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Earlier this month, Victoria Monét fans were ecstatic to learn that the “On My Mama” singer is preparing to release a deluxe edition of her Grammy-winning album, Jaguar II. But while that news was welcome, today, she followed it with some less pleasant news, confirming her breakup with longtime boyfriend John Gaines, with whom she shares one child.

In a statement posted to her social media, she explained why she waited nearly ten months before making the announcement, while also asking fans to “be gentle” with the former couple and their daughter. You can read the full statement below.

With good intentions, we honestly have been avoiding a formal statement about something as natural and as personal as love. We originally preferred to keep this out of the public (as announcing this publicly is sure to make pain resurface) but it is becoming more and more difficult to suppress. Yes, we have seen all of the questions and extremely false accusations of our origin story and we have thought long and hard about whether we owed it to anyone to explain where we are as we heal, since we understand how social media can magnify the truth or run far with untruths. Ultimately we decided to be open and address it in hopes to put a period on the question marks for the sake of our healing process.
We spent the last 10 months trying to respectfully and privately navigate the fact that we are no longer in a relationship. Though we still completely adore and respect each other, we are not a couple anymore. There was no infidelity, toxic behavior nor drama. We both just have some fundamental growing to do that would be best done apart so we can remain the best versions of ourselves for our daughter. It simply didn’t work out and that’s okay. We still think the world of each other and operate with love in every interaction for our family. We have an incredible daughter to raise for life and that is undoubtedly our number 1 priority forever. No relationship status can remove or replace that fact. We are committed to doing the inner work and trust that God will place us both where we belong in due time.
To all of our supporters, friends and family, thank you for your love, care and concern. Please allow us the peace and space to maintain a safe and happy environment to continue to co-parent to the best of our ability for Hazel! We plan to remain a family regardless of our public facing title, so please when you see us together with Hazel, be understanding and gentle. We appreciate you all for hearing us out and hope to be kept in your well intentioned prayers. Thank you
Sincerely Victoria and John

Multiple Neil Gaiman projects have received bad news lately, including the cancelled Dead Boy Detectives Netflix series and the paused Graveyard Book film from Disney with Good Omens‘ third season not exactly declared safe, either. The future of that Prime Video/Amazon series, for which Gaiman serves as showrunner and screenwriter, hasn’t recently been clarified amid sexual assault allegations (which Gaiman has denied) reported reported by Tortoise Media, who detailed allegations from five women in a podcast series.

Meanwhile, Netflix’s The Sandman, which Gaiman executive produces, continues post-production for the fantasy series’ second season, and although Netflix hasn’t issued a statement about the allegations, the author might have been sidelined from promotional duties. During the streaming service’s Geeked Week, a three-minute behind-the-scenes video surfaced from Netflix, and nowhere is Neil Gaiman seen, heard, or even mentioned by name:

Under normal circumstances, this would be highly unusual because of course Gaiman was front and center in the first season BTS video three years ago:

Has Gaiman been formally sidelined, by the streamer or by his own hand, as he has offered to do for Good Omens? Netflix simply has not commented on the subject, but the omission feels awkward at best.

Then again, Netflix hasn’t commented at all on the allegations against Gaiman, not even when the service cancelled Dead Boy Detectives, likely because the series wasn’t hitting the mark on viewership, despite the enthused fanbase that does exist. You can still see those viewers everywhere on social media and in YouTube comment sections where they ask Netflix to reconsider. Meanwhile, The Sandman doesn’t yet have a precise return date, other than Netflix recently specifying “in 2025.”

It’s a new week, which means the Crumbl Cookie report is back! Every week we set out to bring down every new cookie dropping at Crumbl and rank them from least essential to most. Everybody deserves a little treat from time to time, but we want you to spend your money only on the very best. Unless you want to be a crazy person like me and just buy all six, which, after over a month of doing this, I don’t recommend.

Don’t get me wrong, more cookies are always a good thing, but let’s face it, some of these cookies can be duds. After being a bit disappointed in last week’s lineup, I’m not quite sure how to feel about the cookies dropping this week.

