WOMEN OF NOTE:
Ella O'Keeffe | Writer, Director, & Editor
Ella O’Keeffe has always been drawn to storytelling. Born in Devon, raised in Byron Bay and now based in New York, she traces her earliest love of words to afternoons spent at her parents computer, weaving together stories and to the adventure books she shared with her mother and sister. That early curiosity grew into a career in editorial, where chance meetings and hard work led her to her first role at nineteen, and later to the worlds of directing and creative production.
Today Ella moves fluidly between mediums - writing, editing, and directing, with a focus on atmosphere and detail, whether exploring culture through fashion or examining the complexities of the human condition. Her work is shaped by nostalgia, romance, and observation, carrying forward her belief that stories live not just in words, but in feeling and memory.
We spoke with Ella about her creative process, inspirations, and the stories she is most compelled to tell.
Location: Devon, England
Date: 29/07/2025
Time: 6:05 PM
|
Where are you from and where are you now? I am from Byron Bay, Australia, but was born in South Devon, England. Although these images were taken in Provence. I'm on tour of all the places I love in Europe right now!
Are you a morning or evening person? Evening! I wish I woke up on the right side of the bed, and I wish I liked waking up early. I do not. Mostly I am exhausted and dread getting out from under the covers.
Can you tell us a little about your home, what is the view like? My home is currently in New York. My bedroom has big windows that look out onto a couple of trees and the pier to the East River. I'm still furnishing it, so I'm enjoying the process of finding new pieces to add to the place. How did you first find your way into writing and editorial work? I've been writing unseriously since I was a kid. Literally would sit at my parents desktop during "computer time" and write stories. I love storytelling and being able to communicate a feeling or a moment through language and literature, so I suppose it was only a matter of time. I got my first job in editorial when I was 19. I had no formal training but my editor decided to mentor me very closely after I basically stalked her and forced her to hire me as an intern. Her name is Chloe, and I rent her room in New York now, almost a decade later. I worked very hard, but it is one of those special stories about getting extremely lucky and meeting one person who decided to change my life.
|
|
  |
Do you remember the first piece of writing that made you want to become a writer? I don't think I ever really knew I wanted to become a writer. By the time I thought I might like to do it as a job, I was already doing it. But as far as my earliest memories of storytelling go, I loved Enid Blyton's Famous Five books. I loved reading them with my mom and my sister and getting completely invested in the adventure. I remember how she wrote about packing sandwiches and just feeling totally immersed.
What does a typical workday look like for you? Generally life in editorial looks like a lot of desk time. I usually wake up (begrudgingly) and scroll until I am filled with enough guilt to propel me out of bed. I take usually 15-30 minutes to get ready once risen. I need a cup of english breakfast tea every morning otherwise things are no good. If I'm not at home I'll take a matcha to nurse on the go. I split my time between the office and working from home, so mostly it's just me sitting in front of my computer in various locations. Sometimes things feel glamorous and I'll have a dinner or cocktail to attend.
How do you balance storytelling across different mediums, writing, editing, and directing? This is my favorite thing to do. I initially got into directing because I was working in creative production and as a photographer and I felt like I needed to work with a medium that allowed me to access storytelling in a different way. I am highly visual so sometimes the words aren't enough, but neither are pictures. For me, writing is a solitary journey that exists very introspectively. It takes a lot for me to coax out. Directing feels more intuitive in an immediate way. I think they lend to each other nicely since writing is so detail oriented. I am connected to the storytelling and the feelings I want to convey, then when I am directing I am already in that mindset, so all that needs to come together is the visual execution, which just gives me a lot of energy seeing things that have only ever lived in my brain or lived as a memory, on a screen.
What stories or themes are you most drawn to exploring in your work? I have always been deeply connected to fashion and style and the ways it intersects with culture and the world around us, and working as a fashion editor I am able to flex this muscle daily. Elsewhere, I love to explore the human condition, coming-of-age, gender politics and sexuality. What makes people become themselves and what undoes them. I love the feeling and thinking and dreaming of it all.
|
|
Are there particular books, essays, or films you return to for inspiration? Carmen Maria Machado's 'In The Dream House' changed me as a writer. I read it at a pivotal time in my early 20s and it has stuck with me consistently since. I reach for it monthly still for grains of wisdom. More recently, Murakami's 'Sputnik Sweetheart' was given to me by someone very important to me and affirmed my love of magical realism as a genre. I love Ada Limón's poetry. There are few works of hers I don't connect to. As far as films go, I really am a cringey cliché sucker for French New Wave cinema. I love La Piscine, Bonjour Triesste, Pierrot Le Fou. Anything by Wong Kar Wai, too.
Do you prefer the quiet solitude of writing or the collaborative nature of directing? I love both equally! I am a people person and love being on set, sharing ideas, and creating collaboratively. At the same time, I write mostly at night when no one is awake to bother me (because I get distracted by the wind blowing), and I so enjoy being able to just bunker down and go sometimes. It feels very satisfying to output in that way.
What’s a moment in your career so far that has felt particularly defining? There are so many moments I am grateful to have been included in, but I think very self-indulgently the most career-defining moments for me are when people take the time to write me or tell me they read one of my pieces and they saw themselves in the work. It truly never gets old, and blows my mind every single time.
How do you create a sense of atmosphere, whether in a written piece, a visual project, or editorial work? I think being a severely nostalgic person helps. I am also tediously romantic and observant, so I am kind of always looking at things with a dreamy mindset. I think it bothers people in my personal life because I let all of those things consume me easily, but I strongly believe in being able to feel things to write about them, so I suppose much of the practice of writing in that way is to just go within, again and again and again, until you have something worthwhile. I ask myself how I saw things, what I noticed, what did it smell like? What did my body feel like? What auditory things can I remember? That sort of thing.
|
|
 |
What are you currently reading, watching, or listening to? Currently reading Ione Skye's memoir, 'Say Everything'. She gifted it to me before I moved to New York and it's finally my holiday read. She's such a Hollywood teen dream and has a very romantic outlook like me so i'm enjoying it thoroughly. Watching Lena Dunham's 'Too Much' and 'Love Island UK'. Balance is important!
What do you hope to explore next in your creative journey? More directing, more writing prose. I am considering a Substack. I haven't decided yet if I have the courage.
What does your ideal day off look like? This is a favorite question because I am very fond of discussing the perfect day. The perfect day is set in the summer time. You wake up slowly with a lover or a friend have a light, basic breakfast with tea or coffee before heading to the beach. After a few hours of roasting in the sun (safely with sunscreen) and dipping in the sea repeatedly, you and your companion head back to your place for a pasta lunch followed by a shower and the worlds greatest post-beach nap. Upon waking, it's time for drinks with friends before ending the night (or early hours of the morning) sweatily dancing with people you love and people you've never met.
When do you feel most yourself? When I am with my best friends, and my family.
What’s a piece of advice that has stayed with you? "No one is thinking about you as much as you're thinking about you."
How do you unwind after a long day? Screen time!
What do you dream of while you sleep? I dream horrendously vivid dreams almost every night. Sometimes it's just fragments of my day/week and the people in it, sometimes it's recurring nightmares of things I can't move on from. That kinda thing :)
Ella wears the Double Frill Top in Sage Stripe, Soft Pant in Ecru and the Round Halter Dress in black.
See more of Ella's work here.
|