Maude Apatow has been a Hollywood staple for over a decade. The daughter of filmmaker Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann, her first acting credit dates back to 2007, when she starred in her father’s comedy, Knocked Up. When the movie premiered, she was just 10 years old. Since then, the now 24-year-old has taken on a range of roles from college-bound Claire in The King of Staten Island to, most recently, bookish Lexi Howard in Euphoria. In the first season of this HBO drama, Lexi faded into the background. But in its sophomore season, she emerged as a leading character. Her flirtation with Angus Cloud’s Fezco and her retrospective play that occurred in the seventh episode have been some of the buzziest storylines.
But there’s much more to the Los Angeles native and her seriously cool life, apart from her famous family and acting roles. Below, find out everything there is to know about Maude Apatow.
She attended Northwestern University
Maude was once enrolled at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She was in pursuit of a theater degree, but dropped out in 2018 as a sophomore after she was cast in Euphoria. “I took a break [from college] because I was having a really hard time there, and when I was planning on going back, I got cast in Euphoria,” she told Vanity Fair in 2019. “I wanted to make sure if I was leaving school to act that it was worth it, and Euphoria is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
She has directed a film
In 2017, Maude made her directorial debut with her short film, Don’t Mind Alice. She also co-wrote and starred in the project, which depicts a young woman who fears that she is responsible for her elderly boss’s death.
Maude hopes to direct and write more in the future, which she expressed to W Magazine in 2019: “I love writing and I love directing. That’s my ultimate goal. And acting. If I could do all of them at the same time that would be cool.”
Fans think she and Lukas Gage are dating
Maude and Lukas have starred in two Sam Levinson-directed projects together, Assassination Nation and Euphoria (Lukas plays Tyler, who hooks up with Maddy Perez in Euphoria’s first season). The two actors are friends, but fans have noticed their consistently flirtatious comments on each other’s social media posts. “God you’re gorgeous,” Maude responded to one of Lukas’s February 2022 posts. “u making me crazy maude,” Lukas wrote under one of the actress’s photos, while he penned, “smoke show” on another.
Neither Maude or Lukas have ever commented on their relationship status, so for now, their possible romance is just fan speculation.
She played the daughter of her mother’s character in three separate films
Maude’s father is filmmaker Judd Apatow, who is the creator behind comedic classics such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and This Is 40. Her mother is actress Leslie Mann. When Maude was younger, her father cast her and her younger sister, Iris, in Knocked Up, Funny People, and This Is 40 as the daughters of her mother’s characters.
“I was so little when my dad cast me in movies. I didn’t even realize what was going on, but I knew that I liked it. It was really nice to be able to do that with them first to get practice. Now, I feel very prepared to go off on my own,” she told W.
In 2020, Maude starred opposite Pete Davidson in The King of Staten Island, another film directed by her father. But she had to audition for the role of Claire, who is the sister of Pete’s character.
Apart from her father’s movies, Maude’s acting credits include Girls, Hollywood, Other People, and Assassination Nation.
Her parents are supportive of her acting career
Before the seventh episode of Euphoria — where Lexi’s play unfolds — Maude shared a brief teaser on Instagram. “SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤭🤭🤭 @euphoria,” she captioned the post. Her father was quick to leave a witty comment, writing: “I will watch right after I finish Yellowstone.” Hey, he has a queue.
Maude has previously expressed how supportive her parents are of her career, telling Who What Wear in 2020: “I think my dad really knows what I’m capable of and pushes me to do an amazing job. And I think we have a really good mentor-mentee relationship. I feel really lucky to work with him because he really knows how to talk to me and push me. I don’t want to say this because it’s really cringy, but he pushes me to my full potential.”
Lexi’s play in Euphoria is loosely inspired by Maude’s actual high school play
Maude revealed in an interview with Variety that Lexi’s play in the seventh episode of Euphoria was based on a real-life experience. “It was loosely inspired by my high school play that I produced. Everyone in the theater department hated me, but I really wanted to do a good job,” she said.
Maude is a huge musical theater fan, but has not performed in a theatrical production since high school.
She once pulled out a tooth for a role
Yes, you read that right. During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, the actress revealed how much she loves the theater and how dedicated she was to her character roles — so much so that she pulled her own tooth out when she just nine years old.
“I started when I was really young. I remember I always really went for it, too,” Maude shared. “I did a Gold Rush day [at school] and I wanted to look like a miner. So I like ripped out my tooth... It was not a loose tooth at all! It was not ready to go, and I just ripped it out.”
When host Seth Meyers asked how her parents responded to such intense method acting, Maude laughed: “I think my dad was like, ‘What is wrong with her? Oh no, we’ve raised a monster,’” she shared.
See the full clip of Maude’s interview below.
Leah Campano is an Associate Editor at Seventeen, where she covers pop culture, entertainment news, health, and politics. On the weekends, you can probably find her watching marathons of vintage Real Housewives episodes or searching for New York City’s best almond croissants.
