Chloë Sevigny

Chloë Stevens Sevigny^[3] was born in Springfield, Massachusetts,^[3][4] on November 18, 1974, the second child of Janine (née Malinowski) and Harold David Sevigny (1940–1996).^[5][6] She has one older brother, Paul.^[7] According to Sevigny, she added the diaeresis to her first name later in life, and it was not on her birth certificate.^[3] Her mother is Polish-American, and her father was of French-Canadian heritage.^[8] Sevigny and her brother were raised in a strict Catholic household^[9][10] in affluent Darien, Connecticut,^[11] where her father worked first as an accountant, and then as an art teacher.^[12] Despite Darien's wealth, the Sevignys had a "frugal" household, and were considered "the poor bohemians in [an] extremely prosperous neighborhood".^[12] Sevigny has stated that her father "worked very hard to bring us up in that town ... He wanted us to grow up in a really safe environment."^[13]

As a child, Sevigny was diagnosed with scoliosis, but never received any surgical treatment for it.^[14] She often spent summers attending theater camp, with leading roles in plays run by the YMCA.^[14][15] She attended Darien High School, where she was a member of the Alternative Learning Program. While in high school, she often babysat actor Topher Grace and his younger sister.^[16] As a young teenager, she worked sweeping the tennis courts of a country club her family could not afford to join.^[17]

Sevigny described herself as a "loner" and a "depressed teenager" whose only extracurricular activities were occasionally skateboarding with her older brother and sewing her own clothes.^[18] In high school, she grew rebellious and began experimenting with drugs, particularly hallucinogens. She has said that her father was aware of her experimentation, and even told her that it was okay, but that she had "to stop if she had bad trips".^[19] Despite her father's leniency, her mother forced her to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.^[18] Sevigny has later stated about her teenage drug use that "I had a great family life—I would never want it to look as if it reflected on them. I think I was very bored ... I often feel it's because I experimented when I was younger that I have no interest as an adult. I know a lot of adults who didn't, and it's much more dangerous when you start experimenting with drugs as an adult."^[18] Sevigny's father died of cancer in 1996, when she was 22 years old.^[13]

Discover more about Early life related topics

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is a city in and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 155,929, making it the third-largest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the fourth-most populous city in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, had a population of 699,162 in 2020.

Given name

Given name

A given name is the part of a personal name that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group who have a common surname. The term given name refers to a name usually bestowed at or close to the time of birth, usually by the parents of the newborn. A Christian name is the first name which is given at baptism, in Christian custom.

Diaeresis (diacritic)

Diaeresis (diacritic)

The diaeresis is a diacritical mark used to indicate the separation of two distinct vowels in adjacent syllables when an instance of diaeresis occurs, so as to distinguish from a digraph or diphthong.

Catholic Church

Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2019. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The bishopric of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, a small enclave of the Italian city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state.

Darien, Connecticut

Darien, Connecticut

Darien is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any non-college town in Connecticut, a high rate of marriage, and high number of average children per household.

Scoliosis

Scoliosis

Scoliosis is a condition in which a person's spine has a sideways curve. The curve is usually "S"- or "C"-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others, it increases over time. Mild scoliosis does not typically cause problems, but more severe cases can affect breathing and movement. Pain is usually present in adults, and can worsen with age.

YMCA

YMCA

YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally as the Young Men's Christian Association, and aims to put Christian values into practice by developing a healthy "body, mind, and spirit".

Darien High School

Darien High School

Darien High School is the single public high school serving the town of Darien, Connecticut, in the United States.

Topher Grace

Topher Grace

Christopher John Grace is an American actor. He is known for portraying Eric Forman in the Fox sitcoms That '70s Show and That '90s Show, Eddie Brock / Venom in Sam Raimi's film Spider-Man 3, Pete Monash in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Carter Duryea in In Good Company, Edwin in Predators, Getty in Interstellar, Adrian Yates in American Ultra, and David Duke in Spike Lee's film BlacKkKlansman. His other film roles include Traffic, Mona Lisa Smile, Valentine's Day, Take Me Home Tonight, The Big Wedding, War Machine, Breakthrough, and Irresistible. He currently stars as Tom Hayworth in the comedy series Home Economics.

