is the engine of the whole story. For a 22-year-old actress, the film’s emotional demands were significant. Critics who caught it at festivals called it one of the best Margaret Qualley performances of her early career, and they were right.
If you are building a full Margaret Qualley movies list in order, this belongs right before The Nice Guys.
Critical reception: 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.
#8 – The Nice Guys (2016)
Role: Amelia, a young woman whose disappearance kicks off the film’s central mystery
Platform: Available on streaming platforms | Runtime: 116 minutes
The Nice Guys is one of the best Hollywood movies of all time in the buddy-detective comedy genre, and Qualley’s role, though it appears supporting at first glance, is actually central to everything. The film, directed by Shane Black and starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, is set in 1970s Los Angeles and follows two unlikely partners investigating Amelia’s disappearance.
The Nice Guys Margaret Qualley scenes are where she first demonstrated that she could be compelling alongside major stars without being overshadowed. Gosling and Crowe are electric together, but her presence gives the story its stakes and moral weight.
The film has a cult following that has only grown since its original 2016 release. It is regularly cited as one of the best comedies of the decade.
Why it matters: Her first film with a major studio, a major director, and major co-stars. She handled it with total composure.
#9 – Sanctuary (2022)
Role: Rebecca, a dominatrix who spends one charged night negotiating power and control with a wealthy hotel client
Platform: Available on streaming platforms | Runtime: 96 minutes
Sanctuary is a two-hander, almost entirely Qualley and Christopher Abbott in a single hotel room. It sounds simple. It is anything but. The film plays with power dynamics, performance, and control in ways that are genuinely unsettling, funny, and then disturbing again, sometimes within the same scene.
Qualley served as executive producer on this film, signaling her growing confidence in the projects she attaches herself to. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus says the film “confounds expectations with élan” and called the two lead performances outstanding.
Among all complete Margaret Qualley movies, this one is the most stripped down, with no supporting cast, no locations, no spectacle. Just two people, a room, and performance.
Critical reception: Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
#10 – Stars at Noon (2022)
Role: Trish, an American journalist stranded in Nicaragua who falls for a dangerous Englishman
Platform: Available for streaming | Runtime: 135 minutes
Claire Denis is one of the most respected directors in world cinema. Getting a leading role in a Denis film at 27 is a significant statement about where Qualley stood in the industry by 2022. Stars at Noon film premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix.
The film is slow, sensual, and politically charged. Qualley’s Trish is messy and impulsive, making decisions that you understand even as you wince at them. It is a genuinely complicated performance, not a heroine, not a villain, just a person trying to survive a situation that spun out of control.
The Stars at Noon film is not easy viewing. It rewards patience. And Qualley anchors every scene.
Critical reception: 76% on Rotten Tomatoes.
How Margaret Qualley Built Her Career
She did not take the obvious path.
After The Leftovers gave her a television foundation, she spent several years doing smaller indie films, Novitiate, The Nice Guys, Death Note, while most actors would have chased franchise money. She chose directors. She worked with Shane Black, Claire Denis, Quentin Tarantino, and then Yorgos Lanthimos, building a reputation inside the industry as someone who could handle complex material.
The Maid TV series was the moment the general public caught up. But industry professionals had been watching her for years before that.
Moreover, Margaret Qualley acting credits since 2022 have accelerated sharply: two films with Lanthimos, The Substance with Fargeat, Blue Moon with Richard Linklater, Honey Don’t with Ethan Coen. She is systematically working through the most interesting directors of her generation.
Early Roles vs. Recent Performances
Her early work, The Leftovers, Novitiate, was technically precise but emotionally contained. She had the instincts but was still learning how much to give.
By Maid, she had figured out restraint. The character carries enormous pain without ever releasing it in ways that feel theatrical.
By The Substance, she was willing to go somewhere uncomfortable and strange and vulnerable. The shift between her quiet domestic drama in Maid and the grotesque physical spectacle of The Substance is enormous, and she made both work.
That range is the answer to why directors keep calling her.
Margaret Qualley Net Worth and Career Standing in 2026
Margaret Qualley’s net worth is estimated at around $3 million – $15 million as of 2026. Beyond her acting income, she has served as a long-term brand ambassador for Chanel, appearing in numerous campaigns and representing the house at major fashion events.
On the personal side, she has been married to Jack Antonoff since August 19, 2023. The age gap between Jack Antonoff and Margaret is approximately 14 years, he was born in 1984 and she in 1994.
Furthermore, Margaret Qualley net worth and fortune reflect a career still very much in its upward trajectory. She is 31. Most of her best work is probably still ahead.
Is Margaret Qualley a Nepo Baby?
Yes and no. Her mother is Andie MacDowell, a well-known actress. Margaret Qualley acting credits started because she was visiting a friend on the set of Palo Alto and the director cast her on the spot, not through her mother’s connections.
The more relevant question is whether the talent is real. Two Emmy nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, work with Tarantino, Lanthimos, Denis, Fargeat, and Coen, directors do not keep hiring people out of courtesy. She earned that standing.
Is Margaret a nepo baby by definition? Technically yes. Does it explain her career? No, not really.
Does Margaret Qualley Support LGBTQ?
She appeared in the film Adam (2019), which centers on a teenager who navigates New York’s lesbian and trans activist scene. Her ongoing collaboration with Ethan Coen includes Drive-Away Dolls and Honey Don’t, both of which are explicitly LGBTQ-centered stories.
