There’s a Medical Reason Florence Pugh Has a Distinct Voice, Especially When She Cries
Florence Pugh is an actor who’s really grown in popularity over the past few years, thanks to her talent and some major projects. One of her bigger roles was Midsommar, and being that it’s in the horror genre, she does a lot of screaming and crying. Because of that and her naturally raspy talking tone, she has a distinct voice. And there’s actually a reason behind that.
Florence Pugh had a massive 2019 and isn’t slowing down
Pugh isn’t new to acting; she’s been in movies since 2014 when she starred alongside Maisie Williams in The Falling. One of her first-ever lead roles was in 2016’s Lady Macbeth as Katherine Lester and things kind of just escalated from there.
In 2018, she co-starred as Chris Pine’s character’s wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, in Outlaw King. After that Netflix film, 2019 was her year. Pugh starred in Fighting with My Family, Midsommar, and Little Women, which garnered her a lot of positive reviews.
She also received her first Oscar nomination at the age of 24 for her role as Amy March in Little Women, which brought a newfound love for a character that’s been largely seen as only annoying since the 1800s.
She has a ‘funky trachea,’ but it’s gotten better with age
In January, Pugh told Vogue that she has tracheomalacia, and has since she was a toddler. This is a medical condition that causes the trachea to close up a bit when breathing. Because of this condition, she and her family moved to Spain when she was a child since her parents thought the warmer weather and air would help her.
While appearing on the Sue Perkins: An Hour Or So With… podcast on July 8, Pugh shared that because of her condition, her mother suggested that she go back to Los Angeles when the COVID-19 pandemic started.
“I’ve had this breathing thing since I was tiny, so my mum’s always had to be aware of new diseases, new illnesses that could potentially really hurt me,” Pugh shared. “So she’s been kind of barking about this since December. And then when it really got serious, my mom… said I think you should go back to the clean air. I raced back here, and I’ve just been staying put.”
She said that because of her “funky trachea” and “floppy larynx” she’s on lockdown a bit stricter than others. She shared that because of her tracheomalacia, she gets sicker than those without it, so she’s being very careful and scrubbing everything down in her house.
“Well they’re just a b*tch. They’re getting better as I get older,” she said. “But I’ll tell you what it is. It doesn’t matter how strong I am now. When I was a kid, I was always ill. But now that I’m older, I don’t get ill [as often or easily as she did as a kid], but when I do, it’s the same intensity as it was when I was always ill. So I just have to be really careful. With something like this, I don’t think I’d have too much fun.”
This condition has given her an iconic voice, also heard a lot when she’s crying
And if you’re wondering why or how this condition affects her voice, it’s due to a breathing tube she has in her trachea. Pugh’s condition also has never negatively impacted her desire to be an actor.
“I’ve always been loud. My family has always been loud. My parents are very big people,” she said. “I don’t think it was odd that all of us wanted to do this. But I don’t think you can hear it in my acting. Certainly when I cry and certainly when I shout. That kind of grate you can hear laugh is my breathing tube going [makes vibrating sound].”
Fans are pretty familiar with Pugh’s crying and raspy screams, thanks to Midsommar. Her character Dani cries a lot — who wouldn’t in her situation? — but you can specifically hear her gritty breathing and cry when she steps away from the others in Sweden and just lets it out.
Pugh said that when she was younger, there was talk of trachea transplants in the future, but she’s not sure if that would change how she sounds. Pugh’s shown, of course, that her acting will carry her through whatever choice she decides down the line.