Country club

Country club

A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offerings are golf, tennis, and swimming. Where golf is the principal or sole sporting activity, and especially outside of the United States and Canada, it is common for a country club to be referred to simply as a golf club.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international peer-led mutual aid fellowship meeting online and in-person dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions AA is non-professional and non-denominational, as well as apolitical and unaffiliated. In 2020 AA estimated its worldwide membership to be over two million with 75% of those in the U.S. and Canada.

1992–1994: Modeling

As a teenager, Sevigny would occasionally ditch school in Darien and take the train into Manhattan.^[20] In 1992, at age 17, she was spotted on an East Village street by Andrea Linett, a fashion editor of Sassy magazine, who was so impressed by her style that she asked her to model for the magazine; she was later made an intern.^[21] When recounting the event, Sevigny recalled that Linett "just liked the hat I was wearing."^[22] She later modeled in the magazine as well as for X-Girl, the subsidiary fashion label of the Beastie Boys' "X-Large", designed by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth,^[23] which she followed with an appearance in the music video for Sonic Youth's "Sugar Kane".^[24]

In 1993, at age 19, Sevigny relocated from her Connecticut hometown to an apartment in Brooklyn, and worked as a seamstress.^[25] During that time, author Jay McInerney spotted her around New York City and wrote a seven-page article about her for The New Yorker in which he dubbed her the new "it girl" and referred to her as one of the "coolest girls in the world."^[21] She subsequently appeared on the album cover of Gigolo Aunts' 1994 recording Flippin' Out and the EP Full-On Bloom,^[26] as well as in a Lemonheads music video which further increased her reputation on New York's early 1990s underground scene.

1995–1998: Early film and stage roles

Sevigny met screenwriter and aspiring director Harmony Korine in Washington Square Park during her senior year of high school in 1993.^[22][27] The two became close friends, which resulted in her being cast in the low-budget independent film Kids (1995), which was written by Korine and directed by Larry Clark.^[28] Sevigny played a New York teenager who discovers she is HIV positive. According to Sevigny, she was originally cast in a much smaller role, but ended up replacing Canadian actress Mia Kirshner. Just two days before production began, the leading role went to Sevigny, who was 19 at the time and had no professional acting experience.^[15] Kids was highly controversial; the film was given an NC-17 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America for its graphic depiction of sexuality and drug use involving teenagers.^[29] Despite this, the film was taken note of critically; Janet Maslin of The New York Times considered it a "wake-up call to the modern world" about the nature of the American youth in contemporary urban settings.^[30] Sevigny's performance was praised, with critics noting that she brought a tenderness to the chaotic, immoral nature of the film: "Sevigny provided the warm, reflective centre in this feral film."^[31] She received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female.^[32]

Sevigny followed Kids with actor/director Steve Buscemi's independent film Trees Lounge (1996), starring in a relatively small role as Buscemi's object of affection. During this time, director Mary Harron (after having seen Kids) offered Sevigny a minor part in her film I Shot Andy Warhol (1996). Harron tracked Sevigny down to the SoHo clothing store Liquid Sky, where she was working at the time. Sevigny then gave her first audition ever, but ultimately decided to turn down the part;^[22] she would later work with Harron on American Psycho (2000). Instead of taking the part in I Shot Andy Warhol, Sevigny starred in and worked as a fashion designer on Gummo (1997),^[31] directed and written by Harmony Korine, who was romantically involved with Sevigny during and after filming.^[31][33] Gummo was as controversial as Sevigny's debut; set in Xenia, Ohio, the film depicts an array of nihilistic characters in a poverty-stricken community, and presents themes of drug and sexual abuse as well as anti-social alienated youth.^[34] Recalling the film, Sevigny cited it as one of her favorite projects: "Young people love that movie. It's been stolen from every Blockbuster in America. It's become a cult film".^[22] The film was dedicated to Sevigny's father, who died prior to the film's release.^[a]

After Gummo, Sevigny starred in the neo-noir thriller Palmetto (1998), playing a young Florida kidnapee alongside Woody Harrelson.^[35] Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post lambasted the film for having "bad writing," ultimately deeming it "somewhat dull and sluggish."^[35] She then had a leading role as a Hampshire College graduate in the sardonic period piece The Last Days of Disco (1998), alongside Kate Beckinsale. The film was written and directed by cult director Whit Stillman and details the rise and fall of the Manhattan club scene in the "very early 1980s".^[b] Stillman said of Sevigny: "Chloë is a natural phenomenon. You're not directing, she's not performing—it's just real."^[31] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that Sevigny "is seductively demure" in her performance as Alice.^[36] The film was generally well received, but was not a box-office success in the United States, only grossing $3 million^[37]—it has since become somewhat of a success as a cult film.^[38]

