Margaret Qualley is just like Us — she was also obsessed with the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap starring Lindsay Lohan and Dennis Quaid. Most Parent Trap fans, however, don’t have moms who dated Quaid in real life.
“I would tell my mom how much I loved The Parent Trap and be like, ‘We should watch it. It’s a really smart movie. They make a lot of good decisions in that movie,’” Qualley, 28, recalled of her childhood during a Harper’s Bazaar interview published on Thursday, September 21.
Shortly after Qualley’s obsession began, her mom — the famous Andie MacDowell — met Quaid, now 69, while they were filming the 2001 movie Dinner With Friends.
“She comes home and she’s like, ‘Margaret, I know how much you love The Parent Trap …’ And I was like, ‘Yeah?’ and waiting with bated breath, hoping my parents were getting back together,” Qualley shared. “And then in walks Dennis Quaid — her new boyfriend.”
MacDowell, 65, and her ex-husband Paul Qualley were married from 1986 to 1999. After their split, MacDowell briefly dated Quaid in 2001.
“I wasn’t living in Hollywood; I was living in a normal suburban town. But then I would have these ‘What in the world?’ moments,” Qualley noted, reflecting on her childhood in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Maid star also admitted to having weird feelings toward her mom’s career when she was a child.
“My dad would say that she was going to work on the oil rigs in Texas,” Qualley shared. “I think I understood enough to be proud of her. At the same time, I didn’t love the whole movie thing when I was a kid. My mom going off to do a movie just meant she’s going to leave town and go kiss some other dude and have a pretend life that I’m not involved in.”
Ultimately, that didn’t stop Qualley from following in her mom’s footsteps after quitting her dance career at age 16.
“The roles are more diverse. I’m getting less scripts about girlfriends and wives than actresses of my mom’s generation did,” Qualley said of her career, noting that she makes a point to watch all of her projects. “I like to know. I also like to prepare myself for the worst. I like to make sure that what I’m feeling adds up.”
As her acting career thrives, Qualley is also getting used to her new title of wife. She and Jack Antonoff got married in New Jersey last month.
“I am so happy that I found my person,” she gushed to Harper’s Bazaar. “And it’s real. It’s amazing. It’s the best feeling in the world. I’m so excited and so at ease all at once.”
The actress noted that she wants “to do everything” with her now-husband, 39.
“One day I want kids, and I’m not there yet, and I want to keep doing movies,” Qualley said. “And that’s about all I know.”
