Interview: Federica Furino

Editors-in-Chief: Ally Ferraro & Guilherme Ferrari

Photography: Andrea Olivo 

Styling: Andrea Sangiorni

Hair: Yokei Kuroshima

Makeup: Nataly Bondar

How are your kittens?

"They are very small and I wake up countless times to breastfeed them.” Rainey Qualley known as Rainsford, 31 years old, daughter of art (her mother is Andie MacDowell) and a girl of many talents - actress, singer, musician, dancer, model - speaks live on Zoom from Los Angeles, where she lives. The line is not the best and the image is blurry at times, but some signs of fatigue on her face, beautiful and without makeup, you can see. She's there, laughs on: blame for the sleepless nights she is going through to wean two stray kittens that she got stalled and which she gives her friends updates about via Instagram. Their friends, they laugh about it: they know it and they know that the animal rights vocation is not a fashion trend. The commitment is real, the nights off as well, and the chain of cats saved is long and uninterrupted. “I have a cat of my own and then I take them into foster care as often as I can: I raise them until they heal, and find a master to them,” she says. “Nothing makes me happy like animals. I grew up among them and I think the way people treat them is terrible. They are helpless beings and we pour endless pains into their lives. In the United States the kennels are so full that nearly 600,000 cats and 400,000 dogs are killed each year. The very thought fills me with sadness”. It is no coincidence that a few years ago her second EP was titled"Emotional Support Animal", and she has not ever missed an opportunity to reiterate that for her, together with music and family, animals are the most important thing: a compass that guides many of her choices, from food to wardrobe. “I've been a vegetarian for many years. It's a way to undo the damage we humans have done: we need everyone to take a step back. And then I try not to wear products that have animal origin.” Which she, she says, is becoming easier and easier. The other day I was listening to a very interesting podcast on the damage that fast fashion has done: tons of clothing, many of them synthetic, end up in the oceans and in the bellies of animals. Fortunately though, consumers are gaining more awareness as well they have the power to influence the choices of brands. If we all bought only made products with recycled or vegan materials, we could really change the world.” I ask her if she believes that the new generations can reverse the route and save the planet. "We have no choice," she replies. "If we want to continue to live on this planet, it is necessary. Either we do it now, or it will be too late. The young generations are an example for everyone when they ask for a change in a loud voice.” There she proves that there is no more time to waste, she says, it is there for all to see.

Now you live in Los Angeles, but you were born in New York and raised in North Carolina. Where is home for you?

I'm based in Los Angeles because that's where you have to be if you want to act and do music. But I really love going to New York, and I go back whenever I can. In North Carolina, on the other hand, I never go there, but on the other hand my father has a ranch in Montana where I take refuge every time I feel the need for a break in the middle of nature. They are ways of living very different and being able to have them all is a privilege.

When you act you are Rainey Qualley, when you sing, however, you call yourself Rainsford. Why do you use different names?

My full name is Rainsford, and I inherited it from my great-great-grandmother. But everyone has called me Rainey since I was little and it is the name I usually use. When I started making music I felt the need to separate my career as an artist from the life of every day, to distinguish what I am from what I create. And then I wanted some anonymity from myself and my family. My mother is a famous actress and my sister is an actress too, and I didn't want the audience to judge my music based on who I am and from the family I come from.

Where are your songs born?

All my music is personal and autobiographical. I often write about love and relationships, and for me this also has a therapeutic implication: whatever experience I have, I translate it into music. And it's funny because I wrote a lot of certain songs while I had my heart in pieces for a relationship that seemed very important to me, but when time passes and I listen to them again, it almost embarrasses me. You know how many times I've found myself saying: Rainy, but how did you feel so bad about that one? Time changes things and also changes the way we see people, the meaning they have for us.

Quando reciti sei Rainey Qualley, quando canti, invece, ti fai chiamare Ransford. Perché usi nomi diversi? 

«Il mio nome completo è Rainsford, e l’ho ereditato dalla mia bis-bisnonna. Ma tutti mi chiamano Rainey da quando sono piccola ed è il nome che uso normalmente. Quando ho iniziato a fare musica ho sentito il bisogno di separare la mia carriera di artista dalla vita di tutti i giorni, per distinguere quello che sono da quello che creo. E poi volevo un po’ di anonimato da me stessa e dalla mia famiglia. Mia madre è un’attrice famosa e anche mia sorella recita, e io non volevo che il pubblico giudicasse la mia musica sulla base di chi sono e della famiglia da cui provengo».

Dove nascono le tue canzoni? 

«Tutta la mia musica è personale e autobiografica. Scrivo spesso di amore e di relazioni, e questo per me ha anche un risvolto terapeutico: qualsiasi esperienza io faccia, la traduco in musica. Ed è divertente perché molte certe canzoni le ho scritte mentre avevo il cuore a pezzi per una relazione che mi sembrava importantissima, ma quando passa il tempo e le riascolto quasi mi imbarazzano. Sa quante volte mi sono trovata a dire: Rainy, ma come facevi a stare così male per quello lì? Il tempo cambia le cose e cambia anche il modo in cui vediamo le persone, il significato che hanno per noi».

Come funziona? Ti siedi al computer e scrivi, o l’ispirazione arriva quando meno te lo aspetti?

«Di solito mi annoto le idee quando vengono. Poi mi siedo al computer e cerco di dare una forma ai pensieri che ho avuto. Prendo le emozioni e cerco di farle diventare una canzone».

How does it work? You sit at the computer and write, or inspiration comes when you are not waiting for it?