Aside from film work, Sevigny starred in a 1998 Off-Broadway production of Hazelwood Jr. High, which tells the true story of the 1992 murder of Shanda Sharer; Sevigny played 17-year-old Laurie Tackett, one of four girls responsible for torturing and murdering 12-year-old Sharer.^[39] Sevigny stated she was so emotionally disturbed after playing the role that she began attending Mass again.^[10][14]

1999–2003: Boys Don't Cry and breakthrough

Sevigny was cast in the independent drama Boys Don't Cry (1999) after director Kimberly Peirce saw her performance in The Last Days of Disco.^[31][40] Sevigny's role in Boys Don't Cry—a biographical film of trans man Brandon Teena,^[c] who was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska in 1993—was responsible for her rise to prominence and her mainstream success.^[41][42] Sevigny played Lana Tisdel, a young woman who fell in love with Teena, initially unaware of the fact that he was a transgender man and continued the relationship after learning about his gender identity.^[43] Boys Don't Cry received high praise from critics, and was a moderate box-office success.^[44] The film was widely credited as featuring some of the best acting of the year, with Sevigny's performance singled out for praise. The Los Angeles Times stated that she "plays the role with haunting immediacy",^[45] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times stated that "it is Sevigny who provides our entrance into the story"^[46] and Rolling Stone wrote that she gives a "performance that burns into the memory".^[47] The role earned Sevigny supporting actress nominations for both an Academy Award^[48] and a Golden Globe Award.^[49] She won an Independent Spirit Award, a Satellite Award, and a Sierra Award for her performance.^[50][51]

Following the success of Boys Don't Cry, Sevigny appeared in 1999 in the experimental film Julien Donkey-Boy, which reunited her with writer-director Harmony Korine. In the film, she played the pregnant sister of a man with schizophrenia. Though it never saw a major theatrical release, the film garnered some critical praise; Roger Ebert gave the film his signature thumbs up, referring to it as "Freaks shot by the Blair Witch crew", and continuing to say, "The odds are good that most people will dislike this film and be offended by it. For others, it will provoke sympathy rather than scorn".^[52] Sevigny also had a small part in the drama film A Map of the World (1999), which starred Sigourney Weaver.^[53]

In 2000, Sevigny played a supporting role in Mary Harron's American Psycho, based on the controversial 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis.^[43] She portrayed the office assistant of the main character Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), a 1980s Manhattan yuppie-turned-serial killer. Similarly to the novel on which it was based, the film was controversial because of its depiction of graphic violence and sexuality in an upper-class Manhattan society.^[54] Sevigny also appeared as a lesbian in the Emmy Award-winning television film If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000), the sequel to the HBO television drama-film If These Walls Could Talk (1996).^[31] Sevigny credited it as the only film she ever made for financial benefit, to help her mother with whom she lived in Connecticut in 1998–2000.^[55][31] Around 2000, Sevigny began a relationship with musician Matt McAuley of the noise-rock band A.R.E. Weapons.^[13] The two would remain a couple for eight years before separating in early 2008.^[13]

Following her appearance in If These Walls Could Talk 2, Sevigny was approached for a supporting role in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde alongside Reese Witherspoon and offered $500,000; she declined and the role was given to Selma Blair.^[31] Instead, she starred in Olivier Assayas' French techno thriller Demonlover (2002) alongside Connie Nielsen, for which she was required to learn her lines in French.^[56] Sevigny described shooting the film as "strange", in the sense that Assayas hardly spoke to her during the filming, which she said was difficult because of the lack of "input".^[57] After spending nearly three months in France to complete Demonlover, Sevigny returned to New York to film the Club Kids biopic Party Monster (2003); coincidentally, she knew several of the people depicted in the film (Michael Alig and James St. James included), whom she had met during her frequent trips to New York City's club scene as a teenager.^[14]

