Languid, gentle, beautiful. That is the image Cailee Spaeny brings to the screen in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla (2023), opposite Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley. It is a tender, heart-wrenching portrait of one of the world’s most mythologised couples, yet what she portrays is something far more intimate. Spaeny traces Priscilla’s evolution through love, infidelity, confusion and the disorienting pull of fame, capturing a young woman who is slowly stepping out from the shadow of a legend and into her own shape. The performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture in the Drama category, cementing her arrival on the global stage. “The icing on the cake,” she notes about Coppola, “was working with a director who I’ve looked up to my whole life.”
In the next phase of her career she carries that same emotional precision into something that is altogether different. In Alien: Romulus (2024), directed by Fede Alvarez, Spaeny trades intimacy for intensity, stepping into the vast, unforgiving terrain of one of cinema’s most enduring science fiction franchises. As Rain Carradine, a colonist stranded on a failing mining outpost, she is driven by the need to escape. A salvage mission to an abandoned space station quickly unravels, pulling her into a fight for survival against a far more dangerous and unknown threat. The contrast is striking. In Priscilla, Spaeny turns inward, charting the erosion and rebuilding of self within a relationship. As Rain, she is pushed outward into urgency, action and confrontation with the unknown. Yet the throughline holds. Both women are searching for autonomy and, more importantly, fighting for it unapologetically.
“I think the best way to approach a franchise is to come to it as a fan. I am a massive Alien fan,” she shares. “What is particularly exciting for me is the craftsmanship of the practical effects. There’s so much childlike excitement when you’re running around seeing miniatures being made or watching the Legacy Effects team talk about what consistency of slime should be coming out of the life-sized animatronic xenomorph puppet. That stuff makes me giddy.”At 27, the Knoxville-born actress, who was raised in Springfield, Missouri, has built a filmography that reflects that range. From her early breakout in Pacific Rim: Uprising to Civil War, Wake Up Dead Man and most recently Beef, her choices feel increasingly assured. She is currently working on Deep Cuts with Sean Durkin, a collaboration she describes as a dream.
“Acting is still a mystery to me. I’m still fascinated by exploring different genres and characters.”
Along the way she has shared the screen with a formidable roster, including Glenn Close, Daniel Craig, Wagner Moura, Kirsten Dunst, Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. It is this breadth that makes Spaeny so compelling. “Maybe I’m looking for my own answers,” she thoughtfully notes. “I’m trying to enjoy the work and return to the characters and the text to understand something about myself and what I want. It’s been one of the most exciting and fulfilling periods creatively. I’ve really been pushing myself with the projects I’m taking on. Acting is still a mystery to me. I’m still fascinated by exploring different genres and characters.” In many ways, Spaeny’s trajectory feels less like a sudden arrival and more like something that is steadily taking shape.
In an industry that so often insists on defining women in narrow terms, she has instinctively moved against the grain, carving out a path that resists easy categorisation. Her beginnings, too, reflect that difference. Rather than a conventional upbringing, performance became both refuge and foundation. She left school early, choosing instead to immerse herself in the environments that nurtured her curiosity and sharpened her craft—spaces where storytelling felt alive and immediate. Music formed an essential thread in that journey. She gravitated towards performance in its many forms, from dance to singing to theatre, developing a range that felt instinctive rather than studied.
“That was my education, not just in performing but in life. I never got a formal education past the age of 13. So the local theatre, the theme parks I performed at and the church worship band were where I found myself,” she shares. “I will always have a love for music. Filming a music movie right now is deeply fulfilling for me.” In fact, the actress boasts a curated vinyl collection that is a brilliant mix of childhood influences, recent finds and the gems that have taken her through the darkest times. One might even say retrofuture, which lines the thread of our April issue—focusing on the pulse of the past with the appetite of the future. Watching Spaeny, it is clear this spills into her mode of self-expression too.
Over the years she has become a fixture in fashion circles as well, most notably donning the past-meets-present designs of Miuccia Prada through Miu Miu. To her 909,000 followers on Instagram, she presents a stylistic air that teeters between laid-back and naturally put together: favourite oversized blazers, sleek leather ensembles and sometimes, à la Miu Miu, an eclectic mix of layering. On a personal note, she shares: “Building solid, well-tailored basics in my closet has been the priority. A pair of vintage jeans with my Miu Miu loafers and a plain tee is my go-to move. Fashion and photo shoots feel more like an opportunity to explore something creatively—to play around with a character or a different personality. I think for the Vogue shoot, we were tapping into a bit of a David Lynch world. I immediately think of David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick imagery when I think of retrofuture. It was so fun to lock into this set and character with the team on this shoot. The lovely Norman Roy, who shot me for this issue, really found a rhythm and world with me. Very special.”
This approach takes on life in the versatility and the vastly different worldsof her characters as well. “Costumes, hair and make-up are often the last pieces that solidify the character. But that was particularly true for the work onPriscilla.The exquisite work from Stacey Battat [costumes], Cliona Furey [hair], and Jo-AnnMacNeil [make-up] was the anchor for that performance, especially in keeping trackof her age and emotional journey. We shot out of order on a 30-day shoot, across a 13-year progression. The outward transformation was my real guide in keeping track of her arc,”
Her latest project is Deep Cuts, an A24-produced film that is set within the world of music, more specifically exploring the uncharted territory of college love and ambition. Based on Holly Brickley’s debut novel, it follows a love story formed at UC Berkeley. She stars alongside Drew Starkey and, as of press time, a release date is unknown. “When I start prepping, everything in my life is seen through the lens of the project I’m working on. It all goes into the creative pot. And you just keep trying everything and anything until some key starts to turn. Sometimes it’s learning a new skill that informs how the character thinks and moves. Sometime sit’s a bit of poetry or a painting that cracks it. Sometimes it’s a dream you’ve had that is surprisingly relevant to the emotional journey of the character. It’s different and random every time, which is what makes it exciting and strange.”
But still, despite it all, Spaeny stays grounded, a far cry from the flightiness that can often take over in a fast-moving career shaped by success. When asked about her perfect day she responds: “I’m home. I’ve cooked some pasta. I’ve poured myself a large glass of wine. I have no one to see and nothing to do, and I’m about to watch a film. But I am trying to push myself to go out dancing more. I think that’s something I should do more of this year.” And from Priscilla to Rain to Percy, Cailee still shines through. “I remind myself that my job is only one part of my life.”
Photography Norman Jean Roy
Styling Xander Ang
Hair Orlando Pita/ Home Agency
Make-up Romy Soleimani
Manicure Yukie Miyakawa Pendell/See Management
Producers David Bay, Ivan Shentalinskiy and Alexey Galetskiy
Casting Jill Demling
Photographer’s assistants Kyle Thompson and Katy Andrascik
Stylist’s assistants Delphine Schowalter, Jacob Washington and Coco Li
Production assistant Jackie Piccola
The April issue of Vogue Singapore—themed ‘Retrofuture’—is available to pre-order online.