Aside from the Confetti Cake, which is getting its Crumbl debut, we’ve got a Birthday Cake cookie with Oreos, a Peanut Butter cookie made with Snickers, a Caramel Shortbread cookie with Twix, and the return of the OG Pink Sugar cookie. In the Crumbl world, I’m not the biggest fan of big brand collaboration, they always taste too safe and unimaginative to me. I do however love Twix, Snickers, and Oreo, so I’m at least curious about how Crumbl is going to utilize these ingredients.

But, enough talking about it. Let’s dive into the best cookies dropping at Crumbl for the week of September 23-28.

A Quick Note On Mini Cookies

This week I opted for the mini cookies instead of the full size just because I’ve been curious about them for a while. If you’ve never been to Crumbl, the mini cookies can be very appealing — they’re smaller, less indulgent, cheaper, and ideal for a person who wants a little bit of everything but doesn’t want to eat six giant cookies by themselves.

But if this is your first time at Crumbl, I’m going to go ahead and suggest against them. Crumbl cookies are at their best when they are decadent — people say Crumbl cookies can be too sweet, well, that’s kind of the point. These cookies are designed to be treats, and the full-size cookie packs way more flavor — the ratio of ingredients to toppings to cookie base is much better.

Yes, you’ll save some money by getting a six-pack of minis vs the full size, but only about $5, and for cookies that aren’t even half as big as the full size. So if you want the most bang for your buck, just get the full size. If you can’t decide which of the six deserves your money (that’s what we’re here for) go ahead and get the minis. Alright, let’s eat.

6. Birthday Cake ft. Oreo

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

In the intro to this piece, I mentioned that I feel like the big brand collaborations are safe and unimaginative, and the Birthday Cake cookie ft. Oreo is just that. This is the third week in a row that Crumbl has had some kind of Oreo cookie and they are all essentially interchangeable.

This cookie tastes like an Oreo, topped with cake batter cream cheese instead of the usual cream. That gives the cookie this weird sort of tang to it that tastes less like and elevated Oreo and more like something off-brand. Honestly, a pack of Oreos will serve you better than this cookie.

The cookie is supposed to come with rainbow sprinkles on top of the creme cheese topping, for whatever reason mine didn’t (I blame the minis), though I doubt the inclusion of sprinkles would’ve done anything to win me over.

The Bottom Line:

A straight-up skip.

5. Milk Chocolate Chip

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

This is another flavor that suffers from the mini form factor. The full size will give you big chunks of chocolate chip, with the mini you’re getting significantly less chocolate chips. But I’ve had this cookie enough times to know its good, that’s not why it’s ranked low on this list.

The other cookies at Crumbl are just better than this simple, albeit delicious, milk chocolate chip cookie.

The Bottom Line:

Just save your money and pick up next week’s semi-sweet chocolate chip. It’s the superior cookie. Or, if you love Milk Chocolate Chip so much that you can’t pass up on this, make sure you get the full size.

4. Caramel Shortbread ft. TWIX

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

What I like about the Caramel Shortbread ft. TWIX is that it doesn’t rely too heavily on TWIX, using the candy as a feature rather than a focal point. This cookie is great, the base is buttery and decadent, while the mix of caramel and milk chocolate topping offers a lot of richness that pairs well with the buttery base.

The crushed TWIX adds a nice amount of texture to this otherwise soft-chew cookie. Crumbl says that the cookie is filled with pieces of TWIX, and while I can confirm, I don’t feel like there were enough to impact the flavor in any way.

The Bottom Line:

A wonderfully tasty and indulgent cookie, recommended especially for fans of TWIX.

3. The Original Pink Sugar

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

It pains me to rank this one in third place because if it dropped among last week’s lineup, it would’ve easily taken the top spot. But the Pink Sugar is facing some stiff competition this week, and as delicious as this cookie is, there are a few better options.

This deceptively simple cookie looks like your average sugar cookie, but it’s elevated thanks to an almond base and almond frosting. There is a lot of subtlety and nuance here that the average sugar cookie lacks.

