Six months after making history as the youngest Gen Z Oscar-winning actress for Anora, Mikey Madison admitted in an emotional interview that the overwhelming changes of sudden fame have intensified her introverted nature, leaving her torn between craving adventure and needing to withdraw, a raw honesty that has both surprised and moved Hollywood.

Six months after achieving the dream of a lifetime, Mikey Madison is learning that Oscar glory comes with an unexpected weight.

The 26-year-old actress, who stunned audiences and critics alike with her electrifying turn in Sean Baker’s Anora, has revealed in a new interview with Vogue Italia that her life since becoming an Academy Award winner has been both transformative and deeply overwhelming.

“I feel like everything around me has changed, and I think that’s increasing my need to withdraw into myself,” Madison admitted in the interview, her words tinged with the raw honesty that has already made her one of Hollywood’s most fascinating new stars.

“I’m extremely introverted, but I also have a big desire for adventure.

It’s a conflict I’ve always felt, but it’s gotten worse lately.”

Her confession sheds light on the personal challenges that come with being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age.

When she accepted the Best Actress Oscar back in March for her work as the titular character in Anora, Madison not only beat out Hollywood legends like Demi Moore and international powerhouse Fernanda Torres, but she also made history.

At just 25, she became the first Gen Z performer to ever win an acting Oscar, and the ninth-youngest recipient in the category’s long history.

But now, half a year later, Madison admits that her historic victory has forced her to rethink what happiness and success mean to her.

“It’s as if I’m now aware of how I’m perceived,” she explained.

“I’m not on social media, I never regret missing a party or a dinner, but it seems like society is forcing me to ask myself, ‘Should I do it too to be happy? To be fair?’”

Madison has never been a celebrity who embraces the Hollywood party circuit.

Friends and colleagues describe her as thoughtful, quiet, and deeply private.

Instead of basking in the glamorous chaos of Los Angeles, she has chosen to stay rooted in the San Fernando Valley, not far from where she grew up.

According to the profile, her Oscar statuette sits proudly but humbly in her home, where she lives with a cat, three dogs, and an impressive vinyl collection.

“She’s always been this mix of curiosity and reserve,” one longtime collaborator noted.

“Mikey has this incredible hunger to experience life, but she’s also incredibly protective of her inner world.

That’s what makes her performances so layered—she’s willing to go places emotionally that others are too afraid to.”

Her decision to pull back from the spotlight has already sparked conversation within the industry.

Some see it as a sign of strength and self-awareness, a young artist setting boundaries in an environment that often rewards burnout.

Others wonder if Hollywood’s expectations will eventually clash with her instincts for privacy.

In the Vogue Italia piece, Madison also reflected on the pressures of performance—both on screen and off.

“We pretend to be someone we’re not to make others feel comfortable,” she said.

“I think shyness should be considered a form of poetry.” It’s a striking statement from an actress who has already built a reputation for choosing roles that defy convention, from her breakout in Better Things to her turn in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and now her Oscar-winning performance in Anora.

The future remains wide open for Madison.

Industry insiders report she is currently preparing for a new film project alongside Kirsten Dunst, though details remain closely guarded.

Early rumors suggest the role will once again push her into unexpected emotional territory, a hallmark of her growing career.

Meanwhile, Demi Moore, who lost to Madison in the razor-thin Oscar race earlier this year, publicly addressed fans who insisted she should have won.

Rather than fanning controversy, Moore gracefully congratulated Madison, calling her performance “a revelation.” Zoe Saldaña, who won her own Oscar in the supporting category the same night, even joked backstage that Madison’s win marked a “changing of the guard.”

For Madison herself, however, the real challenge seems to be internal.

Fame has magnified the contradictions she has always wrestled with: the yearning for adventure versus the instinct to retreat, the glory of recognition versus the burden of exposure.

Whether her withdrawal is temporary or signals a new path forward, one thing is certain: Mikey Madison is charting her own course in Hollywood.

As she told Vogue Italia, “I don’t regret missing a party or a dinner.

What I regret is pretending to be someone I’m not. And I refuse to do that anymore.”

Her words may resonate far beyond the world of entertainment, striking a chord with anyone who has ever wondered what success is truly worth.

For now, Madison seems intent on protecting the very thing that makes her performances unforgettable—her fierce authenticity.