Elvis star Olivia DeJonge to be crowned GQ Woman of the Year

She took the world by storm with her leading role in Elvis and now Olivia DeJonge is set to receive a top honour for her breakout year.

Elvis star Olivia DeJonge will be crowned Woman of the Year at next week’s 14th GQ Men of the Year Awards in association with BOSS – an honour given to the likes of Iggy Azalea, Naomi Campbell and Elizabeth Debicki in past years.

“It is always quite unexpected – it’s definitely not something that you do thinking about awards, but it is really nice – especially coming from my own country too, really means a lot,” the 24-year-old told Insider from her Melbourne home this week.

Joining her on the red carpet at The Crown on Wednesday night – where she of course will be wearing BOSS – will be Russell Crowe, Murray Bartlett and Dylan Alcott among countless others of the country’s top stars, many battling it out for 17 awards, including the hotly contested 2022 GQ Men of the Year.

Olivia de Jonge is GQ’s Woman of the Year. Picture: Tim Hunter.

DeJonge has had quite the journey since her film debut in The Sisterhood of the Night in 2014 – but playing Priscilla Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis shot her star to fame in a way she never imagined. Holding hands and crying with the real Priscilla, going to The Met, premiering at Cannes – and now being named Woman of the Year – it’s been one pinch-me moment after another.

“The Met was definitely a pinch-me moment – I never really thought that I would go to an event like that,” she says.

“What was really exciting was that we all got to go with a cast and to promote the movie and obviously we had Priscilla with us too, which was such a beautiful moment.

“Looking back, I think Cannes was definitely a big moment and after we saw the film I standing on the top of the steps and the Elvis music was playing and the standing ovation – it really was insane.

Olivia DeJonge at the opening of the Gucci Garden Archetypes exhibition at Powerhouse Museum on Tuesday. Photo: Hanna Lassen/Getty Images.

“In the moment it’s so overwhelming, and you’re like, ‘oh my god, this is happening’.

“Then you look back or you see a photo and you’re like, ‘wow, I did that’ – and it’s such an out of body, surreal moment.”

But she says the Elvis crew, including Baz, are as grounding as they are ‘flamboyantly creative’.

“So to have been with me during those times was really grounding, and I’ve got really good friends and really good family, so it’s definitely something that you step into and enjoy – and then you step back out and empty the dishwasher, and stay grounded in real life.”

DeJonge will spend some time with family and friends in her Melbourne hometown over the summer – including as much time as she can manage with her much-missed dog – before heading to Canada to work on another film.

Olivia DeJonge on the red carpet at the Sydney premiere of Elvis at The State Theatre. Picture: Damian Shaw

“I’m really excited about it, but for right now – I haven’t been home for a year and a half so I’m just catching up with my family and my friends and having a bit of a break and just enjoying an Australian summer until it picks up again next year,” she says.

While Australia is still home and LA her base, DeJonge has mastered living out of a suitcase, and travelling where the work is. She spent nine months in Atlanta before going back to LA, then a press tour for Elvis brought her to New York.

“I’ve just been bouncing around with jobs and things which has been great, but it can be very tiring,” she says.

“It’s definitely taken me a minute to readjust over the last couple years, but moving around is just part of the job – you just can’t do it any other way.”

Elvis was her lifeboat, she says, allowing her to work through most of Covid’s harsh reality, and she says to work on such a big production was invaluable.

“I think any Baz Luhrmann production is just so large on scale, and he really rallies together like a circus troupe of beautiful, creative people,” she says.

Baz Luhrmann, Austin Butler and Olivia DeJonge at the Australian premiere of Elvis on the Gold Coast. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

“And I think the camaraderie of that is something that I’ll take away from that job forever. “And also, the authenticity to which we and the people around him, work at and to such a high level – it brings your standards higher.

“So I think that’s something that I definitely will take away from that experience.”

She has worked her way to the point of having more of a say in work, and being more deliberate in her choices means meaningful projects she’s proud to be part of.

“I’m really excited to be able to work with interesting directors and interesting writers and start collaborating on jobs,” she says.

When not playing with her dog, DeJonge loves reading, being creative with some writing and spending time with important people in her life. She even plays the guitar and hasn’t ruled out studying psychology or philosophy at university down the track. She’s undecided whether her mum, dad or brother will accompany her on Wednesday night – but whoever does will be cheering as Catherine Martin presents her with the award.

So what’s next for DeJonge?

Well she sets goals every few months, breaking them down into bite-sized pieces. And then she gets it done.

“I love sitting down somewhere quiet writing down my goals and breaking them down into tiny steps, and then finding steps on top of that,” she says.

“I think that’s really how I try and keep my head on my shoulders, to get to certain places or be realistic about what my aspirations are.

“I think I felt some prophecy of thinking that you’re going to arrive somewhere and suddenly look around and the world’s going to be different, or you’re going to feel different about it. “You’re just in a constant state of being yourself, you know?”

Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann says DeJonge was the perfect recipient for the honour.

“Olivia’s incredible trajectory has seen her transform from an exciting young actor from Perth into one of our leading lights, cemented by a blockbuster 12 months – first taking on the role of a lifetime as Priscilla Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s epic Elvis, and following it up with HBO’s The Staircase,” she says.

“She has a thoughtfulness, poise and talent beyond her years, and an innate elegance that means she not only understands fashion but her own style, something that’s been on brilliant display on red carpets around the world.

“We’ve watched proudly as, despite this, she’s remained connected to her roots, with a distinctly Australian approach to everything she takes on.”

To vote for GQ Sportsman of the Year go to gq.com.au/MOTY. Voting closes on November 21.