Ever watch The Queen's Gambit and wonder how someone can look both fragile and like they could dismantle a world-class grandmaster with a single look? That’s the Anya Taylor-Joy effect. People spend a lot of time talking about her eyes—which, yeah, are incredible—but there’s a whole lot of weird, conflicting info out there about her physical presence and how she actually stays healthy.
Honestly, the internet is obsessed with "hacking" the Anya Taylor-Joy body type, but most of the theories are just that. Theories.
The Ballet Backbone: It’s Not Just Aesthetics
If you want to understand why Anya moves the way she does, you have to look at the floor. Specifically, the dance floor. She trained in ballet from the age of 3 until she was 15. That isn't just a hobby; that’s a decade of intense, bone-deep discipline.
When you see her on a red carpet, she isn't just standing there. She’s "holding" herself. Ballet gives you a specific kind of muscular memory where your core is always engaged, even when you're just ordering a coffee. She’s mentioned in interviews that this training is basically her secret weapon for acting.
"I see acting as a rhythm thing; I almost hear it as music," she told Vogue Hong Kong.
That background made her a natural for the heavy stunt work in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. While other actors might struggle with the "beats" of a fight, she treats it like a choreographed routine. It’s less about "getting buff" and more about precision.
The Truth About Her Height (It’s Debatable)
Is she 5'8"? 5'6"?
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The internet can't decide. IMDb says 5'8", but if you check out CelebHeights, they swear she’s closer to 5'6.5". It’s kind of funny how much this matters to people. The reason she looks so much taller on screen is her "vertical line." In the world of Kibbe body typing—which is a whole rabbit hole we could go down—she’s often classified as a "Dramatic."
This means she has long, sharp limbs and a narrow frame that catches the light in a very specific way. She’s basically built like a high-fashion sketch come to life.
That Infamous "Queen's Gambit" Diet Scandal
We have to talk about it because it’s everywhere. A few years ago, Anya mentioned in an interview with Tatler that during the filming of The Queen's Gambit, she was "surviving on Diet Coke, cigarettes, and coffee."
People freaked out.
But here’s the context: she was filming three projects back-to-back. She was exhausted. She wasn't promoting this as a "wellness plan." In fact, she followed that up by saying she eventually realized, "I need to eat a vegetable."
Kinda relatable, right? We’ve all had those weeks where we live on caffeine and stress. The difference is most of us aren't being filmed in 4K while doing it. Nowadays, she’s much more vocal about needing actual fuel to keep up with her insane filming schedule. You can't drive war rigs in the desert for Furiosa if you haven't eaten a proper meal.
How She Prepped for Furiosa
For the Mad Max prequel, the Anya Taylor-Joy body transformation wasn't about getting "bulky" like a traditional action star. It was about grit.
- Stunt Training: She did a massive amount of her own stunt driving before she even had a real driver's license.
- The "Juicy Lift 180": She learned how to do handbrake turns that would make most people car-sick.
- Functional Strength: Instead of just lifting weights for aesthetic reasons, her training focused on being able to move in a heavy costume while covered in grease and sand.
Dealing with Body Image and the "Alien" Comments
It hasn't always been easy for her. Despite being a global fashion icon for Dior and Tiffany & Co., Anya has been pretty open about her insecurities. Growing up, she was bullied for the way she looked. She’s even admitted that she "didn't think she was beautiful enough to be in movies."
She famously told W Magazine that she stopped looking in mirrors for a long time because she was so self-conscious about her eyes being far apart.
It’s a weird paradox. The very things that make her "striking" to us were the things that made her feel like an outsider as a kid. It’s a good reminder that even the people we see as "perfect" are usually dealing with some version of "I look weird today."
The "Buccal Fat" Rumors
If you spend five minutes on TikTok, you’ll see people dissecting her face, claiming she had buccal fat removal.
Is it true? She’s never confirmed it.
What's more likely is a combination of aging (the "baby fat" disappearing as you hit your late 20s) and incredibly aggressive contouring. When you have a bone structure that sharp, a little bit of lighting goes a long way. Plus, her weight has fluctuated depending on the roles she’s playing. For The Menu, she looked one way; for Furiosa, she looked another.
Practical Takeaways from Anya’s Approach
You don't need a Dior contract to take a few notes from how Anya handles her physicality.
1. Focus on Movement, Not Just "Workouts"
She doesn't seem like the type to spend three hours on a treadmill. Her "fitness" comes from dance and active stunt work. If you hate the gym, find a dance class or something that requires coordination. It builds a different kind of strength.
2. Posture is 90% of the Battle
Seriously. Look at her photos. She isn't slouching. That ballet-ingrained posture makes her look confident even when she’s probably exhausted.
3. Authenticity Over "Perfection"
She’s leaned into her "weird" features. Instead of trying to look like every other actress in Hollywood, she leaned into the ethereal, slightly-offbeat look. That’s what actually made her a star.
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4. Fuel is Non-Negotiable
Learn from the Queen's Gambit era. Living on coffee is a recipe for a burnout. If you’re pushing your body, you have to feed it.
Instead of trying to replicate her exact measurements—which are mostly down to genetics and a very specific professional lifestyle—focus on the "discipline" part of the ballet background. Start by working on your own functional mobility. A few weeks of consistent core work and posture correction can change how you carry yourself more than any "fad diet" ever could.
Next Steps for You:
If you're looking to build that lean, "dancer-adjacent" strength, look into low-impact isometric exercises or Pilates. These focus on the deep stabilizer muscles that Anya likely developed during her years of ballet. You can also research active recovery techniques to ensure that if you are pushing your body, you aren't hitting the wall like she did early in her career.