Hailee Steinfeld on Her Career, Vulnerability, and Using Her Platform for Good

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(Image credit: Kai Z Feng )

published 3 January 2018

Hailee Steinfeld is perched on a sofa that commands one corner of the back patio of The Meritage (opens in new tab), a “Tuscan-inspired” resort in Napa Valley. A cherubic, grape-picking maiden scrutinizes her from atop a faux-marble pedestal, next to some Mediterranean-looking plants that may or may not be real. The actress and singer is staying here while she films Bumblebee, the Transformers movie due out December 2018. In her Re/Done (opens in new tab) graphic tee and Mother (opens in new tab) jeans, Steinfeld has the poise and overly polite manners you’d expect from someone who spent her childhood on movie sets surrounded by people three times her age. But the composure disappears with comical speed when I pose the same question her fans have been asking for months: When is she going to release her first album?

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Steinfeld taps her Reebok (opens in new tab) on the ground, and her knee begins to bounce. Her almond-shaped eyes widen and her expression changes to that of a straight-A student faced with a pop quiz. “I’m so over saying the word ‘soon’ because I’ve used it too many damn times. I don’t even know what it means anymore. I want to put new music out, but...” She looks off. In front of us, the resort’s pool sparkles, but if Steinfeld is eyeing her escape route, she’s out of luck: A sign on the gate to the pool reads “Adults Only: Age 21 & Older.” At the time we’re talking, Steinfeld is only 20. (She turned 21 in December.)

As an actor, I’m masked by characters, protected by them. But as a musician, it’s my story, my voice, my face. It’s such a different kind of vulnerable.

It’s easy to forget how young she is. Her accomplishments to date include an Academy Award Best Supporting Actress nomination (2010’s True Grit (opens in new tab)), a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination (2016’s The Edge of Seventeen (opens in new tab)), and two platinum-selling records (2015’s “Love Myself (opens in new tab)” and 2016’s “Starving (opens in new tab)”). But youth is not the reason Steinfeld is nervous to talk about the music she’s working on; it’s the emotional honesty and exposure such creativity requires.

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“As an actor, I’m masked by characters, protected by them. But as a musician, it’s my story, my voice, my face,” she explains. “It’s me on that stage talking about that horrible experience I went through and [saying,] ‘Here, I’m going to sing about it.’ It’s such a different kind of vulnerable. To connect with fans, there’s pressure in feeling like I have to do things that I’m uncomfortable with, in terms of opening up enough about myself.”

Here, a few highlights from her February cover interview, on newsstands January 9:

On finding love:

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“I’m trying to protect myself and have a bit of a guard up, but I also want to fall in love and know why love hurts.”

On advice she’d give to her younger self:

“Listen to yourself. So many people will try and steer you in a certain direction—not saying that that’s the wrong direction at all—but you have to know what’s right for you. Trust yourself, follow your heart, and do what makes you happy. Don’t forget to live for yourself.”

On using her platform for good:

“I’ve worked hard and gotten to a place where I have a voice: How can I use it? What can I, as a human, as an artist, do?”

Read the full interview and see more photographs in the February issue of Marie Claire, on newsstands January 9.

Featured video music: "On My Side" (ft. Savoi) by Hounded (opens in new tab)

Jennifer Goldstein is the former beauty & health director of Marie Claire and co-host of the award-winning beauty podcast Fat Mascara. In her quest to uncover the world's beauty secrets, she’s gotten tattooed in New Zealand, dug up turmeric in India, harvested shea nuts in Ghana, and squeezed enzyme-rich eggs from salmon in Norway. She can pluck eyebrows like a pro and has read the FDA monograph on sunscreen labeling and effectiveness—but she still can’t get liquid eyeliner to look the same on both eyes.