Around 2002, Sevigny began collaborating with friend Tara Subkoff for the Imitation of Christ fashion label and conceptual art project, with their first collection being released in 2003. She served as the creative director for the line, which was referred to as being "more about performance art and cultural theory than clothes".^[58] In film, Sevigny had a role in Lars von Trier's parable Dogville (2003), playing one of the various residents of a small mountain town, alongside Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, and Paul Bettany. The film received mixed reactions, and was criticized by Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper as being "anti-American".^[59] She also re-united with former Boys Don't Cry star Peter Sarsgaard for the biographical film Shattered Glass (2003), also alongside Hayden Christensen, about the career of Stephen Glass, a journalist whose reputation is destroyed when his widespread journalistic fraud is exposed. Sevigny played Caitlin Avey, one of Glass' co-editors.^[60]

2004–2006: The Brown Bunny controversy

In 2003, Sevigny took on the lead female role in the art house film The Brown Bunny (2003), which details a lonely traveling motorcycle racer reminiscing about his former lover. The film achieved notoriety for a scene which involves Sevigny performing fellatio on star and director Vincent Gallo.^[31][62] The film premiered at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival and opened to significant controversy and criticism from audiences and critics.^[63] Additionally, a promotional billboard erected over Sunset Boulevard, which depicted a censored still from the film's final scene, garnered further attention and criticism.^[64] Sevigny defended the film:

"It's a shame people write so many things when they haven't seen it. When you see the film, it makes more sense. It's an art film. It should be playing in museums. It's like an Andy Warhol movie."^[65]

In an interview with The Telegraph in 2003, when asked if she regretted the film, she responded:

"No, I was always committed to the project on the strength of Vincent alone. I have faith in his aesthetic ... I try to forgive and forget, otherwise I'd just become a bitter old lady."^[55]

Despite the backlash toward the film, some critics praised Sevigny's performance, including Manohla Dargis of The New York Times:

"Actresses have been asked and even bullied into performing similar acts for filmmakers since the movies began, usually behind closed doors. Ms. Sevigny isn't hiding behind anyone's desk. She says her lines with feeling and puts her iconoclasm right out there where everyone can see it; she may be nuts, but she's also unforgettable."^[66]

Roger Ebert, although critical of The Brown Bunny, nevertheless said that Sevigny brought "a truth and vulnerability" to the film.^[67]

Sevigny at a press conference for Melinda and Melinda (2004).

Sevigny continued on with various projects.^[68] She had a major supporting role in Woody Allen's two-sided tragicomedy Melinda and Melinda (2004).^[69] Critic Peter Bradshaw described the film as "strange... a half-hearted experiment populated by undernourished lab rats."^[69] She subsequently guest-starred on the popular television show Will & Grace, and played small roles in Lars von Trier's Manderlay (2005) (a sequel to Dogville (2003)) and in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers (2005).^[70] She also played one of the several lovers of New York doctor Herman Tarnower in the HBO television film Mrs. Harris (2005) alongside Annette Bening and Ben Kingsley. In 3 Needles (2005), an anthology film about AIDS in various parts of the world, Sevigny had a major role as a Catholic nun visiting Africa. Her performance received good reviews; Dennis Harvey of Variety called her "convincing",^[71] while Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times referred to her as "ever-daring and shrewd."^[72] In 2006, Sevigny played the lead character in the experimental indie-film Lying (2006) with Jena Malone and Leelee Sobieski, portraying a pathological liar who gathers three female acquaintances for a weekend at her upstate New York country house; the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. She also had a starring role in Douglas Buck's 2006 remake of the Brian De Palma horror film Sisters (1973), playing a journalist who witnesses a murder.^[73]

2007–2011: Fashion endeavors; Big Love

Sevigny at the premiere of Barry Munday (2010) in Austin, Texas

In 2006, Sevigny began a five-season run in the HBO television series Big Love, about a family of fundamentalist Mormon polygamists. She played Nicolette Grant, the conniving, shopaholic daughter of a cult leader and second wife to a polygamist husband, played by Bill Paxton. Sevigny also appeared in her first big-budget production,^[74] playing Robert Graysmith's wife Melanie in David Fincher's Zodiac (2007), based on the Zodiac Killer criminal case.^[75]

In October 2007, the French fashion house Chloé announced that Sevigny would be one of the spokesmodels for its new fragrance. Sevigny also released a clothing collection for Opening Ceremony in the fall of 2009.^[76] It included men's, women's, and unisex pieces,^[77] and received mixed reactions from critics.^[78] Sevigny returned to films in 2009, starring in the independent psychological thriller The Killing Room, and Werner Herzog's My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, a crime horror film based on murderer Mark Yavorsky, produced by David Lynch.

