Human leg, Joint, Sitting, Dress, Fashion accessory, Thigh, Fashion, Black hair, Knee, Foot,

Cupro dress with embellished-PVC overlay, suede sandals, all, Calvin Klein. Gold, vermeil, and diamond earring, Lara Melchior. White gold, pink tourmaline, and aquamarine rings; aquamarine, diamond, and beryllium ring; rose gold, green tourmaline, and beryllium ring; all, Delfina Delettrez. Leather belt, What Goes Around Comes Around, $128. Heart safety pin, Ky & Co, $30. Tulle socks, Pan & The Dream.

ALEXI LUBOMIRSKI

In Game of Thrones‘s Daenerys Targaryen, Emilia Clarke has created one of the strongest, most enduring female characters in our pop-culture consciousness. So where does all that fire come from? Joseph Hooper explores this, as well as Clarke’s stance on motherhood, sex scenes, and life after GoT in ELLE’s exclusive interview in the August issue, on newsstands July 18.

Here, a sneak peek at our cover story:

Hairstyle, Human body, Shoulder, Hand, Style, Fashion model, Waist, Fashion accessory, Fashion, Trunk,
Beaded fringe top, feather skirt, both, Prada. Gold earrings, pendant, bangle, all, Elizabeth Locke. Cuff, Paloma Picasso for Tiffany & Co. Cuff, Gurhan. Bangle, Ippolita. Ring, Lalaounis. Ring, Ariel Gordon. Ring, Anthony Lent. Ring, Mahnaz Collection. Ring, Pomellato. Ring, L.A. Cano. Belt, What Goes Around Comes Around. Heart safety pin, Ky & Co.

ALEXI LUBOMIRSKI

Emilia Clarke ELLE Magazine Cover - Emilia Clarke ELLE August 2017 Cover Star

On her anxiety over shooting the final season of Game of Thrones: “Oh God, I get sleepless nights over it. ‘Oh, you’re gonna mess it up. It’s the last season, and it’s going to go wrong.’ My mates are like, ‘It’s you—you [and Daenerys] are one and the same now. You need to trust your instincts!’ And I’m like, ‘ No, I’ve got to do more research!’ The higher everyone places the mantle, the bigger the fall. That sounds really awful, but it’s true! I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

2017 Elle - 045 - The Photo Gallery @ Enchanting Emilia Clarke