I adore Elle Fanning and I’m strangely proud of her for the woman she’s become. I remember her when she was just a tiny slip of a girl, a child actor who seemed too delicate to survive. She not only survived, she’s thrived and done so without courting controversy, without going through any wild-child phases. She seems like a throwback to a different era, which is probably why she’s so good in period pieces. Elle covers the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK to promote the latest season of The Great, where she plays the young Catherine the Great. She talks a lot about the show, and she also confirms that she and Max Minghella are over. I forgot that they were even together! Some highlights:

Her “college” experience was work: “I’ve been busy working out all those ‘adult’ things. How to live on my own, who I am.”

She was told she didn’t need to do historical research on ‘The Great’: “When I was first cast, Tony told me there was really no need to do any research, because the story is not tied to historic fact. But I did do some, because before I stepped into her shoes, the only thing I knew about Catherine the Great was the rumour she’d had sex with a horse – which actually feels like one of the earliest forms of slut-shaming. So, partly, I wanted to reclaim her name a bit – to bring to the fore how progressive she was in championing science and female education, being an engine behind the Russian Enlightenment, separating church and state.”

But was Catherine a badass? “I still hear, ‘Catherine the Great? What a badass!’ But… I don’t know how accurate that is. She takes risks, but she has to work herself up to it. She’s powerful, but not always the most powerful person in the room. She can be both scheming and naive. She’s a girl and a woman. I’ve been playing Catherine in such formative years of my life. I’ve grown as a woman alongside her.”

She’s gained confidence on the job: “These days, I feel like my voice matters. For a while, I’d be like, ‘Oh well, I’m young, people don’t necessarily want to listen to me, they probably know more anyway.’ But there comes a point when you register that you’ve been doing this for 20 years. I may not always have the answer, but I’ve realised that sometimes you do have to have a little bit of that Catherine ego and say, ‘Listen to me!’”

Depicting pregnancy on ‘The Great’: “I was obsessed with it. I had a bespoke bump with boobs moulded onto me that went all the way up to my neck. The costume team told me that this is pretty accurately what my body will look like when I’m pregnant… which did feel quite crazy. I loved the way it looked. It made me want to do it, to be pregnant.”

She’s an “old soul”. “I’m very nostalgic, I don’t feel like I necessarily belong in today.. I am comfortable in antique stores, and in London, because it has so much history.” Indeed, a psychic she spoke to once told Fanning that she was from the past, while her sister Dakota was “an alien from the future”. “It makes sense,” she adds, laughing.

What her future looks like: “I’d love to play Grace Kelly in something. And to have kids.” She is currently single, having recently come out of a long-term relationship with the actor Max Minghella. “But I’m a hopeless romantic. I believe in love at first sight. Call me crazy, but I believe in those things. I feel that it’s my destiny.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

I’m someone who believes in past lives and I think reincarnation explains why some people – like Elle – seem like they’re from a different era. Like, she really loved her previous life, she loves the clothes and the vibe of whatever era she was in, and she carried that with her into the next life. I do wonder if her romanticism and vintage-aesthetic will lead her down some bad paths in her life, but maybe she’ll be just fine. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover & IG courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar UK.