She has consistently chosen roles and projects that include LGBTQ characters and themes without making a production or announcing it.
Where to Watch Margaret Qualley Movies and TV Shows
- Maid: Netflix
- The Substance: MUBI
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Available on multiple streaming platforms
- Fosse/Verdon: Hulu / Disney+
- The Leftovers: HBO Max
- Poor Things: Available for digital rental/streaming
- The Nice Guys: Available on multiple platforms
- Sanctuary: Available for digital rental
- Stars at Noon: Available for streaming
- Novitiate: Available for digital rental
Margaret Qualley New Movies and Upcoming Projects in 2026
Margaret Qualley projects in 2026 include:
- How to Make a Killing (2026): A black comedy thriller with Glen Powell, directed by John Patton Ford.
- The Dog Stars (2026): Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama alongside Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin.
- Love of Your Life: A romantic drama produced by Ryan Gosling (release date pending).
- King Snake: Jeff Nichols’ supernatural drama with Michael Shannon
The Margaret Qualley upcoming films slate is unusually strong. Not many actors land two Ridley Scott-adjacent productions and a Ryan Gosling-produced film in the same window.
Margaret Qualley “House Tour” – The Sabrina Carpenter Music Video (April 2026)
If you searched “Margaret Qualley house tour” expecting a celebrity home walkthrough, here is what actually happened, and it is more interesting.
On April 6, 2026, Sabrina Carpenter released the music video for “House Tour,” a track from her 2025 album Man’s Best Friend. Carpenter, Qualley, and actress Madelyn Cline break into a stranger’s luxurious mansion, throw a party, raid the wardrobe, swim in the pool, and drive off with the owner’s belongings.
The video hit over a million views in under three hours after release.
The video was co-directed by Sabrina Carpenter and Margaret Qualley, marking Carpenter’s directorial debut. Qualley stepping behind the camera is not entirely surprising given her growing role as a creative collaborator across her projects, but it is the first time she has co-directed a music video of this scale.
The video closes with Qualley and Carpenter pulling away in a pink van with a sign on the bumper reading “Just Robbed a House,” before they drive straight into a pedestrian on the way out. Dark comedy, impeccable timing, and that specific brand of glamorous chaos Qualley seems to do effortlessly.
The video sits perfectly alongside her filmography, playful, visually precise, and slightly unhinged in the best possible way. Her presence elevated every scene, and the trio of Carpenter, Qualley, and Cline created something that felt both dangerous and fun.
It is also a reminder that her cultural footprint in 2026 extends well beyond film and television. She is appearing in one of the most viral pop music videos of the year, the week before Coachella, alongside one of the biggest musicians currently working. That is a different kind of visibility than an awards nomination, and it speaks to how broadly recognizable she has become.
FAQ Section
What is Margaret Qualley most famous for? Her most recognized role is the lead in the Maid TV series on Netflix (2021), where she plays a young mother fleeing domestic abuse. The Maid Netflix show was widely watched and earned her a Golden Globe nomination. The Substance (2024) has since expanded her global recognition significantly.
Which Margaret Qualley show should I watch first? Start with Maid season 1 on Netflix. All ten episodes are available, and it is the most accessible and emotionally engaging introduction to what she does. If you prefer films first, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the easiest entry point.
Is Margaret Qualley an award-winning actress? She has won five awards as of early 2026, including honors from the Austin Film Critics Association, the Online Film Critics Society, and the Vancouver Film Critics Circle, primarily for her supporting work in The Substance. She has also received nominations for Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, SAG Awards, and Critics’ Choice Awards.
What was her breakout role? Professionally, The Leftovers (HBO) was her first long-running role. Publicly, Maid on Netflix was the breakout. She was 26 when Maid premiered and most audiences discovered her there.
What movies is Margaret Qualley in on Netflix? The main Margaret Qualley Netflix shows and films include Maid (2021) and IO (2019). Her other work is scattered across MUBI, Hulu, and HBO Max.
What are the young Margaret Qualley movies from early in her career? Her earliest work includes Palo Alto (2013), The Nice Guys (2016), Novitiate (2017), and Death Note (2017). The Death Note Margaret Qualley role is a minor supporting part. Novitiate is the most substantial early performance.
Has Margaret Qualley won awards for movies? Yes. She has received multiple wins for The Substance (2024) and nominations for Maid (2021) and Fosse/Verdon (2019). Her complete awards record includes critical association wins and major ceremony nominations across multiple categories.
Margaret Qualley movies in order, where do you start? Chronologically: Palo Alto (2013), The Nice Guys (2016), Novitiate (2017), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), Maid (2021), Stars at Noon (2022), Poor Things (2023), The Substance (2024). For quality, the reverse order works just as well.
Conclusion
Margaret Qualley has built something specific and durable. She chose difficult material over commercial safety, worked with demanding directors, and turned in performances that keep getting referenced whenever critics discuss what contemporary screen acting actually looks like.
Additionally, Margaret Qualley filmography now spans over a decade and crosses nearly every genre. The Maid TV series showed she could carry a 10-episode drama on her back. The Substance showed she could do something genuinely strange and physical. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood showed she could walk into a Tarantino film at 24 and leave an impression.
The next few years, with Ridley Scott, Jeff Nichols, and Ryan Gosling’s production company in the pipeline, suggest the best Margaret Qualley movies and TV shows may still be ahead of her.
She started as a ballet dancer in Montana. She ended up in Cannes, twice.