I usually write down ideas when they come. Then I sit at the computer and try to give one shape to the thoughts I had. I take emotions and try to make them become one song.

How did you start making music?

As a child I studied piano. And then there was my father who played the guitar and, singing with him, I soon realized that I have a beautiful voice. And then, since I liked it, I enrolled in the conservatory and started doing things seriously.

What kind of music do you prefer?

There are many. While dancing I listened to very different genres. Lately I like alternative pop, soul, and 80's pop. "Space" by Etta James and Dolly Parton and Prince and Kate Bush to contemporary things like Caroline Polachek and Toro Y Moi or darker.

You have many talents: you sing very well, act and I know that you are also an excellent dancer. Do you have an order of preference of your artistic vocations or they are all on the same level?

It depends on the moment. Being creative makes me happy, regardless of what form use.

The family you grew up in is also full of talent. How much did it weigh to have one mom actress about your career choices?

Following the inclinations of parents is frequent, not only in the families of artists. For the commitment with which she worked, but also for the independence she had. She managed to have an important career but even a family. She went out of her way to make us understand that we weren't forced to choose between having children and fulfilling ourselves as women, that we could have everything. My mother is a great feminist and she raised us like that. Obviously if you want to dedicate yourself only to children, that's fine. The important thing is not to set limits.

What childhood did you have?

Normal. I grew up in Montana and then in North Carolina, out of the spotlight with an old-fashioned education.

Other than the name, did you inherit anything else from your great-great-grandmother?

I don't really know, because she died long before I was born. But certainly the past and the stories of my family have always had a very strong fascination with me. 

What do you love most about the job of an actress?

In its moments, acting is a wonderful game. Being able to enter different lives from yours is fun and often even liberating. Then of course there are the more challenging cases, the roles that make you touch the most intimate aspects of the human being closely, and then this job can also become painful. Acting is an access card to humanity, even to its dark aspects that it is difficult for you to experience in real life. I am also very shy and allowing myself to be what I want is a fantastic freedom.

Is there a role you dream of playing?

Lots.. After so many dramas, I would very much like a comedy. Or maybe a movie in costume, a mythological or vampire story. And then I would like to make a film with my sister.

Your father often says that you are an old soul

I think he means, in a karmic sense, that my soul comes from afar and that has already passed many times on Earth.

Do you believe in karma?

Yup. I believe in reincarnation and that certain souls have already come down to Earth at other times: they come back and carry with them a kind of knowledge matured life after life.

What do you believe in, Rainey?

My faith has changed a lot over time. Reading Brian Weiss' books on reincarnation has taken many anxieties and many fears away from me. Weiss, author of books such as Many Lives Many Masters, and Many Lives One Love, argues that our soul goes through many lifetimes during which, every time, we find loved ones in different forms.

Which?

May it all end with death. Weiss' books gave me hope that the sense of life is not all here. I believe there are souls related to each other, not necessarily in a romantic sense. For example, I'm sure my sister is my soulmate, and I'm sure I've lived many lifetimes with her. And also with my current boyfriend, with whom I have a special bond. And yes, of course, the idea that we continue to be together, life after life, is a great comfort.

The last year and a half has been a terrible one for everyone. The singers have lost the opportunity to sing live. How did you react?

When I write a new song, I have a habit of playing it live for a little group of people, so I measure the reactions and understand if they really like it. And even when an album is already out, performing in front of the public is wonderful. Hearing people singing my songs is a reward for all my efforts. And I have missed this very much. Last month, I was in Milan for the fashion week and I did a small concert, the second since Covid started. It was a great emotion. And now I hope it continues to reopen, that people get vaccinated and that we can go back to normal.

How did you go through the many lockdowns?

At first it seemed like it was a matter of a few days. I was together with my group of friends, Cara Delevigne and Kaia Gerber, and we took the opportunity for a trip to Montana, on my ranch. There we understood that instead it would have been a longer thing, and so we started shooting videos and writing. First to have fun and then, as timepassed, we tried to do it more seriously. The two weeks became twomonths and even more, and from there came the video of my new song, "Crying In The Mirror”.

With Cara and Kaia you share the passion for fashion

I love vintage clothes very much, I try to buy as much as possible for ecological reasons and also because I find them beautiful. I like to dress well, make myself beautiful to go out with friends or to go to dinner with my boyfriend. Fashion is fun, and it is also a way to take care of ourselves. And in fact how I dress reflects my mood. There is a day when I feel light and I feel committed to, and then my style changes too. It’s like wearing a stage dress.

In between lockdowns, in addition to the "Crying In The Mirror” video, you also shot the "Love in the Time of Corona" TV series

It was a crazy and beautiful experience. I think it was the first show produced in Los Angeles after the end of the lockdown. We shot the whole series in two or three days at Tommy Dorfman's house. It was like making family movies because Tommy and I are friends and we had already gone through part of the lockdown together. It was great to dosomething creative in a period like that.

And for you, what was love like in the time of coronavirus?

I met my boyfriend a year ago, right around the time of the pandemic. He is also an actor and so to see each other we went back and forth between the sets of the films we were shooting.

What is friendship for you?

My best friends live near my house and I see them almost every day. But also on work, true and beautiful friendships are born, like the one with Olivia: I got to know her on a set and since then we are inseparable. And then there are my brothers and sisters, the family. Love and being loved, sharing experiences and taking care of one another is the happiest part of my life.

As a vegetarian: do you like mushrooms?

Very. There are so many types, and all flavorful. I like them with pasta, on pizza or even alone. And then they make me think of fairy tales. When I eat them, I always imagine that a fairy has sat on it.