HAILEE STEINFELD

The life & times of an overachieving millennial

H“When you fall in love, you pick up on the tiniest things about yourself,” she says. “I am one to spread [out] on the mattress and take every inch of space. Now, I don’t want to do that any more. I want to make as much room for you as possible.”

By now, it’s safe to assume the “you” she is talking about is Niall Horan. Photos of Steinfeld kissing the Irish former One Direction member have gone viral online, and the two have left juicy crumbs for fans – Steinfeld sporting a T-shirt with Niall, 25, on it as well as Niall extolling how great she is on Twitter. Her newest song, Used To This – one she wrote and debuted on tour with American singer Charlie Puth this summer – is about sharing breakfast and lying in bed with someone. Niall recently said that he’s a “fantastic cuddler”, so Steinfeld may not want to make too much room on that mattress.

“You start doing things for this person and going out of your way to make them happy,” she says about falling deeply in love for the very first time. “And when you see them happy, it makes you happier. When you love who you are with that person… there’s nothing that compares.”

Well, maybe a few things could compare. Like being catapulted to fame at 14, after an incredibly mature performance in 2010’s True Grit; or co-starring with Hollywood heavy hitters such as Woody Harrelson (The Edge Of Seventeen) and Viola Davis (Ender’s Game). Or maybe walking the red carpet at the Met Gala, dripping in diamonds, and having front-row seats at New York Fashion Week. Oh, and carrying her own Transformers blockbuster, Bumblebee, plus her role in animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, both out this month; and starring as 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson in forthcoming TV comedy Dickinson.

She’s done all this – and handled her fledgling romance – without any hint of scandal. In fact, it appears the California native, from a fitness- focused family (her dad is a personal trainer; her uncle launched the workout sensation Body By Jake), has sailed through seven years in the spotlight without a single misstep.

It’s pretty much impossible to find a speck of dirt on Steinfeld. Ask a former gossip columnist if she’s ever heard any stories about the starlet that were less than celestial… Nothing. Quiz a veteran entertainment reporter on whether they recall coming across ›