Ever the Dior girl, Anya Taylor-Joy fronts the new Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil alongside Willow Smith and Jisoo. The actress signs in for a chat with Zaneta Cheng on all things beauty, femininity and creating space for oneself outside of convention

Anya Taylor-Joy dials in early, fresh-faced with barely a trace of make-up, her long blond tresses slung casually over one shoulder. As usual she looks effortlessly polished as she waits for the rest of the journalists to sign into the call while keeping her camera on. Taylor-Joy’s features barely need defining – they are individually striking, coming together to create a face that has allowed directors to cast her in any number of roles from her breakout 2015 lead in The Witch to Beth Harmon in period miniseries The Queen’s Gambit and Olga, a Slavin sorceress, in The Northman, which was nominated for a number of awards.

In her latest Dior campaign, Taylor-Joy encapsulates bright effervescence – her ability to transform something she’s honed through her upbringing across British, American and South American culture as well as her craft. Make-up is a vehicle through which she is better able to do so, she says. From her recent predilection for the “arched villain brow”, an overextended brow she and her make-up artist decided on adding to a look right before Taylor-Joy needed to step out onto the red carpet, to finding the right shade of nude lipstick and eyeliner, all of it goes to creating the right look.

“I first fell in love with fashion and beauty through character work. The first time I saw a character and imagined it come to life was when I picked out their clothes and thought about how they woke up and wanted to present themselves to the world,” she says. “For the red carpet, I aim to create an image that makes me feel confident, especially if it’s art-focused. It helps me feel at ease and also allows me to bring joy to others – to spark excitement or delight through my look. I see it as an opportunity to not just play it safe but to make an impression.”

You’ve always been able to balance elegance with edge, whether it be on the red carpet or on screen. How does make-up help you explore or express different sides of yourself?

I’m very interested in contrast. Growing up, part of my internal struggle was trying to fit into a box. I feel most comfortable when I can express two different things simultaneously. Sometimes I like to lean into a very pretty, polished look, but there are moments where I want to toughen it up – and that can be achieved through fashion or make-up. Having that contrast makes me feel more confident; I like a twist or a surprise in my looks.

How do you think the idea of beauty has changed for your generation of women? And what do you think Dior gets right or has achieved in this regard?

I hope we’re learning that beauty is less about covering up and trying to fit into an ideal or standard and more about accentuating what you already have. Ideally it should make you feel more like yourself or help you explore different aspects of yourself rather than hiding or attempting to look like someone else. I feel most confident when I emphasise my natural features. When I was starting out, some make-up artists told me they were correcting my face and whenever I looked in the mirror, I wondered who that person was — I looked quite strange. I’m very glad I’ve worked that out now, and I hope women of my generation feel similarly empowered.

I read in an early interview that you didn’t look in mirrors for a long time. Why was that? How did you learn to embrace looking in the mirror?

It’s been a long journey. I probably didn’t look in mirrors much growing up because I’d been so picked on, and my self-worth was very low. I focused on controlling how I made others feel and how I was perceived. I aimed to be a good listener and to make people feel less alone – to counteract the pain I’d experienced. Over time, I learned to accept the darkness and to work with it. I let go of trying to please everyone constantly. Now, I feel much more comfortable in my skin than I did in my twenties or adolescence. The years have brought me gentleness, and I’m grateful for that.

You’re known for bold, courageous looks on the red carpet, both in terms of clothing and make-up. Does this daring translate into the roles you take on given that you’ve played roles across genres and play characters that defy what society considers beautiful and feminine? How do you navigate an industry that often typecasts female actors?

From the very beginning, I’ve tried to avoid being put into a box – that’s always been a mission for me. I move too quickly for them to catch me. I leap dramatically, making it hard for industry standards to pin me down. It’s an interesting topic because people tend to gravitate toward easily categorised things – they prefer what’s simple to understand. But I’m playing a long game; I don’t want to dull my edges just to fit into someone else’s mould. I move too fast for that.

Among the characters you’ve embodied, which has shaped or deepened your understanding of feminine strength?

All of them teach me different things. Some lessons are harder than others. Beth taught me a lot, and Furiosa (from the Mad Max franchise) changed my relationship with myself and how I deal with the world. There’s a definite before and after Furiosa in terms of self-awareness. I’m fortunate to have played characters I love deeply, including one that will be released next year. Working with a director who truly saw me helped me learn so much. That role brought me closer to self-love than I’d been before.

What is your view on femininity?

Femininity, to me, is something I’m still exploring, and I find it deeply fascinating. In just 48 hours, I transformed from a Dior Addict girl to the Dior Forever woman. I love history, so I tend to look back and observe the many ways femininity has been explored throughout time. I draw a lot of my cues from those historical perspectives.

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