Sofia Coppola is one of the must successful women in Hollywood. Scratch that — she's one of the most successful people in the industry, period. The director has a host of award-winning, critically acclaimed titles under her belt. And last month, she made history when she became the first woman in 56 years (and second ever) to win Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for The Beguiled, hitting cinemas June 23. All of which is to say: she is definitely somebody we'd look to for career advice. That's why we're taking the words of wisdom that she shared with Marie Claire, both personal and professional, very seriously.
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Marie Claire published 31 facts you never know about the filmmaker, whose movie are marked by her signature aesthetic, incredible soundtracks, and strong female characters (1999's The Virgin Suicides, 2003's Lost In Translation, 2006's Marie Antoinette, and 2013's The Bling Ring). The accomplished and successful mom of two (with Phoenix singer Thomas Mars) said the best career advice she's ever gotten came early the game, courtesy of Anjelica Huston, when Coppola was just 20 years old: "Not everyone's going to like you." That's a great one for any woman who knows she has an ingrained habit of people-pleasing, in or outside the workplace. It also goes along with the three qualities that Coppola says got her to where she is today: "Stubbornness, strong work ethic, basic manners." In other words, don't budge on your values and vision, work hard, and be polite.
Coppola also got personal for a few of the questions. She said the relationship she'd give to her younger self is "Don't get married before 30." At age 28, Coppola married director Spike Jonze (Where the Wild Things Are, Her); the couple divorced four years later. It seems like Coppola probably has a good attitude about her split, though. She told MC that the advice she'd give to a woman with a broken heart is this: "It will make a good story someday that you'll laugh about." Sounds like a healthy philosophy to us. God, is there anything Sofia Coppola doesn't know? (Yes: how to sing, according to her.)