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From Chess Prodigy to Raver? You’d Never Guess That This Actress Loves ‘Deep, Dark Techno’

The Queen’s Gambit is about being queen of the warehouse rave, right?

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Anya Taylor-Joy became widely known for her role as chess prodigy Beth Harmon on The Queen’s Gambit, but would you guess that she’s a raver at heart? She definitely doesn’t make it obvious just by looking at her. But in an interview for the September 2026 issue of Elle magazine, she admitted that she’s always been drawn to intense experiences.

Her interest in rave culture began at 15 years old, she said, after years of ballet training. The rigidity of classical ballet didn’t work for her anymore, and she needed somewhere to break free. “That’s a pretty good split of my personality, to be honest,” said Taylor-Joy. “Ballet class and deep, dark techno.”

For her 30th birthday, she described pulling a party together in two days for a Wednesday in L.A. She gathered 200 people in........

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