Mia Goth

Mia Gypsy Mello da Silva Goth (born 25 October 1993) is a British actress. Following a brief stint in modelling as a teenager, Goth made her feature film debut in the erotic art film Nymphomaniac (2013). She gained further recognition with films such as The Survivalist (2015), High Life (2018), Suspiria (2018), Emma (2020) and Infinity Pool (2023).

Goth achieved a career breakthrough in 2022 when she starred in the X slasher film series installments X and Pearl, the latter of which she also co-wrote.

Goth was born in Guy's Hospital in London, England. Her mother is Brazilian and her father is Canadian, originally from Nova Scotia. Her maternal grandfather is Jewish-American artist Lee Jaffe, and her maternal grandmother is Brazilian actress Maria Gladys.

Goth moved to Brazil when she was a few weeks old, because her mother, who was 20 at the time, needed help from her family to raise her. They returned to the United Kingdom when she was five and briefly relocated to her father's native Canada when she was ten. There, she attended nine schools in a single school year; Goth said that the period when they tried living with her father was very difficult. When she was twelve, she and her mother settled in southeast London, where she attended Sydenham School. Goth's mother raised her in a single-parent household, working as a waitress to support them.

2012–2021: Early career in modeling and acting

At the age of 14, Goth was discovered at the Underage Festival in London by fashion photographer Gemma Booth, who signed her to Storm Model Management. She subsequently appeared in advertising campaigns for Miu Miu and Prada, as well as in the magazines Wonderland, Vogue, Vogue Italia, W, Love, Dazed, Interview, AnOther, British Vogue, Document Journal, Glamour and Pirelli. Goth made her runway debut in 2023, opening the Miu Miu F/W 23 Show.

Goth began to audition for films at 16, and after finishing sixth form, won her first role in Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac (2013), along with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe in the segment "The Gun". Goth played Sophie Campbell in an episode of Sky Atlantic's crime drama series The Tunnel.

In 2014, she appeared in Future Unlimited's music video for "Haunted Love", directed by Shia LaBeouf. She then appeared in the Stephen Fingleton directed introductory short film Magpie with Martin McCann. In 2015, Goth played the lead role of Milja in the post-apocalyptic thriller The Survivalist directed by Fingleton, followed by roles as Meg Weathers in the disaster adventure-thriller film Everest (2015) directed by Baltasar Kormákur, and Hanna Helmqvist in an episode of BBC One's crime series Wallander.

She also appeared in the horror film A Cure for Wellness (2016) directed by Gore Verbinski and had supporting roles in Luca Guadagnino's remake of Suspiria (2018) and the sci-fi mystery film High Life (2018) directed by Claire Denis. Goth appeared in Guadagnino's short film The Staggering Girl (2019) and Autumn de Wilde's period romantic comedy film Emma (2020). She also starred in Karen Cinorre's action drama film Mayday (2021) with Grace Van Patten and Juliette Lewis.

2022–present: Breakthrough and the X trilogy

Goth starred in Ti West's slasher film X, released in March 2022 to critical acclaim. Goth donned extensive prosthetic makeup to portray the elderly Pearl. Describing her experience, Goth stated, "It was a good 10 hours in the makeup chair, and then I'd go and do a 12-hour day on set, and the makeup artist, Sarah Rubano, who was incredible, would constantly be touching me up and making sure my contacts were all right and all those sorts of things." She received praise for her roles as both protagonist Maxine Minx and antagonist Pearl, with West stating, "She understood the characters really well, and she understood the duality of Maxine and Pearl." David Sims of The Atlantic wrote "The dual showcase is a remarkable one for Goth, who previously stood out in supporting roles in Emma, High Life, and A Cure for Wellness". She subsequently starred in the prequel film Pearl, which she co-wrote with West and began filming immediately after X. The film was released in September 2022 to positive reviews. Goth's performance in the film received unanimous praise with Williams Earl, in a piece for Variety, contending that it deserves attention from the Academy Awards. For her portrayal of the character, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance.

Goth next starred in Brandon Cronenberg's thriller Infinity Pool opposite Alexander Skarsgård. The film premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on 27 January 2023 to positive critical reception, with her performance receiving praise. David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote "Goth makes an even stronger post-Pearl case for her being the single most interesting actor working in genre movies at the moment" and Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting concluded "Goth progresses her character's devious machinations with a scene-stealing level of unhinged glee that might give Pearl a run for her money".

Goth will reprise the role of Maxine Minx in the X sequel MaXXXine. Goth is set to appear in the crime thriller Sweet Dreams. She is also to be attached to star in Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein and in Marvel Studios' Blade.

Goth met American actor Shia LaBeouf while co-starring in Nymphomaniac in 2012. On 10 October 2016, Goth and LaBeouf appeared to get married in a Las Vegas ceremony officiated by an Elvis impersonator. Two days later, a local official claimed that the pair were not legally married, but instead a commitment ceremony was performed. Later that month, LaBeouf confirmed their nuptials on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In September 2018, it was announced the couple had separated and filed for divorce. In February 2022, it was reported that the couple had reconciled and Goth was pregnant with their first child. Their daughter was born in March 2022.

Film

Key

† Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television