All About Margaret Qualley's Famous Parents, Actress Andie MacDowell and Paul Qualley

Margaret Qualley was destined for Hollywood.

Her parents, actress Andie MacDowell and former model and rancher Paul Qualley, were married in 1986 and share two other children together; daughter Rainey Qualley, who is also an actress, and son Justin Qualley.

MacDowell is known for her roles in films like Four Weddings and a Funeral (1984) and Groundhog Day (1993).

Margaret’s own acting career took off with HBO’s The Leftovers from 2014 to 2017. She’s best known for FX’s Fosse/Verdon and Netflix’s Maid, in which she costarred alongside her mom.

MacDowell and Qualley divorced in 1999 after 13 years of marriage. She went on to marry businessman and her former classmate Rhett Hartzog in November 2001 before divorcing in 2004. Following their split, MacDowell raised her children in Montana and North Carolina.

Qualley has remained out of the spotlight, but the couple did come together for Margaret’s August 2023 wedding to music producer Jack Antonoff.

Here’s everything to know about Margaret Qualley's parents, Andie MacDowell and Paul Qualley.

They met while working as models and married in 1986

MacDowell and Qualley met on a modeling job for Gap. They married in 1986 and lived in on a ranch in Montana while MacDowell began to build her acting career. When she was 40, the couple moved their family to South Carolina, where the actress’ sister lived.

"I decided I didn't want to grow older in the middle of nowhere among people who weren't my family," she told The Age in 2002.

They have three children

The former couple share three children; son Justin (born in 1986) and daughters Rainey (born in 1990) and Margaret (born in 1994).

Justin lives a private life, but he has accompanied his mom to public events like the 2022 National Women's History Museum's 8th Annual Women Making History Awards, where MacDowell was an honoree. In 2022, MacDowell and Paul became grandparents when Justin and his partner Nicolette welcomed a baby girl.

Rainey is an actress as well as a model and singer, who performs under the name Rainsford.

Margaret is a Golden Globe-nominated actress known for her roles in FX’s Fosse/Verdon, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and Netfix’s Maid.

“Being a mother was a priority to me,” MacDowell shared in an Instagram post celebrating her son’s 35th birthday. “I definitely wanted to have a successful career but I did not want it to be at the cost of not having the opportunity to have a family."

She continued, “This was back in the days when we called this for women ‘having it all.’ As if we were being greedy to want to be able to have a career and have children. I made it work and he was the magic I needed, the love that filled me up along with my other children to give me the courage to be all I could be.”

They divorced in 1999

MacDowell and Qualley divorced in 1999 after 13 years of marriage.

After her parents' split, Margaret recalled encouraging MacDowell to watch one of her favorite movies at the time, 1998’s The Parent Trap, hoping that it would inspire her to get back together with Paul.

"I would tell my mom how much I loved The Parent Trap and be like, ‘We should watch it. It’s a really smart movie. They make a lot of good decisions in that movie,’ ” Margaret told Harper's Bazaar in 2023.

The actress was shocked when her mom began dating Parent Trap actor (and MacDowell’s Dinner with Friends costar) Dennis Quaid.

“She comes home and she’s like, ‘Margaret, I know how much you love The Parent Trap …’ And I was like, ‘Yeah?’ and waiting with bated breath, hoping my parents were getting back together," Margaret recalled.

"And then in walks Dennis Quaid — her new boyfriend," she continued. "I wasn’t living in Hollywood; I was living in a normal suburban town. But then I would have these ‘What in the world?’ moments."

In a 2019 appearance on The Late Late Show, Margaret spoke about her connection to The Parent Trap and joked that MacDowell "really misunderstood" her intentions.

"I was sure that it was all my fault and I had wished this into fruition,” she said at the time. “I took complete responsibility.”

Margaret says she had a “normal” childhood

Growing up in North Carolina, Margaret says she had a relatively normal childhood, though she would sometimes get a peak into her mother’s glamorous job.

In 2023, the actress told The Evening Standard that MacDowell was “probably the only Hollywood actress in Asheville.”

“I grew up always being like, 'Well, it’s just normal to me, she’s my mom, so it’s my normal life,' but also I knew it was weird,” Margaret said.

She continued, “It’s weird. I’m really lucky. It was a strange thing but then I did go to a normal school, [had] normal friends, and have a somewhat normal life. Then my mom would go off and do movies and sometimes I’d go with her and sometimes I’d meet, like, Gérard Depardieu.”

Margaret and her mother acted together in Netfllix’s Maid

Margaret and MacDowell starred opposite each other in Netflix’s 2021 limited series Maid, inspired by Stephanie Land's 2019 memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive.

In the 10-episode drama, Margaret stars as Alex, a down-on-her-luck single mother who turns to housecleaning after leaving an abusive relationship. MacDowell plays Alex’s mother, Paula, whom is referred to as "undiagnosed bipolar.”

Margaret was the one who suggested that MacDowell play the role of her on-screen mom, and the mother-daughter duo hung out every Sunday (their only day off) while filming.

“I got to work with somebody that I’ve grown up admiring since the fricking get-go — my very first idol,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021.

“That's a really special thing to happen to a parent, to have a child trust them and to want them to play opposite them," MacDowell told NPR in 2021.

Maid earned both Margaret and MacDowell Golden Globe nominations.

MacDowell has given her children career advice

MacDowell’s daughters, Margaret and Rainey, have followed in her footsteps. In 2017, the matriarch told PEOPLE that while they both "really wanted to do it on their own,” she’s still given them career advice.

“Mostly, I told them that fame is a huge responsibility,” the Ready or Not actress said. “And it’s not always easy to be recognizable all the time. It’s not really real. And to not lose sight of their true self because that’s going to be most important to being happy.”

As she’s become an empty nester, MacDowell says she’s learned to loosen the reigns on her children.

“Once they’re older, you then have to learn to let go,” she told PEOPLE in 2019. “I’ve done my job and I’ve done my job well because my kids are all making their own choices for themselves and developing into the people that they’re supposed to be. The most important thing that you will teach your children is to be independent."

They became grandparents in 2022

In June 2022, MacDowell announced via Instagram that ​​her son Justin and his partner Nicolette were expecting their first baby, making her a first-time grandparent.

"My children are the best part of my life. I am constantly learning from them, they are my greatest teachers,” she wrote in the post’s caption. “My job, my work is wonderful but my children are my life. I cannot wait to meet my sweet new grandchild. I'm so proud of all three of my children. and I love and I'm proud of sweet Nicolette too!!!"

During a January 2023 appearance on Today, MacDowell revealed that Justin and Nicolette had welcomed a baby girl named Cozette.

"I just spent Christmas with her,” she shared. “I've never had somebody look into me and see my soul like that. It was definitely a soul-to-soul connection.”

Asked what the actress wants to be called as a grandparent, MacDowell replied, "I haven't decided, she can't speak yet. I'm gonna give her time."

"I'm thinking Nana or Grandma," she continued. "Not Granny. It's up to her."

They attended Margaret’s wedding to Jack Antonoff

MacDowell and Qualley were both in attendance at their daughter Margaret’s August 2023 wedding to music producer Jack Antonoff. The celebration took place in New Jersey and hosted a slew of celebrity guests, including Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Channing Tatum, Zoë Kravitz and Cara Delevingne.

For the star-studded event, MacDowell wore a Cynthia Rowley floral-print maxi dress and showed off her now-signature gray hair.