Suki Waterhouse: ‘It’s important for me to see women living unconventional lives’

In the age of celebrity side hustles and periodic career reinventions, Suki Waterhouse is a true Hollywood multi-hyphenate.

Forgoing dipping her toe in any pool, Suki waded right into singing, acting and modelling – a triple threat with a shedload of creative energy. After making it big as a model during her teens, she turned her attention to acting with roles in The Broken Hearts Gallery and Love, Rosie, acting alongside Lily Collins and Sam Claflin, while slowly building a cult following for her retro pop music.

She shines as no-nonsense musician Karen in TV series Daisy Jones and the Six, adapted from Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling novel about a doomed, fictional, Fleetwood Mac-inspired band in the 1970s. Suki is reunited onscreen with Claflin once more, who plays tortured lead singer Billy Dunne.

Karen has been a fan favourite since Jenkins Reid’s novel was released, due to her laser focus on her success as a musician, her eye-rolling response to the sexist stereotypes of the 1970s and rejection of traditional romantic relationships. 

Suki brings sparkle and sass to the role, a perfect fit for many reasons, not least because her own musical profile is on the rise – she’s currently on the road performing her own music in the US and South America.

GLAMOUR catches up with her to talk all things Daisy Jones during some post-shoot downtime in Miami, before she heads off to perform at Lollapalooza Festival in Chile.

So what drew you to Daisy Jones and The Six?

It was absolutely everything about it. Every single element. I was so excited to be part of a Reese Witherspoon-produced project – her company (Hello Sunshine) has the best eye for incredible, female-led television shows. 

Also, the opportunity to go back to the 70s. The fashion, the music, being able to learn instruments and actually play together as a band in particular, that’s been one of my passions for so long. I was in from the get go.

Of all the women on the show, your character Karen is drawn to a non-conventional life. How important is it, do you think, to tell different stories of what women can do with their lives?

Definitely. Sometimes I have to remind myself of how deeply embedded those pressures are in women, because I feel like I’m so surrounded by women who are so unafraid, you know, to live differently. I just know a lot of eccentric people who just don’t give a f**k and fully live the life that they want to. 

I think it’s incredibly important to me to see women live a slightly unconventional life that isn’t cookie cutter and a character like Karen… just to see a woman that has no regrets and to see somebody that has made the decisions that they wanted to and, you know, isn’t [portrayed as] regretful just because they decided not to have children or a husband or, you know, those things that I think we’re conditioned to think that we need.