The almond adds a semi-bitter counterbalance, which tamps down some of the sweetness but also adds in light echoes of cherry. The way the flavors sit on the tongue are a truly enjoyable experience.

The Bottom Line:

Probably one of the best sugar cookies you’ll ever eat. Don’t write it off because of its simplicity.

2. Confetti Cake

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Wonderfully fluffy and moist, the Confetti Cake is a true treat for fans looking to get their cake fix at Crumbl this week. The cake features two layers of confetti yellow cake topped with a sweet and rich vanilla buttercream frosting, with some rainbow sprinkles for a bit of texture, but let’s face it, the sprinkles are mostly just a visual thing.

This cake is incredibly sweet and rich, so be warned, you’re going to want some help if you want to eat this one in one sitting.

The Bottom Line:

An elevated, tasty, confetti cake. Better than any box cake we’ve ever had.

1. Peanut Butter ft. Snickers

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

It finally happened people, after four weeks in a row where the top spot was taken by a cake, a cookie has finally managed to score first place. And we have Snickers to thank for that!

This cookie features a nutty peanut butter cookie base topped with toasty caramel buttercream, a milk chocolate drizzle, and pieces of chopped-up Snickers. It has this wonderful earthy toasted flavor that is well-balanced with rich chocolate notes.

There isn’t a single cookie in this lineup that made me more mad that I opted for the mini cookies this time around than this one. In fact, I’m planning on hitting up Crumbl again this week just so I can get the full-size version. While I like most Crumbl Cookies, no single cookie has made me want to visit twice in one week like this one.

The Bottom Line:

Delicious, toasty, nutty and rich. This is the best cookie at Crumbl this week.

Find your nearest Crumbl Cookie here.

Last week, Sabrina Carpenter and Christina Aguilera had people talking. They linked up for a TikTok video, in which the two lip-synced to audio of Kylie Jenner from The Kardashians. Carpenter says she’s “obsessed with my mom” and turns the camera to Aguilera before confirming she is indeed her mother’s favorite.

All jokes aside, it turns out there was a reason the two were together: Today (September 23), Aguilera released The 25th Anniversary Of Christina Aguilera | Spotify Anniversaries Live, which features live renditions of some of her classic songs. Most notably, she teams up with Carpenter on a new recording of “What A Girl Wants.” Also of note is the version of “Genie In A Bottle” with Machine Gun Kelly.

This comes amid a particularly highlight-filled September for Carpenter. Short N’ Sweet became her first album to top the Billboard 200 chart (but just barely). Billboard also named “Espresso” the “song of the summer.” Then, Carpenter performed a medley of “Please Please Please,” “Taste,” and “Espresso” at the 2024 MTV VMAs. Most recently, it was announced last week that Carpenter is releasing A Nonsense Christmas With Sabrina Carpenter, her first holiday special, on Netflix, and she promised, “This is really gonna jingle your bells.”

Stream the project below.

Since she left Cherry Glazerr to pursue a solo career, Sasami has released two genre-defying albums, 2019’s Sasami and 2022’s Squeeze. Soon, she’ll put out a third. Sasami’s new pop-heavy album is called Blood On The Silver Screen, and it comes out on March 5, 2025. You can watch the baseball field-set music video for second single “Slugger” above (Field Of Dreams, it ain’t).

Sasami described Blood On The Silver Screen as being “all about learning and respecting the craft of pop songwriting, about relenting to illogical passion, obsession, and guiltless pleasure. It’s about leaning into the chaos of romance and sweeping devotion — romanticism to the point of self-destruction.”

She continued, “This album for me is about having deep, meaningful relationships within a new definition of what is good, what is right, and what is powerful… I wanted to go all out with this album. I wanted to, in my tenderness and emotionality, have the bravery to undertake something as epic as making a pop record about love. I hope it makes people feel empowered and embodied, too. It’s important to not box yourself in.”

You can check out the tracklist, as well as Sasami’s fall tour dates, below.

