Anora star Mikey Madison is breaking the world’s expectations of a typical Hollywood actress.
While it’s generally expected that starlets attend premieres, parties, and be active on social media, that isn’t the path Mikey is following.
The Oscar-winner, 26, has revealed she is not on social media and doesn’t ever ‘regret’ skipping a party.
In a Vogue Italia interview, Mikey – who recently became the ninth youngest star to win the Academy Award for Best Actress – lamented on her inclination towards seclusion, as well as the pressure she feels to appease the world by embracing a more social lifestyle.
‘I’m extremely introverted, but I also have a big desire for adventure. It’s a conflict I’ve always felt, but it’s gotten worse lately,’ she told the magazine.
As the interviewer shared their observations that the world has been divided amongst those who adore Mikey and those who are unaware of her, she shared: ‘I feel like everything around me has changed, and I think that’s increasing my need to withdraw into myself.
Anora star Mikey Madison has revealed she prefers seclusion over parties in a new interview with Vogue Italia (pictured winning her Oscar in March)
Mikey appears on one of two covers for the September 2025 issue of Vogue Italia; pictured her digital cover for the publication
‘It’s as if I’m now aware of how I’m perceived. I’m not on social media, I never regret missing a party or a dinner, but it seems like society is forcing me to ask myself, “Should I do it too much to be happy? To be fair?” We pretend to be someone we’re not to make others feel comfortable.’
Growing up, Mikey was shy and found solace in animals – so her interest in acting came as a surprise to her mother.
‘Having been a competitive horseback rider, I often went to horse shows. One day, coming home, I burst into tears; I felt like it wasn’t where I was supposed to be anymore,’ Mikey – who appears on two covers of the magazine’s September 2025 issue (including a yearbook style cover) – told the publication.
‘I remember my mom, upon finding out I wanted to be an actress, asking me, “So you want to go to community theater classes?” She couldn’t believe it. I was incredibly shy then, so much so that I wouldn’t talk to anyone except animals. But all I could think about was acting. She said, “Okay, that’s a very intense emotional confession from you, let’s give it a try.” And I did.’
The future superstar was raised in Los Angeles – ‘but not in Hollywood, in the Valley’ – in a suburban neighborhood where she enjoyed climbing trees with her brother and finding snails.
‘My childhood was normal; no one in my family is in show business. My father is an artist and a chef trapped in the body of a psychologist, and so is my mother. She took me to over a hundred auditions, helping me memorize my lines,’ she said.
Mikey has kept a relatively low-profile since earning her Oscar.
While she did host an episode of Saturday Night Live in March (in which musical guest Morgan Wallen infamously walked off the stage at the end of the show), attend their afterparty as well as a couple of events for jewelry line Tiffany’s, she does not seem to be a particularly active presence on the social circuit.
She won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Anora
While she attended the usual post-Oscar Vanity Fair party, she has kept a rather low-profile when it comes to the social scene
Mikey, however, has attended a couple of glamorous Tiffany events since her win (pictured April in New York)
And she also hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live, in which musical guest Morgan Wallen controversially walked off the stage at the end of the show
Mikey’s yearbook-style cover for the print edition of Vogue Italia
‘I’m extremely introverted, but I also have a big desire for adventure,’ she told the publication
Mikey was styled in edgy apparel for the shoot
She is the ninth youngest star to win the Oscar for Best Actress
Mikey controversially beat out Demi Moore for the Oscar, with the Hollywood legend the favorite to win what would have been her first Academy Award.
The actress praised Demi in a interview with The Hollywood Reporter the morning after the Oscars, revealing she reached out to the Striptease star after her win.
‘I texted with Demi, who I adore. She’s one of the sweetest, kindest women I’ve ever met, and I’m so grateful that I was able to meet her and witness her brilliance and talent in person. I adore her and I can’t wait to see what she does next, what kind of characters she brings us. I think we’re all so ready and excited to see that,’ she said.
In the months since the Academy Awards, she has been linked to several upcoming films, including a possible role in the sequel to The Social Network.
She has surprisingly even turned down an unknown role in an upcoming Star Wars film, according to Variety.
However Mikey isn’t going to appear in any film, with the star stressing the importance of acting in a movie she feels a gravitational ‘pull’ towards.
Among her social gatherings was an afterparty for her SNL episode
Mikey controversially beat out Hollywood legend Demi Moore for the Oscar
She told THR: ‘I don’t know. I hope to continue to work with interesting people. It’s all about following a feeling, because it’s an emotional job, and I think I just have to really feel that pull toward something, that really strong pull, like, “I absolutely have to do it.” Because of this film, I’ve been able to just think about it.’
Mikey got her start in features in the 2015 indie Liza Liza, The Skies Are Grey, alongside Madison Iseman, before being cast as Max in FX’s Better Things.
She went on to star in Monsters, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, 2022’s Scream and the 2023 film All Souls.
The actress most recently played Judith Weinstein in the Apple TV Plus miniseries Lady in the Lake.
