Millions around the world just can't get enough of Anya Taylor-Joy's recent role as Beth Harmon on Netflix's "The Queen's Gambit."
If you're one of those fans rooting for her, here are 10 facts you may not know about Anya Taylor-Joy.
Discovered while walking in London
Why do you ask? Well she's one of the reasons why we could see Taylor-Joy on our screens! According to Taylor-Joy, she was spotted by the modelling scout as she was walking outside Harrods in London at the age of 16…Great catch!
Vegan for a 'very long time'
In her own words, "I was vegan for a long time, I got into it because it's the most ecologically conscious choice you can make as a consumer. When I was a vegan, it was the healthiest I've ever felt because I had so much energy."
Her diet as a vegan involved a lot of greens and Italian food.
Anya avoids mirrors
Yes, she was a vampire back in 2014's "Vampire Academy" but seriously, she despises mirrors.
According to an interview with W Magazine, one particularly mean Facebook comment says that her eyes made her look like a fish.
It made her upset and from that day on, she doesn't like the sight of herself in front of mirrors. (Don't worry Taylor-Joy, we love you!)
Intensity and power equals 'cool and sexy' for Anya
Physical looks aside, she is more enticed by someone or something when she senses the intensity and power radiating from it as she explained: “Anything you bring an intensity to has the power to be sexy or cool. I think chess is very cool, personally. It’s something people are willing to dedicate so much work and passion to. I find that very sexy and cool.”
Anya has a photographic memory
No wonder those chess matches were clockwork, she mastered it! “I knew there were pieces, I knew there was a board, but that’s actually what was kind of awesome about getting to do this, that I got invited into a very secret world that’s super-cool and really interesting.
“A lot of the chess, especially the speed chess, was my favourite part of filming.”…what a brain!
Watching fantasy films is a Christmas tradition
For last year, she watched "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy in one sitting! As she explained, "I just thought, ‘OK, you have to find a way to bring something positive to this,(global pandemic, and being away from her family in Argentina) — the answer is obviously Lord Of The Rings. Like, obviously.”
Anya is vary wary of auditioning for Latina roles
Taylor-Joy classifies herself as a white latina but at the same time, she is very wary of auditioning for Latina roles."I'm aware of the fact that I don't look like a typical Latin person, and that's not fair. I don't want to be someone that you could just sub in for the role when I'm really white and blonde." she said in an interview with Vulture.
She once thought that she is too weird-looking and not beautiful to be a star
In an interview with The Sun last November, she explained, "I have never and I don’t think I will ever think of myself as beautiful.
“I don’t think I’m beautiful enough to be in films. It sounds pathetic and my boyfriend warns me people will think I’m an absolute d*** for saying these things, but I just think I’m weird-looking.
“I won’t go to the cinema to watch my own film, I’ll watch it before. The beauty of being in your own skin is that you don’t have to look at your own face.” (The Queen had spoken!)
Anya had a tough childhood in London because of her looks
She was born in Miami, Florida but she went to different places growing up, one of the toughest being in Argentina, as she recalled, “Argentina is all green and I had horses and animals everywhere. All of a sudden I was in a big city and didn’t speak the language. I didn’t really feel like I fitted in anywhere.
“I was too English to be Argentine, too Argentine to be English, too American to be anything.
“The kids just didn’t understand me in any shape or form. I used to get locked in lockers.
“I spent a lot of time in school crying in bathrooms.
“I was so lonely as a kid. I felt so isolated that I created this story in my head about loneliness being bad, being alone was bad." (Sending hugs Taylor-Joy!)
Anya learned English through 'Harry Potter' books
More reasons to love her more because Taylor-Joy is a certified Potterhead! As she recalled, "I wanted to go home, and in my six, seven-year-old mentality I thought my parents would have to take me back if I didn’t speak the language. My uncle would sit me down with the Harry Potter books, so all my language when I was young was quite precocious because I was learning from these books."