Quinci LeGardye

Quinci is a Culture Writer at Marie Claire, where she specializes in writing pieces and helping to strategize editorial content across TV, movies, music, books, theater, performing arts, and Internet and pop culture. She contributes interviews with talent, filmmakers, below-the-line workers, and authors, as well as SEO content, features, and trend stories. She fell in love with storytelling at a young age, and after crafting her own stories as a child (including amateur novels, fanfiction, and screenplays), she discovered her love for cultural criticism and amplifying awareness for underrepresented storytellers across the arts. Television is Quinci’s greatest passion, and she spends countless hours catching up on the latest releases and returning to cozy favorites, from The Simpsons to Half & Half to Extraordinary Attorney Woo. She believes that entertainment journalism and criticism can help influence Hollywood by holding up a mirror to the hidden biases and stereotypes perpetuated in the media. When critics engage viewers to think more deeply about what they’re watching, either through a full thinkpiece or one line in an explainer, then audiences can demand more nuanced, empathetic art from studios and streamers. (She also agrees with Parasite director Bong Joon-ho that Americans need to overcome the one-inch barrier of subtitles and explore the superb world of international media.)

Prior to joining Marie Claire in 2021, she began her journalism career covering local and state politics, with an emphasis on mental health in Black communities, before pivoting to focus on culture journalism full-time. She also previously served as the weekend editor for Harper’s Bazaar, where she covered breaking news and live events for the brand’s website, and helped run the brand’s social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. In her three years (and counting) as a freelance culture journalist, Quinci has contributed reviews, profiles, features, recaps, and personal essays for outlets including HuffPost, The A.V. Club, Elle, Vulture, Salon, Cultured Mag, Teen Vogue, Polygon, Catapult, and others. Quinci was a 2021 Eugene O’Neill Critics Institute fellow and is a graduate of Poynter’s Power of Diverse Voices. She is also a member of the Television Critics Association.

Quinci earned her degree in English and Psychology from The University of New Mexico, with a concentration in Creative Writing. She is currently based in her hometown of Los Angeles. When she isn't writing or checking Twitter way too often, you can find her studying Korean while watching the latest K-drama, recommending her favorite shows and films to family and friends, or giving a concert performance while sitting in L.A. traffic.