Sasami’s Blood On The Silver Screen Tracklist

1. “Slugger”
2. “Just Be Friends”
3. “I’ll Be Gone”
4. “Love Makes You Do Crazy Things”
5. “In Love With A Memory” Feat. Clairo
6. “Possessed”
7. “Figure It Out”
8. “For The Weekend”
9. “Honeycrash”
10. “Smoke (Banished From Eden)”
11. “Nothing But A Sad Face On”
12. “Lose It All”
13. “The Seed”

Sasami’s 2024 Tour Dates: Blood On The Silver Screen

10/22 – Belin, DE @ Urban Spree
10/23 – Paris, FR @ Le Pop-Up Du Label
10/26 – Amsterdam, NE @ London Calling
10/29 – London, UK @ The Lower Third
10/30 – Manchester, UK @ Yes
11/06 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall
11/07 – Columbus, OH @ The King of Clubs
11/08 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall
11/09 – Detroit, MI @ The Eastern
11/10 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
11/12 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
11/14 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
11/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
11/16 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
11/17 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/18 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
11/20 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
11/22 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Midtown
11/23 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
11/24 – McAllen, TX @ Cine El Rey

Blood On The Silver Screen is out 3/7/2025 via Domino. You can find more information here.

CBS recently put NCIS: Hawai’i to sleep, but better news was on the horizon. This procedural world will yield two new spin offs without locations in the title, one of which will bring back beloved characters like Tony & Ziva for extended adventures. Additionally, the often emotionally airtight (at least at the beginning of NCIS) Leroy Jethro Gibbs will receive an origin story to keep Mark Harmon’s character in the mix, years after he left the show in Season 19.

As viewers are aware, the ex-Marine sniper suffered a nearly unspeakable tragedy when his wife and daughter were murdered. Gibbs was shown taking vengeance in NCIS, but generally speaking, the man kept most details about himself close to his sleeve. Fans will learn more about the enigmatic leader, however, in the upcoming NCIS: Origins, so let’s get down to business:

Cast

Mark Harmon’s son, Sean Harmon, chose not to reprise his role as the younger Gibbs that he portrayed during periodic NCIS flashback scenes. Both Mark and Sean, however, are producing, and Austin Stowell ^^^ is doing the acting honors. You can see Stowell in action in a full trailer, and man, these Dad TV shows really love to use Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” to promote.

Also, Mark Harmon will be very present, both in narrating the series and making a brief physical appearance to be revealed.

Additionally, younger Special Agent Mike Franks will portrayed by Kyle Schmid, who will be giving Muse Watson vibes. Variety further reports that Bobby Moynihan is onboard as Woody Browne, who is Definitely Not Abby Sciuto but is “the wildly overworked senior chemist and director of the NIS Forensic Lab, who compensates for his lack of sleep with an offbeat sense of humor.” And Lori Petty will step in as Dr. Lenora Friedman, “a seasoned pathologist at the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office.”

Plot

As procedural devotees know, NCIS is actually a spin off to JAG, which initially introduced Mark Harmon as Gibbs and the late David McCallum as Dr. Ducky Mallard. As far as CBS has indicated, we won’t be seeing a younger Ducky in Origins yet, although that time could come. Instead, the first season will zero in on the complicated personal history (and professional life) of Gibbs after he came home from Operation Desert Storm. Surely, that would be the reason why the first episode’s title has been revealed as “Enter Sandman.” It ain’t because Gibbs happens to be a secret Metallica fan, although that probably wouldn’t make anybody mad if a reference slipped into the show.

NCIS: Origins will launch in 1991, more than a decade before the main series introduced Gibbs in his leadership position over Tony, Abby, Ziva, Tim, Kate, and many more rotating characters. Not only will the show dive deep into Gibbs’ turmoil over the loss of his wife and daughter, but we will also see his dad, now portrayed in the 1990s setting by Robert Taylor. According to co-star Kyle Schmid, the cast as a whole will make Origins “an edgier show” than viewers are accustomed to seeing in the NCIS realm.

