In this English language episode of《Good Morning, VOGUE China》, VOGUE China Editor-in-Chief, Margaret Zhang, and VOGUE Business China Associate Editorial Director, Yiling Pan, sits down with our latest VOGUE China Beauty Paper cover star-Saoirse Ronan to discuss her career to date and her outlook on beauty. As the four-time Academy Award nominee ventures beyond acting into producing, she reflects on the process of preparing to be front-of-camera with a new clarity. “I am not someone who feels confident at all in how I look,” Ronan tells VOGUE China. “You start off in such a vulnerable place, because you’re at this point where you’re like, ‘I want to become this thing’ or ‘I want to bring this thing out of myself which I don’t feel I am at this particular point.’ ... Whether I’m suddenly made to look pretty for a photo shoot, or I just look different to myself in some way, I’m able to tell myself, ‘OK, it actually doesn’t matter what I look like, because this is a character now.’ It gives me this confidence to continue and to focus on the work.”

Key timestamps:

00:31 Chinese New Year brand campaigns

01:47 “Blossoms" by Wong Kar-wai

03:49 VOGUE China Beauty Paper cover star

05:42 Saoirse Ronan

06:55 Finding ground in the ecosystem of entertainment and fashion

11:07 Identity

17:30 Female in film

29:40 Beauty as a mechanism to connect with character

33:54 What is beauty

37:00 Absurd hair styles to try

38:37 Loving your own skin

43:30 Saoirse’s next read