"If you know your worth, you're unstoppable": Florence Pugh shares her Life Lessons

Having been hailed one of the best actresses of her generation, with an Oscar nomination under her belt already and a leading role in one of cinema’s biggest franchises, it’s easy to forget that Florence Pugh is not yet even 30.

But with so many impressive accolades, it’s little wonder that the star is wise beyond her years. Bazaar's May cover star is almost philosophical in her responses for the latest episode in our Life Lessons series, dropping in as she promotes her latest blockbuster, Marvel’s Thunderbolts.

The career Pugh has so far fashioned is the realisation of a lifelong dream. She recalls being “a born dramatic” who wanted to act “since she was a wee little girl”.

“When I was six years old, I would be acting to Tracy Chapman because she would be playing in the car on the way to school,” she says. “I would try to time the tear falling down my cheek as I looked at this field.”

Her profile has had astronomical growth since her professional debut in 2014 film The Falling, in which she starred opposite Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams. While leading Lady Macbeth in 2016, with her mesmerising performance winning her a British Independent Film Award, it was 2019’s horror film Midsommar, which saw Pugh play the desolate and traumatised Dani, that served as the catalyst for her international breakthrough. From there, she starred in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, with her vivid take on Amy March landing her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2020.

However, Pugh admits she struggles to see her phenomenal success from her own standpoint. “What I’ve learned about the concept of success is that you can never see it from your own position,” she says. “It never looks like you got there. It never feels like you’ve made the final step. It never feels like you were at the point that you thought you were at, but you are.”

Pugh received an Oscar nomination in 2020 for her work in Little Women

She adds that, even now, she still struggles with knowing her worth, citing her grandparents (including her ‘Granzo Pat’, who walked the red carpet alongside Pugh during the Dune: Part Two London premiere in 2024) as examples she wishes to follow in the footsteps of.

“It’s really hard to know your worth – I’m still learning,” she explains. “Once you know your worth, everyone panics because you’re kind of unstoppable. It’s honestly going to take time for you to realise how powerful you really are.

“It’s definitely not something that just happens. It’s a bit like when you ask your grandparents, ‘Isn’t that embarrassing?’ and they honestly don’t give a shit. I can’t wait to get to that age.”

Pugh admires the ’don’t care’ attitude of her grandparents. Her grandmother, Pat, accompanied her to the London premiere for Dune: Part 2

Similarly, being confident is a work in progress for Pugh – although it may not always seem that way. The actress is renowned for her enjoyment of fashion, and does not shy away from more daring designs. In 2022, she was on the receiving end of criticism from online trolls after she wore a nipple-baring sheer pink dress at a Valentino fashion show. In response, Pugh clapped back: “Why are you so scared of breasts?”

“Sometimes I’m like, ‘oh fuck off, don’t be so ridiculous’, and other times I’m like, ‘oh that really hurt my heart and maybe they’re right and I did think maybe I shouldn’t have worn that dress,’” she tells us. “It’s constantly evolving because your mental health and your mood is constantly changing.

“One of the things that I’ve definitely had to start doing more and more in the last few years is removing as much energy as I had on social media. I’ve definitely noticed that me stepping away a little bit more was hugely helpful for me to allow myself a bit of a break and that’s fine.”

It’s little surprise; Pugh is famously private on issues surrounding her personal life. When dating the actor Zach Braff, she spoke about how the relationship became strained when strangers on social media would comment on their age-gap. The pair split in 2022, but in her most recent interview with Bazaar, Pugh explained she had another relationship that came to a close as she filmed We Live in Time – which proved to be a learning curve.

“I’ve learned that love is not supposed to hurt,” she says. “It’s also not meant to be easy, but it’s not supposed to hurt. The amount that it hurts is not supposed to show the amount of love there is. That’s something I learned recently.”

Pugh is now seeing someone else who she has not publicly chosen to name, and she can recognise a difference in herself when she is truly head over heels. “I’ve tended to notice that all of me is enough, and all of me is accepted [when I'm in love],” she says. “I know I don’t feel like that when I’m out of love. It’s usually because somebody is putting the time into me so I can respect and love myself, and when it happens it feels gorgeous.”

Pugh has learned a great deal about love following past relationships

Outside of relationship, Pugh adds she feels at her most beautiful when wearing bright colours; though she does get a little help from her long-time make-up artist Alex Babsky. “I just like watching him do what he does. I do have one tip though – always do a lip liner all the way over your lips before you do your lipstick, because then your lipstick stays on for a much longer time.”

But regardless of how Pugh styles herself and her appearance, she rallies against the idea that fashion is merely frivolous. “It matters hugely because it’s an extension of you and it’s an extension of your expression,” she says. “It’s your soul visibly being seen.”