Well, the series’ trailer does describe Gibbs as fitting into “the definition of crazy” after his traumatic loss. This show will seek to present “[t]he story he never told,” according to the series description, and viewers will see Gibbs “as a new special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office” on Special Agent Franks’ “ragtag team.” Get ready for to need some tissues, too? Maybe.

Release Date

CBS’ NCIS: Origins debuts on October 14 with a two-hour premiere and will stream on Paramount+.

Trailer

A full trailer really exists, so here is an intense look at Younger Gibbs and Special Agent Franks:

Among the highlights on Beyoncé’s hit album Cowboy Carter is the Post Malone collaboration “Levii’s Jeans.” Not long after the track’s release, denim company Levi’s had a significant stock jump, so much so that Levi Strauss CEO Michelle Gass said the following: “I would just say that denim is having a moment and the Levi’s brand is having a powerful moment around the world. One of the things that really is significant about the Levi’s brand and we place a lot of emphasis and investment is making sure that Levi’s brand remains in the center of culture. And I don’t think there’s any better evidence or proof point than having someone like Beyoncé, who is a culture shaper, to actually name a song after us.”

Well, it appears Gass figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to formally get into the Beyoncé business.

On Instagram today (September 23), Levi’s shared an illustration of Beyoncé riding a horse in silhouette. (They tagged Beyoncé in the post, so that’s how we know for sure it’s her.) The post is captioned, “INTRODUCING: A New Chapter.” Furthermore, the Levi’s Instagram now features a highlight titled “Levii’s.”

It’s not currently clear what’s going on here, as the aforementioned is so far all the publicly available information about the situation.

Before photographer and Exquisite Eye Studios founder Breyona Holt captured the likes of music phenoms Coco Jones, Halle Bailey, Giveon and bLAck pARty, she got her drive from her hometown of Atlanta.

Currently based in Los Angeles, Holt credits the ATL scene for showing her the grind and hunger that she’d need as a burgeoning artist. It was in the mid-2010s that she kept SoundCloud selections on repeat, listening to acts Smino, Tommy Genesis, Raury, and Awful Records’ Alexandria. Even in her eight years spent on the West Coast, Holt’s mind hasn’t left her southern beginnings, which would come to shape the color theory and contrast in her commercial, editorial and cover artwork.

“We really grew up on dance cultures [in Atlanta], so the music really inspired a lot of the work that I was creating,” Holt tells Uproxx. “When I first started, my photography was very moody, and I think once I moved to LA, over time, I did see that my word got brighter, and I was kind of pulling away from what made me stand out as an artist. I had to take a step back like, ‘Okay, I don’t want to pull too far away like staying into the lines and following the trends and what LA has.’”

But while Holt would depend on her music playlists to soundtrack her mood while editing photos, she credits her father’s early film photography as an influence. Even as a singular visionary, Holt showcases that influence through grainy, analogue photography images of subjects like SZA and Normani.

“I [loved] when I was going to his archive and what that would make me feel,” Holt says of her father’s works. “So even though I was mainly shooting on digital cameras at that time, I was trying to mimic that feeling that film made me feel. So the colors that you get with film is just a very organic type of feeling. I would say my dad was really one of my biggest inspirations at that time.”

Through her lens, Holt keeps an eye on individuals across entertainment, but viewers find her photos of Black women to be the most definitive. There’s an artist-to-subject unison where Holt channels the strength of Black womanhood and represents it with dignity. Holt’s portfolio exhibits crisp colors against genuine facial expressions and poses. Most of all, the Black femme energy radiates.

“I believe that it’s very important for us to be seen in a beautiful light and I think that sometimes, when Black women or Black men are the subject, we get the short end of the stick,” Holt says. “Whether it’s how we’re being lit–it doesn’t always represent us in the most powerful or the most uplifting way. Who I am at the core, I love art so much, and I want to make sure that we’re being documented and being seen in the best light, because these things will matter today and to generations to come.”

Since taking the cover art photography for albums like Joyce Wrice’s Overgrown, Coco Jones’ What I Didn’t Tell You, and Amindi’s TWYN, more recently, Holt shot the cover image of Halle Bailey’s new single “Because I Love You.”