In January 2010, Sevigny won a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for her performance in the third season of Big Love. During a press conference following the award win, Sevigny addressed the repressed women living in the fundamentalist Mormon compounds: "These women are kept extremely repressed. They should be helped. They don't even know who the president of the United States is."^[79] In a later interview with The A.V. Club, Sevigny was asked if she felt that the show's message was that polygamy was "wrong". In response, Sevigny stated: "No, absolutely not. I think there are more parallels to gay rights and alternative lifestyles within Big Love—more so than 'Polygamy is wrong'. I think they actually condone people who decide to live this lifestyle outside of fundamentalist sects."^[80] During the same interview, Sevigny stated her disappointment with the series' fourth season, calling it "awful" and "very telenovela"—though she stated that she loves her character and the writing, she felt the show "got away from itself."^[80][81] Sevigny later regretted making the statements,^[82] saying she was very "exhausted" and "wasn't thinking about what [she] was saying"; she also apologized to the show's producers. "[I didn't want them to think] that I was biting the hand that feeds me, because I obviously love the show and have always been nothing but positive about it. And I didn't want anybody to misunderstand me or think that I wasn't, you know, appreciative."^[82]

While starring in the fourth season of Big Love in 2010, Sevigny also appeared major roles in two independent comedy films: Barry Munday and Mr. Nice.^[83] In Munday, she played the sister of a homely woman who is expecting a child by a recently castrated womanizer (opposite Patrick Wilson and Judy Greer). Her role in Mr. Nice, as the wife of British marijuana-trafficker Howard Marks, had Sevigny starring alongside Rhys Ifans; the film was based on Marks' autobiography of the same name. Sevigny also had a voice part in the documentary film Beautiful Darling (2010), narrating the life of Warhol superstar Candy Darling through Darling's diaries and personal letters.^[84] The fifth and final season of Big Love premiered in March 2011.

2012–2015: Television projects

Sevigny in 2015 at the premiere of #Horror

In 2012, Sevigny starred in the British miniseries Hit & Miss, playing a transgender contract killer.^[85] Mike Hale of The New York Times wrote of her performance: "Her naturally deep voice is a plus, and her characteristic mix of loucheness and gravity makes sense here, though it's less interesting in this role than it was in the bitterly voracious wife she played in Big Love."^[86] The same year, Sevigny guest-starred in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which aired on April 18, 2012, and also appeared in the second and fifth seasons of American Horror Story, which premiered in October 2012 and the latter in October 2015.^[87]

Sevigny appeared in a supporting role as a journalist in Lovelace (2013), a biographical film about pornographic film actress Linda Lovelace.^[88] The year also saw the release of The Wait (2013), Sevigny's second collaboration with director M. Blash, in which she starred alongside Jena Malone and Luke Grimes. It was a psychological thriller about two sisters who decide to keep their recently deceased mother in their house after receiving a phone call that she will be resurrected. Sevigny also had roles in television, appearing as a satellite character in the third season of the television sketch comedy show Portlandia,^[89] and having a 5-episode guest role on the comedy series The Mindy Project, in which she portrayed the ex-wife of the titular Mindy's love interest (played by Chris Messina).^[90] Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian praised Sevigny in Portlandia, stating that she "instantly adds dimension and interest" to the series.^[89]

In 2014, Sevigny starred as Catherine Jensen in the crime drama Those Who Kill, which aired on the A&E Network.^[91] After being pulled from A&E after two episodes due to low ratings, it was then re-launched on A&E's sister network, Lifetime Movie Network.^[92] The series was subsequently cancelled after its 10 episode first season run.^[93] During the 29th International Festival of Fashion and Photography in April 2014, Sevigny served as a judge of the fashion jury, along with Humberto Leon and Carol Lim.^[94]

In March 2015, it was announced Sevigny would be returning to American Horror Story for its fifth season, Hotel, as a main cast member.^[95] Sevigny portrayed a doctor whose son has been kidnapped.^[96] That same year, she also starred in the Netflix original series Bloodline.^[97] In the spring of 2015, Sevigny published a picture book chronicling her life, containing photos of her as a high school student, on film sets, personal scripts, and other ephemera.^[94][98] She also appeared in Tara Subkoff's directorial debut #Horror, playing the opulent mother of a teenage girl whose get-together with friends is interrupted by a murderer.^[99]

