After making her acting debut in the drama film The Falling , Pugh gained praise for starring in the independent drama Lady Macbeth and the miniseries The Little Drummer Girl Her international breakthrough came in with her portrayals of professional wrestler Paige in the sports film Fighting with My Family , a despondent American woman in the horror film Midsommar , and Amy March in the period drama Little Women.
She also continued to gain praise for her performances in dramas such as We Live in Time The family relocated to Manilva in Spain when Pugh was three years old, hoping the warmer weather would improve her health. They lived there until she was six, when they moved back to Oxford. She was privately educated at Wychwood School and St Edward's School, Oxford , but disliked how the schools did not support her acting ambitions.
While still studying in sixth form , Pugh made her professional acting debut in the drama The Falling , playing a precocious teenager opposite Maisie Williams. Pugh attributed her attraction to the part to her partiality to characters with "confusing or at least interesting" motivations. Charles Bramesco of The Guardian found her to be "excellent despite her thankless role". Pugh starred in three major films in , during which she was recognised as having experienced an international breakthrough.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews. In her final film release of the year, Pugh starred in Little Women , a period drama film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott 's novel of the same name directed by Greta Gerwig. She portrayed Amy March , a fickle artist, from age 12 into adulthood, and has said that the character is in a "sweet spot of not knowing how to deal with her emotions".
Kevin Maher of The Times found Pugh's "impossibly vivid and convincing" performance to be the film's prime asset. Zach Braff 's drama film A Good Person , in which Pugh starred as a car crash survivor, marked her first producing venture. Pugh is known for her fashion sense, with publications such as Harper's Bazaar and British Vogue calling her fashion choices "bold", "daring" and "unique".