“Her voice — she’s literally a siren; her voice is very angelic,” Holt says of Bailey, a fellow Georgia native. “Even just the instruments that she chose to use throughout the record. It was just something so refreshing and something I haven’t really heard before. When you hear a record like that, that inspires the colors you use. Just working with her on that project–the sound and the song is really what inspired the approach of the cover art, and I think it reflects the music video, which was incredible.”

The commanding and vulnerable song would come to reflect Bailey’s confident stance on the artwork, which took on a life of its own. “Even down to the posing, all of those factors matter with the cover art. I’m so happy she chose that photo as the cover,” Holt continues. “I think it was empowering how you know her hands up, her chest out, the arms up–it’s just a very powerful image, and I’m just so happy to have this in my portfolio and to be a part of this.”

On capturing her muses, like the hair-blowing moment-in-time cover of Overgrown or 1970s funk ode on the cover of bLAck pARty’s Hummingbird, Holt likens the interaction to a “dance” between herself and the muse.

“These are real moments and actions for the most part. It’s not like ‘We’re going into these cover arts, and we want you to pose exactly like this,’ because I feel like it would come off a little forced and people would feel that,” she shares. “But these are real moments listening to the music on set, we’re in the vibe — this is a real emotion that they’re expressing through their body, through their face and the color is just there to amplify what’s happening.”

Except for the textured collage on the TWYN backdrop, Holt’s cover art is fairly minimal in practice, keeping the viewers’ gaze on her subjects, and the photography is a visual interpretation of their music.

“When I’m hearing the music, because I really enjoy color theory, it’s about ‘What is this making me feel?’” Holt says. “I think you can communicate a lot through color theory, you can evoke an emotion through the colors that you choose to use. I think using minimal backgrounds, for me, helps you focus on who the subject is. I love a moment where the environment is just an add-on, but like the eyes, the facial expression, the mood of the body language in the model, all of that really matters to me.”

Along with her photography, Holt calls it a “greater goal” to take her still images to the screen as a filmmaker, especially since she’s built her portfolio as a music video director and creative director.

“Although I started off, and I’m able to grasp people’s attention through my photography, I think people have taken a chance with me when it comes to these music videos,” Holt says of her budding path in filmmaking. “[I’ve] even shocked myself at what I’m able to create as a director, but as I continue to explore with music videos, I would love to grow in that field and do more short films and let that grow, as well, into longform video, movies and things like that.”

In continuing to document the culture, Holt also has her hands in tactile fashion projects under her Exquisite Eye banner, but presenting Blackness in an authentic lens remains integral to her purpose. Holt embraces her roots, and it shows in her life’s work.

“I just love my culture. I love being Black and I love how we always create such beautiful art no matter what,” she says. “To be in this day and age and be able to have the internet and be able to share my art and people gravitate to it, or they feel inspired by it, I’m just doing this for the bigger picture.”

The New York Knicks are expected to be one of the top challengers to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference this season, after taking a big swing to add Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster trade this summer.

New York’s guard and forward rotation is incredibly deep and talented, as Tom Thibodeau will have a ton of options for mixing and matching lineups. The one weak spot for the Knicks is at center, where they got thinner this summer when Isaiah Hartenstein left for Oklahoma City in free agency and they didn’t really find a replacement for him. They did keep Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims, but they figure to be very reliant on Mitchell Robinson being healthy to be at their very best.

The problem is, Robinson had foot surgery in May and word emerged on Monday from Yaron Weitzman and Tim Bontemps that he will not be back for the start of the season — and could be out until the calendar flips to 2025. Bontemps reports the expectation is Robinson misses “a couple of months” while Weitzman says the target for a return is December or January, but all of that is dependent on a smooth rehab process.

A year ago, when at their best, the Knicks were able to have 48 minutes of tremendous rim protection and rebounding from their center position with Robinson and Hartenstein. Now, they’ll start the season without either of them and be forced into a lot of small ball. They certainly have the personnel to manage small ball minutes, and Thibs was already talking about having Julius Randle play some minutes at the five this season. Achiuwa can also take some center minutes and OG Anunoby is even a viable option at the five, but the Knicks are going to have to make some serious adjustments to playing defense without a high-level rim protector, at least for the start of the season.