2016–present: Directing and other projects

Sevigny in 2017

In early 2016, Sevigny appeared in the Canadian horror film Antibirth opposite Natasha Lyonne, which follows a small-town woman who becomes pregnant through unknown circumstances.^[100] Sevigny reunited with The Last Days of Disco director and fellow actresses Whit Stillman and Kate Beckinsale on Love & Friendship, an adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Lady Susan.^[101] Both films premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016.^[102] In 2016 and 2017, respectively, Sevigny also reprised her role in Bloodline, becoming a main cast member in the third and final season.^[103]

Sevigny made her directorial debut in 2016 with the short film Kitty, which she adapted from Paul Bowles' 1980 short story.^[104] The film was selected to close the 2016 Cannes Film Festival,^[105] and was subsequently acquired by The Criterion Collection, which made it available for streaming on their user subscription channel.^[106] In late 2016, Sevigny directed her second short film, Carmen, which was shot on location in Portland, Oregon.^[107] The film, released as part of a Miu Miu campaign, focuses on comedian Carmen Lynch.^[107]

Sevigny played supporting parts in multiple films in 2017. She co-starred as a horse jockey in the drama Lean on Pete, based on the novel by Willy Vlautin,;^[108] in the ensemble drama Golden Exits;^[56] the comedy-drama Beatriz at Dinner, about a Latina massage therapist who is invited to a dinner held by her wealthy employers;^[109] the drama The Dinner, concerning a dinner between two couples recounting their children's involvement in a murder;^[110] and The Snowman (2017), where she played the twin sisters, one of whom was killed by a serial killer.^[111]

Sevigny starred as Lizzie Borden in Lizzie (2018), which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, co-starring with Kristen Stewart.^[112] Sevigny had first expressed interest in developing and starring in a miniseries based on Borden in 2011.^[113][114] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post wrote that Sevigny "is something of a closed book, delivering a stolid performance that can be read as either strong-willed or stonyhearted."^[115] Sevigny also appeared in a supporting role in The True Adventures of Wolfboy,^[116] and starred as a small-town police officer facing a zombie apocalypse in Jim Jarmusch's comedy horror film The Dead Don't Die (2019).^[117] The latter film premiered as the opening feature at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival,^[118] where Sevigny's third short film, White Echo, also competed for the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film.^[119]

In 2019 (and 2022), Sevigny appeared in the Netflix show Russian Doll, portraying the mother of the lead character. In 2023, she was a guest star in the Peacock show Poker Face, working again with Natasha Lyonne, star of both series.^[120] In 2020, Sevigny starred in We Are Who We Are, a limited series directed by Luca Guadagnino, which premiered in September 2020 on HBO.^[121][122]

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Kim Gordon

Kim Gordon

Kim Althea Gordon is an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, California, where her father was a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. After graduating from Los Angeles's Otis College of Art and Design, she moved to New York City to begin an art career. There, she formed Sonic Youth with Thurston Moore in 1981. She and Moore married in 1984, and the band released a total of six albums on independent labels before the end of the 1980s. They would subsequently release nine studio albums on the major label DGC Records, beginning with Goo in 1990. Gordon was also a founding member of the musical project Free Kitten, which she formed with Julia Cafritz in 1993.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behind New York County (Manhattan). Brooklyn is also New York City's most populous borough, with 2,736,074 residents in 2020.

Dressmaker

Dressmaker

A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician.

Jay McInerney

Jay McInerney

John Barrett "Jay" McInerney Jr. is an American novelist, screenwriter, editor, and columnist. His novels include Bright Lights, Big City, Ransom, Story of My Life, Brightness Falls, and The Last of the Savages. He edited The Penguin Book of New American Voices, wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film adaptation of Bright Lights, Big City, and co-wrote the screenplay for the television film Gia, which starred Angelina Jolie. He was the wine columnist for House & Garden magazine, and his essays on wine have been collected in Bacchus & Me (2000) and A Hedonist in the Cellar (2006). His most recent novel is titled Bright, Precious Days, published in 2016. From April 2010 he was a wine columnist for The Wall Street Journal. In 2009, he published a book of short stories which spanned his entire career, titled How It Ended, which was named one of the 10 best books of the year by Janet Maslin of The New York Times.

