Film commitments were set aside on Tuesday as Anya Taylor-Joy spent her free time at Disneyland with husband Malcolm McRae. The actress will soon return to the spotlight with the upcoming release of Denis Villeneuve's science fiction epic Dune: Part Three, in which she plays Alia Atreides. However, she made the most of her spare time with a day-long visit to the Anaheim tourist attraction, where she enjoyed various rides, notably Big Thunder Mountain—a Western-themed roller coaster.
A Day of Thrills and Whimsy
Accompanied by her musician husband, an exhilarated Anya, 30, threw her arms into the air as the runaway mine train soared above a mock Midwest setting. The couple also joined thrill-seekers on the legendary Matterhorn, the exclusive Anaheim roller coaster famous for its enormous scale model of the Alpine mountain and its inclusion of a 'resident yeti'.
Dressed casually in a loose-fitting Adidas top and skirt, Anya later joined friends for a comparatively sedate trip on The Mad Tea Party ride—a whimsical, Alice in Wonderland-themed attraction featuring oversized teacups on a rotating carousel.
Relationship and Privacy
Anya, who has also featured in dramas Peaky Blinders and Last Night in Soho, married McRae during an intimate Venice wedding ceremony in 2023. Wearing a denim shirt and matching ripped jeans, the American musician was seen placing a hand on his wife's stomach as they made their way across the theme park on Tuesday.
Anya has rarely spoken about her relationship with McRae since they began dating, having first been spotted together in New York. They managed to maintain a healthy relationship despite living on opposite sides of the Atlantic before marrying, with Anya largely based in London, while McRae, who also acts and is in a band, remained in the United States.
Discussing their relationship with British Vogue in March 2022, Anya said: 'I said to my partner the other day that he was my hobby. I see reading as something that I have to do. He loved it because he’s the same.' She added: 'I’ve finally found someone who will happily sit in silence with me reading. We’re basically 80 years old and seven at the same time and it works really well.'
Referring to the distance, she noted: 'Yes, it is [hard], but it’s also kind of great because when you’re together you’re really valuing the time that you have. Everyday mundane activities are so full of joy. I love going to the petrol station with him and filling up.'
Marriage and Career
In April 2024, Anya confirmed that she and McRae had tied the knot in Venice, two years after they actually married in New Orleans, and shared a gallery of photos from the day. She told ELLE: 'I'm an incredibly sensitive, hyper-feeling person. I did not realise that I could have more feelings, but I can. I feel so unbelievably lucky to be completely and utterly in love. I have found my person.'
Anya revealed that they decided to get married after she returned from filming Furiosa in Australia. She explained: 'We're just real romantics. We were born on the same day. And we wanted to make sure that our first experience was something that was completely for us. So we eloped in New Orleans with our two best friends and had the time of our lives. It was magical.'
During her interview, she also discussed her role in Furiosa, released eight years after George Miller's critically acclaimed action film Mad Max: Fury Road. She said: 'The most beautiful and heartbreaking thing about Furiosa is that she's the embodiment of impossible hope—living in a world where everything is a violation to you.'
Anya was born in Miami, Florida, and moved to Buenos Aires as a toddler before relocating to London at the age of six 'for political reasons' with her parents. Her role as orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon in the Netflix series The Queen's Gambit elevated her into one of the most in-demand actresses in Hollywood, having bagged a Golden Globe for Best Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie. She received another Golden Globe nomination for her role in the black comedy movie The Menu, starring alongside Nicholas Hoult and Ralph Fiennes.
