Winner of the 20th Women in Film Max Mara Face of the Future Award, Maude Apatow is making waves as both an actress and a director. She talks about the ways she hopes to create opportunity for women in the industry and to tell unique stories that are otherwise overlooked
Growing up, Maude Apatow always knew she was going to pursue a career in entertainment. With actress Leslie Mann as her mother and director Judd Apatow her father, it was almost a given that she would follow in her parents’ footsteps. “I don’t think there was ever a moment where I didn’t think I was going to go into this industry,” Apatow says. “Growing up, just hearing the talk in the house, it’s kind of all I felt like I knew. Also, seeing the highs and the lows and my parents’ work ethic and how hard it is, but how rewarding it is at the same time, was amazing. I’m so lucky that I got to grow up around that. I got to see the impact that filmmaking has on people and I think it’s an amazing thing to be able to do and an amazing community that I’ve always wanted to be a part of.”
And what a splash she’s made. In the past decade, Apatow has tackled acting, writing, producing, directing and tried her hand at film, television and theatre – so it’s befitting that the 27-year-old has been recognised as the newest recipient of the Women in Film Max Mara Face of the Future Award, which acknowledges an actress at a pivotal moment in her career. The award, which began in 2006, marked the start of Max Mara’s now 20-year partnership with the Women in Film organisation. Its influence, according to Maria Bello, the first recipient of the award, has been far reaching – “Thanks in part to Max Mara’s investment, Women in Film has grown in the past 20 years, adding significantly more programmes, more members and most importantly more representation in television and film.”
Apatow is proof of the positive influence of representation. “Growing up, watching people like Lena Dunham, who was writing, directing, producing and starring in Girls and just being so fearless and creating opportunities – women creating opportunities for themselves to step into all of those roles – I was majorly influenced by watching people like her,” Apatow says.
In her own work as a young adult, Apatow has turned her lens to telling fresh and true stories about younger people. In her directorial debut, Poetic License, an American college comedy released in 2025, Apatow tells a coming-of-age story between two college seniors and the unlikely friendship they strike with a middle-aged woman auditing their poetry course. “I think stories about young people have always been appealing to me as a younger person because I feel like I relate to them the most, but I’m also fascinated by stories around the period where someone is finding themselves. I think a lot of people are drawn to those stories because so much change happens in those years and emotions are heightened in a way that can be really entertaining and hilarious and heartbreaking,” Apatow says.
“I feel like I’m drawn to stories like that. I like to watch stories like that and I think a lot of stories about young people don’t feel very truthful all the time because they’re not written by young people and they feel almost – not judgmental – but a little bit like they’re looking down on young people. It almost minimises the struggle of being young because when you have so much distance from it, maybe it does seem a little silly looking back, but I think it’s important to find stories about young people told by young people.”
Apatow’s determination to tell these stories aligns with the principles of the Women in Film and Max Mara partnership, which is to champion the next generation of visionary talent in entertainment. “Every woman in leadership that I’ve ever worked with has been the best. I think it’s so much harder for women to get into those roles and they’re therefore a hundred times better at their job because they had to fight to be there. Working with female assistant directors on Euphoria – I watched these women lead these crews with so much love, respect, compassion and kindness. They set an amazing tone. I look up to all of these women because I think women have a sensitivity and an approach to things in a way that is better and more effective because of how much care they bring. I’ve been really lucky to work with a lot of women in leadership roles and there should definitely be more of that.”
Industry support has never been more important as more young women enter the industry. Apatow points to confidence as something that can make or break her day and the multihyphenate is quick to identify Sally Sue Beisel-Lander, the assistant director on Poetic License, as pivotal to the process. “She was the most badass – grounded and smart – and she set such an incredible tone, uplifting me and guided me through the entire thing with so much compassion and respect. Never once did I feel like she was belittling or patronising because I didn’t know what I was doing. She was my equal and helping me through it,” Apatow recalls. “That was life-changing and I’m so, so grateful to her and people like her for teaching me, giving me advice and wisdom, and supporting and protecting me. I think we all have to do that for each other.”
True to her word, Apatow has taken her experiences in acting and the different styles of directing that she’s come across and channelled them into her own directorial endeavour. “As an actor, I was able to observe how sets are run, how they work and the different positions – just all of the basics – and then also getting to be directed by so many different directors. I remember what I responded well to and what worked for me. So as a director, I took all of that and tried to take all the positive things that I’ve learned and observed to create a set. I took what I thought was most effective and clear and tried to come up with a way to communicate with my actors the way I felt worked best with me,” she says.
As a filmmaker, Apatow is aware of her potential impact as well as her role in building a more inclusive space for women in entertainment. “Hiring a diverse cast and crew was massively important to me and I made sure of that when I was making my movie,” she says. “I would love to dedicate my life and career to making any contribution that I can, if I have any control in creating more jobs and opportunities for women. Because I think there are so many people who haven’t been given an opportunity and who deserve it. It’s not fair the way that it is right now and so we have to make a change.”
So it seems the Women in Film Max Mara Face of the Future Award couldn’t have chosen a better candidate to join the coterie of distinguished actresses who have won the award before her. As Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti, granddaughter of Max Mara’s founder and global brand ambassador, said before she presented the award to Apatow, “True power comes not just from being seen but also from being heard. There is an authentic kinship between Max Mara and the mission of Women in Film because supporting women is not just an adornment for us. It is woven into the fabric of our very purpose.”
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