Maude Apatow Steps Into Her Next Big Role

On Thursday night, November 6, in Los Angeles, Maude Apatow was recognized at the Women in Film 2025 WIF Honors with the Max Mara Face of the Future Award. Boasting an impressive list of past recipients—including Zoë Saldana, Katie Holmes, Yara Shahidi, and Lili Reinhart—the award, now celebrating its 20th year, recognizes a young actor at a turning point in her career.

Apatow, 27, first appeared on-screen in her dad, Judd Apatow’s, 2007 film Knocked Up and has since carved out a space for herself in film and television with roles in Euphoria, The King of Staten Island, and One of Them Days. Now, she’s stepping behind the camera with her directorial debut, Poetic License, a coming-of-age film that earned strong reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

“I'm so lucky I had the opportunity to direct,” she tells W. “There are so few female directors. I want to spend my life trying to figure out how to uplift other women.” It’s an aim very much in line with the WIF Honors ceremony. Apatow considers her fellow honorees this year—among them, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tessa Thompson, and Judy Blume—some of her personal heroes. “I do not feel worthy,” she says. “Judy Blume taught me my love for reading. Tessa’s such a badass. I actually cannot believe I’m being honored alongside them.” Another hero? Her grandmother, who, along with her mom Leslie Mann, instilled in her a love of Max Mara. “I hope my grandma gives me her coats someday. They’re forever pieces.”

Below, Apatow discusses taking her seat in the director’s chair and the style advice from her mom that she struggles to follow.

What was it about Poetic License that inspired you to make it your directorial debut?

When I first read Poetic License, I thought it was so funny, truthful, and weird. It had a sort of timeless feeling, but it also felt fresh in the way young people were written. I understand the characters and their struggles. I wasn't searching to direct anything, but it was always in the back of my mind. So when I read the script, I had a moment like, “Oh, I get this. I think I might be able to pull this one off.”

Your mom, Leslie Mann, plays the main character, Liz, in the film. Was it weird directing her?

My mom is my best friend. I've always admired her so much as an actress. Going into it, we were nervous, but it ended up going so smoothly. We were in sync the entire time. It felt like we could read each other's minds. I've been so lucky that I’ve gotten to watch my parents collaborate. I was young, but collaborating with them, too, was a very special thing. When you know someone so well, you know what they're capable of, so you can challenge them, and that's pretty amazing.

Should we expect more films from you in the future?

Yeah. I love directing. I'd love to do a musical. I'm a big musical theater girl. I think that's really hard to capture the magic that you get watching live theater. A few people have. I want to try too, so we'll see.

Now for some Style Notes questions. Did you raid your mom’s closet a lot growing up?

Yeah. We have the same shoe size, so that was major for me. But now she raids my closet. I'm giving back for all the years that I was stealing her stuff.

You’ve walked a lot of red carpets during your career. Are there any looks you regret?

I have so many weird ones. When I was a kid, I had no idea what I was wearing. I was dressing myself, and thinking, “Oh, I need a little heel,” even though I was 12. I would go to Target and buy heels because I thought it would make me look sophisticated, but it was a total flop.

What is the best style advice you’ve received from your mom?

My mom always says, “Wear it.” If you buy something nice and you think, “I’ll save this for a special occasion,” you end up forgetting about it. She says, “Just wear it, use it.” I'm still like, “Can I do that?” I'll get a purse and then I'll just keep it on my top shelf. Then I'm like, “What am I doing? I'm just looking at it. Just use it.”