If you have seen Little Women,you will by now have fallen for Florence Pugh, the husky voiced British actor who plays Amy March in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of the classic novel. But her Hollywood superstar status was cemented last week by, not only her first Oscar nomination for Little Women, but also the unveiling of her cover for US Vogue.
Florence, 24, celebrated the news of her nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a photo posted to her Instagram account (in which she had to cover her naked boobs with avocado emojis – very Millennial) with the caption, ‘#nominated #forafuckingoscar!!!!!!’ and told Vogue that she was planning on celebrating with a bowl of truffle pasta.
It marks the start of what is going to be a massive year for Florence. The British- born star was raised in Oxford and Spain, where her parents moved her because of recurring respiratory problems she had as a young child. Hollywood has been slowly falling for Florence since she appeared in Lady Macbeth in 2016, but it was her performance in last year’s horror film Midsommar, followed by her interpretation of Amy March, which have seen her moving in increasingly powerful circles in her new life in Los Angeles. She relocated there last year to begin filming the new female-led-and-directed Marvel film Black Widow, alongside Scarlett Johansson and Rachel Weisz, and has since signed with the same Hollywood publicist as Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
When she isn’t working, she spends most of her spare time with her boyfriend, director and actor Zach Braff, 44 – most famous for his role in cult show Scrubs. ‘Florence has been dating Zach since early last year. They met to discuss a project and hit it off,’ says a source. It’s been reported that Zach will direct Florence in The Secret Ingredients Of Rocket Cola this year.
Some Instagram followers have criticised their 20-year age gap, but Florence defended their relationship last week after she was photographed on a date night. One wrote, ‘He looks like your grandfather,’ to which she replied, ‘...and yet he got it.’
‘Anyone who knows Florence will tell you she is amazingly mature for her age;he and Zach don’t even notice the age gap. They don’t care what anyone else thinks, they’re happy doing what they’re doing,’ says the source, who adds that part of the reason people love Florence is that she is a breath of fresh air in an industry that can be humourless. ‘Florence is never happier than when she’s messing around, making people laugh, and she injects humour into so much that could be really boring.’
Having deliberately picked indie films, such as her first project The Falling, which largely kept her out of the big budget Hollywood circuit until the Marvel universe came along, Florence said in December last year that she had been protecting herself in a way, particularly when it came to her body image. ‘It’s very easy when you’re out there to be swayed and to look the way they want you to look,’ she explained. ‘Until you have the confidence to say no, it’s tricky.’
Now, Florence will be finding herself more in demand than ever, just the way she is, thanks to the buzz surrounding her Oscar nomination. ‘That’s a huge honour but it won’t change Florence,’ says Grazia’s source. ‘She’ll be the same person no matter what she does or how famous she becomes.’
READ MORE: Oscars 2020: Why Laura Dern Has The Best Approach To Ageing In Hollywood
READ MORE: Oscars 2020: Renée Zellweger's Greatest Performances