'They imagined me with someone younger.' 5 things we learned from Florence Pugh's Vogue interview.

Florence Pugh is on a career trajectory many can only dream of.

At 27, the London native has earned an Oscar nomination for her role in Little Women, worked alongside Anthony Hopkins in King Lear, entered the Marvel universe, and most recently, led Olivia Wilde's dystopian thriller Don't Worry Darling.

Watch the trailer for Don't Worry Darling here. Post continues after video.

This month, Pugh graces the cover of US Vogue for the second time, for their winter 2023 issue.

In a profile accompanying the high fashion photoshoot, the British actress and those closest to her (including ex Zach Braff) discuss her career, relationships and that sheer dress.

Here's everything we learned from Florence Pugh's latest interview.

1. Pugh was unwell as a child.

Early in the piece, writer Chloe Schama details Pugh's childhood and upbringing. 

Born in Oxford, England, to a restaurant owner and classical ballet dancer, Pugh is one of four.

When she was three, her family moved to southern Spain. And as Schama writes, the sea change was "partly for the adventure [and] partly for the weather" - as they believed the warmer climate would help with Pugh's health.

When the actress was a child, she was diagnosed with tracheomalacia or "floppy trachea", a condition where the walls of your windpipes collapse on themselves. 

Pugh was in and out of hospital but eventually recovered.

2. Her thoughts on the backlash to her Valentino dress.

Pugh and her siblings had an innocent and carefree upbringing while living in Spain - they were always naked as kids, she shared, giving them a sense of self acceptance early on.

That body confidence is something the actress showed the world last year, when she wore a sheer Valentino dress with her nipples visible at the designer's Haute Couture show in Rome.

Pugh knew there would be commentary, but not as much as she received.

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A post shared by Florence Pugh (@florencepugh)

Speaking to Schama, she explained: "I’ve never been scared of what’s underneath the fabric.

"If I’m happy in it, then I’m gonna wear it. Of course, I don’t want to offend people, but I think my point is: How can my nipples offend you that much?"

Pugh also expressed why it's important to continue breaking the boundaries.

"I know that some people might scoff at me saying that, but if a dress with my breasts peeking through is encouraging people to say, 'Well, if you were to get raped, you would deserve it,' it just shows me that there’s so much more work to do," she said.

3. What she would never do preparing for a role.

Following on from her dress discussion, Pugh told Schama how she will never lose weight to "look fantastic" in a role. 

Instead, she prefers to think about how that character lives and what they would realistically eat and look like.

4. People "didn't like" her relationship with Zach Braff.

From 2019 until 2022, Pugh was in a relationship with actor and director Zach Braff. 

The couple were extremely private, only sharing photos together occasionally (on Instagram stories where they disappear) or for each other's birthdays.

Image: Instagram/zachbraff

The two remain close despite their breakup - Pugh is the lead in Braff's upcoming film and she still calls the kitchen in the house they lived in together "her kitchen", and the garden "her garden".

During the interview, she told Schama that she had recently bought a home in London. When the writer asked if she was keeping a place in Los Angeles, Pugh said she was undecided.

"It's all very new," she admitted. "My breakup has been very new, so I'm figuring that out."

The actress also addressed the criticism she and Braff faced because of their 21-year age difference (Pugh is 27, Braff is 47). 

"We weren’t in anyone’s faces. It was just that people didn’t like it," she said.

"They imagined me with someone younger and someone in blockbusters. I think young relationships in Hollywood are so easily twisted because they add to the gossip sites. It’s exciting to watch. 

"And I think I was in a relationship that didn’t do any of that."

5. What it was like losing someone to COVID-19.

During the pandemic, Pugh and Braff were living together in his LA home. Braff's best friend, actor and singer Nick Cordero, his wife and baby son, moved into their guesthouse.

Soon after, Cordero contracted COVID, fought for his life and passed away. His wife, Amanda Kloots, and Braff, documented his struggle.

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"Our property became ground zero for Amanda," Braff told Schama via Zoom.

The Scrubs actor explained how friends would come by and walk their baby, while Pugh would cook for everyone.

"And we were afraid of COVID, of course," he said.

"It was a very, very, very intense time, and we couldn’t even properly comfort Amanda. Of course, we broke down and just said, f**k it, and hugged her."

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The death of Cordero, followed by the passing of Braff's father and sister (their deaths were not COVID-related), prompted him to start writing a film, which would eventually be called A Good Person.

It was written for, and stars, Pugh.

"I quite simply think she’s one of the greatest actors of her generation," he said in the interview. 

"She’s just magnetic. You cannot take your eyes off of her.

" And it’s not just her beauty and it’s not just her acting ability, it’s that thing, that magic thing that transcends the screen, where anyone and everyone goes: I want to see whatever this person does."

Feature image: Vogue/Instagram/@zachbraff

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