The optimist’s view of the situation is that getting a couple months without Robinson will give the Knicks more versatility come playoff time to go small depending on their matchup and have extended reps doing it in the regular season. That only really pans out if Robinson gets back to full strength and is healthy for the postseason, and they don’t wear down their forward rotation by having to deploy them at center more often.

This year alone, Margaret Qualley has played a free-spirit lesbian being chased by mobsters; identical twins who both meet violent ends; and the host of a fitness show who turns everyone she meets into the Tex Avery wolf before she, herself, turns into something unexpected. Those films — crime comedy Drive-Away Dolls, absurdist anthology Kinds Of Kindness, and body horror satire The Substance — share little in common, other than fearless performances from Qualley, Hollywood’s most adventurous young star.

When did you first became aware of Margaret Qualley? Was it on Netflix’s Maid, which earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nominations? Or was it earlier than that? Maybe in FX’s Fosse/Verdon as acclaimed dancer Ann Reinking, or missing Amelia (she of the striking yellow dress) in The Nice Guys, or Manson Family member “Pussycat” in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood?

For me, it was The Leftovers. Her character, disillusioned daughter Jill Garvey, had the most screen time in season 1, which is notoriously the show’s weakest season. Yet, even before The Leftovers made a miraculous turn into one of the great HBO dramas, Qualley made enough of an impression that if you could invest in the careers of young actors and actresses, I would have put all my money on her becoming a movie star.

That investment would have paid off: Qualley has quickly gone from standing out in ensembles to a top-of-the-call sheet lead (and the rare good nepo baby). She has an on-screen presence that’s entirely of the moment, but there’s also an old-school grace; as Qualley’s Huntington co-star Glen Powell gushed to The New York Times, “She reminds you of one of those actresses of the golden era of Hollywood. She’s able to crack herself open in a way that’s just magnetic.” Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness director Yorgos Lanthimos was equally effusive in his praise of Qualley. “She’s willing to try things without questioning anything,” he told Harper’s Bazaar, “and she loves to explore.”

Qualley’s up-for-anything approach is all over her filmography. She’s a dominatrix in Sanctuary; an ethically-murky journalist in Stars At Noon; a half-child, half-adult walking corpse in Poor Things; four distinct characters in Kinds Of Kindness; and in the upcoming Honey Don’t, a private investigator alongside Chris Evans and Aubrey Plaza. Her audaciousness extends to TV shows (The Leftovers, Fosse/Verdon, Maid), video games (Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding), music videos, and even choreographed commercials.

But The Substance is Qualley’s most brave — and arguably best — role to date. She plays Sue, the “younger, more beautiful” version of Demi Moore’s TV fitness host Elisabeth Sparkle. She’s born, so to speak, after Elisabeth injects herself with a mysterious drug known as “The Substance” after being fired from her job on her 50th birthday. The green goo is free, but there is one big side effect: Elisabeth and Sue have to switch bodies every seven days, or else. I’m leaving the “or else” vague because I don’t want to spoil the wild third act of director Coralie Fargeat’s body-horror masterpiece, but even if you leave The Substance disgusted by what you’ve just witnessed, it’s impossible to not be impressed by Qualley’s (and Moore’s) commitment to the bit.

In less than a decade, Qualley has worked with many of the best directors in the game, including Fargeat, Quentin Tarantino, Yorgos Lanthimos, Claire Denis, Shane Black, and soon, Richard Linklater. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship: the filmmaker gets an actress who is adept at goofball comedy, high-stakes drama, twisted sexuality, and anything else thrown at her; and Qualley feels comfortable working with someone who gives her the space to play “f*cking freaks.”

Margaret Qualley once described acting as “scary and fun,” and that’s why she “fell in love with it.” And we fell in love with her as an actress for taking scary and adventurous roles, and making it look so fun.