Jeans, Jacket, Top: Calvin Klein
Shoes: Tod’s
Stylist Oretta Corbelli @orettac
Assistant Stylist Allegra @jesuisallegra_
Photog: Dennis Leupold
Makeup: Jen Tioseco
Hair: Marissa Marino

Before Michelle Randolph received an audition for Liz Strafford in 1923 — the next chapter of the Yellowstone origin story following 1883 — her dad was the biggest fan of the Paramount+ series ever since it debuted in 2018. However, the blonde beauty never fully watched Yellowstone because she jokingly wanted to “rebel against my dad.”

“I’d seen 1883, but when I heard they were making 1923, I was excited to watch it since I am such a fan of Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford,” the star tells GRAZIA USA. “When I got the audition for it, I was even more excited. How often is it that you get to audition for something you know is going to be successful?”

Randolph immediately had an idea of how she was going to play her character, Liz. “As soon as I read the material, I connected with her since she’s a young female who is figuring out her way in life and making life-changing decisions every day,” she says. “I could see her strengths and weaknesses, and I was really happy that the show’s creator Taylor Sheridan and John Papsidera liked my interpretation of who she was. Before I knew it, I was on a plane to Montana to go to cowboy camp. It all happened so fast.”

Dress: Carolina Herrera
Stylist Oretta Corbelli @orettac
Assistant Stylist Allegra @jesuisallegra_
Photog: Dennis Leupold
Makeup: Jen Tioseco
Hair: Marissa Marino

After locking herself in her house for two weeks since no one could know what she was auditioning for, Randolph then showed up to the cowboy camp and got straight to work. “I had never ridden a horse before except for on the beach with my family in Cabo. The wrangles were so patient with us, and for two or three weeks every single day we were riding. We did competitions, we learned how to rope, we did little hikes,” she recalls. “There was one day where we herded cows all the way across the ranch from one side to the other. We got a taste of what it was like to be a real cowboys, which was fun. After two weeks of riding horses every day, we got comfortable and would start to get competitive with one another.”

While getting into character, Randolph notes she loves what Liz “represents” as a “young woman.”

“There’s a lot of hardships in Yellowstone and 1883, and it doesn’t always show the most positive sides of life. In the show, Elizabeth feels like a breath of fresh air, and she’s engaged to marry Jack Dutton (played by Darren Mann). She has this new outlook on life. She grew up going to school on the East Coast but comes to Montana in the summer and her dad is a rancher,” she explains. “She has this hope and positivity, and she tries to learn so much from the Dutton family. She’s learning what it’s like to live on the ranch, and she’s very resilient.”

Additionally, the cherry on top of it all was working with Mirren and Ford, who are seasoned actors in Hollywood. “I wanted to do the story justice and become Elizabeth in exactly how Taylor had pictured her,” she declares. “It was also important to me that I had fun with it and did my very best.”

Dress: Ports 1961
Stylist Oretta Corbelli @orettac
Assistant Stylist Allegra @jesuisallegra_
Photog: Dennis Leupold
Makeup: Jen Tioseco
Hair: Marissa Marino

“I worked closely with Helen specifically, but I was so intimidated to find out I was going to be working with them because they’re so talented,” she confesses. “I just wanted to rise to the occasion. I wanted to be a good scene partner for them, but they were so kind and gracious. They also made me feel so comfortable on set that I even forgot I was working with Helen and Harrison half the time! I’m still pinching myself to this day.”

When the model wasn’t in a scene, she would soak up being behind the camera and learning from Ford and Mirren. “They were so present on set,” she says. “To me, that was really beautiful. I got to work with one of my favorite actresses of all time. She’s so iconic and elevated every scene she was in.”

Growing up, Randolph wasn’t sure she wanted to act, and she was previously involved in sports in middle and high school. “I did drama classes here and there, but I was really shy and had terrible stage fright,” she says. “I never considered that I could make a career out of it.”

But when she moved to Huntington Beach with her family at 16 years old, she was closer to Los Angeles and realized that maybe acting is something she could dive into. “After signing with Wilhelmina Models, I immediately started acting. When I booked my very first movie, the second I walked onto set, I had so much fun and realized that’s all I wanted to do,” she states. “I stopped modeling and pursued acting ever since.”

These days, Randolph is riding the wave and continuing to push herself in her career. “I feel so grateful because working on this show is an actor’s dream! I am really open for what’s to come. I look up to Margot Robbie, and I would love to work with her one day. I also worked with Helen already, who was on the top of my list, so I am like, ‘The bar is high!'” she admits. “I just want to work. I love acting, I love telling stories and being on set and everything involved in it.”

Kimono: Brunello Cucinelli
Stylist Oretta Corbelli @orettac
Assistant Stylist Allegra @jesuisallegra_
Photog: Dennis Leupold
Makeup: Jen Tioseco
Hair: Marissa Marino

As for what’s next, Randolph, who also launched her charity organization, House Cat, which helps raise money for animal rescues/organizations that work hard to provide care for animals in their communities, is also focusing some of her energy on her sustainable denim line called LNDN, which she works on with her sister, Cassie Randolph. “It’s been a really nice creative outlet for me. I get to do it with my sister, and we both grew up in California and are casual dressers. I feel my best when I’m comfortable and in denim. It felt natural to create this line,” she says. “I also want to prioritize this over the next few years and make original designs.”

“The goal of the brand is to make people feel good,” she adds. “You put so much of your heart and soul into something and you hope people love it as much as you do.”

Randolph notes there’s “exciting things” on the horizon, but for now, she encourages others to “always be yourself,” which will take you far. “It’s easy to compare yourself to other people on social media, but you are unique and authentic,” she declares.

1923 is now streaming on Paramount+.