It girl

It girl

An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging.

Gigolo Aunts

Gigolo Aunts

Gigolo Aunts are an American power pop band, who formed in 1981.

Harmony Korine

Harmony Korine

Harmony Korine is an American filmmaker, actor, photographer, artist, and author. He is known for his films, which feature his erratic, loose and transgressive aesthetic, exploring taboo themes and incorporating experimental techniques, and works with art, music, fashion and advertising.

Kids (film)

Kids (film)

Kids is a 1995 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Larry Clark and written by Harmony Korine. It stars Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Chloë Sevigny, and Rosario Dawson, all in their film debuts. Set in 1995, Fitzpatrick, Pierce, Sevigny, Dawson, and other newcomers portray a group of teenagers in New York City. They are characterized as hedonists, who engage in sexual acts and substance abuse, throughout the days ofcourse of a single day.

Colette storefront in Paris, advertising Sevigny's Opening Ceremony collection

Sevigny has long been considered a fashion icon and regularly appears alternately on both best and worst-dressed lists.^[d] Commenting on criticisms of her fashion choices, she said in 2015: "I called my great aunt who lives in Florida over Christmas. I hadn't seen her in a while and she said, 'Oh, I never get to see you [in person] but I always see you in the back of US Weekly. They're always making fun of you,' and I was like, 'You know me, I dress crazy.' It makes me feel bad."^[127]

Throughout her career, she has modelled for several high-profile designers, including Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, Chloé, H&M, Proenza Schouler, Kenzo and Vivienne Westwood.^{[128][129][130][131]} Prior to her career as an actress, she had achieved fame for her unique style. While her sense of style in the early 1990s only reflected small downtown scenes and trends, it still made a significant impression on high class fashion chains which began to emulate Sevigny's look. Her interest in fashion and clothing, as well as her career as a fashion model in her late teenage years and early twenties, have led to a career as a prominent and well-respected fashion designer. She has expressed interest in fashion design throughout the entirety of her career, even dating back to her childhood: "Little House on the Prairie was my favorite show. I would only wear calico print dresses, and I actually slept in one of those little nightcaps!", she told People in 2007.^[132] Her unorthodox style (which garnered her initial notoriety in the early '90s) has often been referred to as very eclectic.^[133] Sevigny has since released several clothing lines designed by herself, both solo and in collaboration, and has earned a title as a modern fashion icon.^[83]

Critical reception of her fashion and style has been extensively written about by both designers and fashion stylists and has generally proved favorable. American designer Marc Jacobs wrote of Sevigny in 2001: "The fashion world is fascinated by her. Because not only is she talented, young and attractive, she stands out in a sea of often clichéd looking actresses."^[134] In terms of her own personal style, Sevigny cited the Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), which features schoolgirls dressed in elaborate Victorian clothing, as a major inspiration; she has also cited it as one of her favorite films.^[135] She has also been outspoken in her favoritism of vintage clothing over designer pieces: "I still prefer to buy vintage over spending it all on one designer", she told The Times.^[136][137] "I'll go to Resurrection or Decades and be like, 'Oh, I'm going to buy everything,' but a lot of it is extremely expensive, so I'll go to Wasteland and satisfy that urge and it's not too hard on the pocketbook. Then there's this place called Studio Wardrobe Department where everything is like three dollars".

Actor Drew Droege has, since 2011, performed in a web series titled Chloë, featuring Droege's drag impersonation of Sevigny.^[138]

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Colette (boutique)

Colette (boutique)

Colette was a French high fashion, streetwear, and accessory retailer. The three floor 8,000 square feet (740 m2) concept store was located in Paris and contained an exhibition space, bookshop, and a "water bar" serving more than 100 brands of bottled water. It closed permanently in December 2017. Colette's logo was two blue dots.

Miu Miu

Miu Miu

Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Paris, France.

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton, is a French luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, perfumes, watches, jewelry, accessories, sunglasses and books. Louis Vuitton is one of the world's leading international fashion houses. It sells its products through standalone boutiques, lease departments in high-end departmental stores, and through the e-commerce section of its website.

