With turns in prestige dramas like Industry (playing Harper Stern, an ambitious young woman vying for a seat at the table inside a cutthroat London investment bank), zeitgeist-grabbing send-ups like A24’s Bodies Bodies Bodies (where she appears alongside fellow icons of the moment Pete Davidson, Chase Sui Wonders, and Rachel Sennott), and major blockbusters like last year’s apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind, Myha’la is poised for a long and wide-ranging career. The 28-year-old San Jose native is on a trajectory any young star would dream of—and she’s just getting started.
What is your calling card?
I don’t know, actually. I feel like it’s probably my very tall boyfriend. Oftentimes, when people run into me, they say they saw him first.
What's something people get wrong about you?
People think I’m from New York, and I take that as a compliment. I think New Yorkers are some of the coolest, strongest, most multihyphenated people on the planet. So if someone thinks I’m that, I’m flattered.
Name an influence of yours that might surprise people.
Bernadette Peters, my queen. She was the first person I saw onstage who made me think, I want to be just like her. Big, beautiful, unapologetic, and so gracefully committed to her artistic integrity. She’s the best.
When was the last time you surprised yourself in your work?
I don’t love surprises. I’m an Aries. My perfectionist overachieving ADHD brain works overtime to anticipate things, so I’m not surprised by much. At work, if I’m surprised by something it makes me feel like I wasn’t well-enough prepared. Or maybe it’s my belief that anything and everything is possible that keeps me from being surprised.
Who do you call the most?
My man, my man, my man. Or my mom. They are my best friends.
When you were little, what were you known for?
Being “dramatic.” I was a theater kid from the moment I came out of the womb: very chatty and prone to breaking out in song at random.
Hair by Cody Ainey
Makeup by Shyanna Lundi
Styling Assistance by Ella Christensen
