For Esther McGregor, performing, music, and art have always been woven into the fabric of her life. An early love for theatre, acting in school plays and musicals like Fiddler on the Roof and Men on Boats with her friends, led to a more serious pursuit of film and TV experiences: a small part in an episode of the Star Wars TV miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi next to her dad (Ewan McGregor) and a recurring role in the coming-of-age series High School. But it wasn’t until last year, when she landed supporting roles in two of the most talked-about films competing at Venice, that this dream she’s nurtured since childhood began to take off. 

She portrayed the teenage daughter of Nicole Kidman and Antonio Banderas in A24’s Babygirl from director Halina Reijn. “Nicole—she’s just an expert. It’s incredible to watch her,” McGregor says. “We’ll be in full throttle—just changing a lens—and she’ll be sitting there with her eyes closed. It’s such a skill. She works so much all the time that you need to have those moments of rest. I remember thinking, ‘One day, I hope I can do that.’” McGregor also appeared in The Room Next Door, Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature, rubbing shoulders with Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.

Now, with her turn as Mirren Sinclair in Amazon Prime Video’s We Were Liars, an adaptation of E. Lockhart’s popular YA novel, the twenty-three-year-old actor, model, musician, and tattoo artist is stepping into a new limelight. “For me, it was important to find Mirren’s true voice within the pages that were written for the book.” Bringing a beloved literary character to life always comes with some pressure, but McGregor was up for the challenge. “I know that fans have created her in a million different ways in each of their minds. As much as I can’t please everyone, I hope that I did her justice.”

Off-screen, McGregor’s personal style couldn’t be more different from Mirren’s preppy aesthetic. Fair-skinned and blue-eyed, when she hopped onto our Zoom call, she was sporting her signature silky blonde cut, with choppy bangs framing her face and longer, textured layers at the back. “Style for me was a big part of finding my own identity,” she says. “I found comfort in dressing differently and more masculine, I’d say, but I also have my tendencies to dress myself up.” Still, McGregor finds joy in the fluidity of her own look. “My personal style has definitely been a bit more androgynous,” she adds. “Depending on the day and my mood.”

McGregor’s creativity flows into unexpected places beyond acting. At 19, she opened a tattoo shop with a friend. “I found an incredible tattoo artist and we started talking about the idea of opening a shop, and it came to fruition. Then I learned the business side of tattooing and what it takes to create a business in New York City—which is a nightmare.” As for music, she adds, “It’s been a really big part of finding my voice and kind of understanding my brain, because it’s a bit complicated up there sometimes. It’s something that I’ve luckily kept as just a passion.”

With a few projects on the horizon, one thing’s for sure—this is just the beginning for Esther. “My goal in life is to act. To tell a story and be a part of something that’s special. If I have any opportunity to do that, whether the world will see it or not, I am very eager to do it.”

This story appears in the pages of V154: now available for purchase!

Photography Olivia Malone

Fashion Karolyn Pho

Creative Director / Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gan

Editor Kevin Ponce

Hair Lauren Palmer Smith (Forward Artists) using Bumble & Bumble

Makeup Zaheer Sukhnandan using MAC Cosmetics

Producer Suze Lee

Location The Revery LA

1st Photo Assistant Patrick Molina

2nd Photo Assistant Camille Rice

Digital Technician Dustin Edwards

Stylist Assistants Sydney Englehart, Kyle Lynch

Hair Assistant Drew Martin

Production Assistant Andrew Amann