Chloé

Chloé

Chloé is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. During the next year of 1953 Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creative growth of Chloé. Its headquarters are located in Paris, France. The house is owned by luxury brands holding company Richemont Group. Chloé has been worn by many celebrities, including Marion Cotillard, Sienna Miller, Madonna, January Jones, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Diaz, Emma Stone, Clémence Poésy and Katie Holmes. The brand is characterized by a youthful and bohemian aesthetic, and has produced several successful fragrances.

H&M

H&M

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB or H&M Group is a multinational clothing company based in Sweden that focuses on fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers, and children. As of 23 June 2022, H&M Group operates in 75 geographical markets with 4,801 stores under the various company brands, with 107,375 full-time equivalent positions.

Kenzo (brand)

Kenzo (brand)

Kenzo is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1970 by Japanese designer Kenzo Takada and owned by parent company LVMH.

Little House on the Prairie (TV series)

Little House on the Prairie (TV series)

Little House on the Prairie is an American Western historical drama television series about the Ingalls family, who live on a farm on Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s–90s. Charles, Laura, Caroline, Mary, and Carrie Ingalls are respectively portrayed by Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, Karen Grassle, and Melissa Sue Anderson and twins Lindsay and Sydney Greenbush. The show is an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California, the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, and one of the world's most populous megacities. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits as of 2020, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The majority of the city proper lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending partly through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to its east. It covers about 469 square miles (1,210 km2), and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estimated 9.86 million residents as of 2022.

Fred Segal

Fred Segal

Fred Segal is a clothing and accessories retail brand founded in West Hollywood, California. Its main location is on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, United States.

Cameron Silver

Cameron Silver

Cameron Silver is fashion director, retailer, and entertainment personality. Silver is the currently fashion director of the brand Halston.

Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was discontinued after the 2015 fall/winter collection. At its peak, it had over 200 retail stores in 80 countries. He was the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton from 1997 to 2014. Jacobs was on Time magazine's "2010 Time 100" list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and was #14 on Out magazine's 2012 list of "50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America". He married his longtime partner Charly Defrancesco on April 6, 2019.

Cliché

Cliché

A cliché is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning, referring to an expression imposed by conventionalized linguistic usage.

Sevigny endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President in the 2016 US presidential election^[139] and again in the 2020 election.^[140]

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Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders

Bernard Sanders is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Vermont, a seat he has held since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007. Sanders is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history. He has a close relationship with the Democratic Party, having caucused with House and Senate Democrats for most of his congressional career. A self-described democratic socialist, he is often seen as a leader of the progressive movement in the United States. Sanders unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for president of the United States in 2016 and 2020, finishing in second place in both campaigns. Before his election to Congress, he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont.

President of the United States

President of the United States

The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

2016 United States presidential election

2016 United States presidential election

The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state and First Lady of the United States Hillary Clinton and the United States senator from Virginia Tim Kaine, in what was considered a large upset. Trump took office as the 45th president, and Pence as the 48th vice president, on January 20, 2017. It was the fifth and most recent presidential election in which the winning candidate lost the popular vote. It was also the sixth presidential election, and the first since 1944, in which both major party candidates were registered in the same home state.

2020 United States presidential election

2020 United States presidential election

The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and incumbent vice president Mike Pence. The election took place against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic and related recession. It was the first election since 1992 in which the incumbent president failed to win a second term. The election saw the highest voter turnout by percentage since 1952, with each of the two main tickets receiving more than 74 million votes, surpassing Barack Obama's record of 69.5 million votes from 2008. Biden received more than 81 million votes, the most votes ever cast for a candidate in a U.S. presidential election.

In the late 1990s, Sevigny dated British singer Jarvis Cocker. She later said in a 2009 interview:

When I was in my early 20s, I went out with a British pop star, Jarvis Cocker; of course, pop stars have much more celebrity, I think, than actors even. They're really hunted by their fans much more. I remember driving around these remote towns in Wales and kids running after us in the street. I was like, 'This is horrible!' And I saw the effect it had on him, and that's when I decided I never wanted to be a celebrity at that level, and I think that's why I've chosen to do the work that I do and just kind of work with directors that I love and try and do work that means something to me.^[141]

Sevigny began dating Croatian art gallery director Siniša Mačković in 2018. In January 2020, it was announced that Sevigny was expecting her first child with Mačković.^[142] They married on March 9, 2020,^[143] and on May 2, 2020, she gave birth to a son.^[144] She is Catholic and has said that she attends church.^[9]