Let’s Talk About That Time Mia Goth Tried (and Failed) to Be Amy Winehouse

Mia Goth remembers the specific moment she realized she was a walking, talking fashion don’t.

“I was a massive fan of Amy Winehouse growing up. I decided it would be a good idea to become Amy Winehouse with the beehive and ballet shoes. Six months into that, I looked into the mirror and decided I’d better be Mia” instead, the actress and model tells Yahoo Style.

Now Goth strips down — metaphorically speaking — to play a sheltered, awkward patient in the horror flick A Cure for Wellness, opening Friday. The actress, who is half-British and half-Brazilian, brings a wide-eyed, doll-like sensibility to the character of Hannah, while also imbuing her with an off-kilter sense of strength.

“She’s a sheltered, protected young girl,” says Goth, who can relate to some aspects of Hannah. “I remember putting mascara on when I was 13 for the first time and going to the shop to buy a chocolate bar. I felt so exposed. I remember wearing a bra for the first time and feeling very exposed by that.”

Her ascent in the entertainment industry couldn’t have been more organic. She was spotted at a music festival at age 13 and signed to Storm Models when she was 15; she appeared in a series of Miu Miu SS15 campaign ads in 2015 that were banned in the U.K. because Goth, now 23, looked too … young, even though she wasn’t underage. But being the next Naomi Campbell or Gigi Hadid was never her focus.

“I never had a proper modeling career. It was not something I succeeded in. Once I started acting, that’s when the fashion world kind of embraced me,” says Goth. “I told the agency that acting is what I wanted to do. That was always my focus.”

Her love of acting started with a performance as Juliet in a school play and blossomed from there. Goth made her onscreen debut playing P in the Lars von Trier erotic drama Nymphomaniac: Vol. II. She also portrayed Josh Brolin’s daughter in the disaster thriller Everest. Now, doing nonstop press for Wellness made her “nervous” at first, she admits: “I had to keep feeling my toes and my feet. It’s exciting.”

Goth isn’t on social media, has no plans to be, and prefers to live quietly in Los Angeles. She’s been partnered with Shia LaBeouf for years, but unlike the actor and Donald Trump protester, keeps to herself and steers clear of any revelations about her personal life in interviews. She feels most comfortable at home, in jeans and a white T-shirt, surrounded by close friends.

As for Twitter and Instagram, “It’s really good for some people. It gives them a good platform to express themselves. But my job is my platform to express myself,” says Goth. “It’s not some big decision. It just doesn’t interest me that much.”

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