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Chloë Sevigny
Durga Chew-Bose, the director, and Chloë Sevigny, an actor, at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Toronto, Canada. 02 (cropped).jpg
Sevigny at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Born
Chloe Stevens Sevigny

(1974-11-18) November 18, 1974 (age 50)
Occupation
  • Actress
  • director
Years active 1992–present
Works
Filmography
Spouse(s)
Siniša Mačković
(m. 2020)
Children 1
Awards Full list

Chloë Stevens Sevigny (born November 18, 1974) is an American actress and director. She is well-known for her roles in independent films. She has won a Golden Globe Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

After finishing high school, Sevigny started working as a model. She also appeared in music videos for bands like Sonic Youth and The Lemonheads. This helped her become known as an "it girl" in the fashion world. In 1995, she made her first movie, Kids. She quickly became a popular actress in independent films during the late 1990s. One of her notable roles was in Trees Lounge (1996). Sevigny became very famous for playing Lana Tisdel in the drama film Boys Don't Cry (1999). For this role, she was nominated for an Academy Award For Best Supporting Actress.

Throughout the 2000s, Sevigny acted in many independent films. These included American Psycho (2000), Demonlover (2002), Party Monster (2003), and Dogville (2003). From 2006 to 2011, Sevigny played Nicolette Grant in the HBO TV series Big Love. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2010 for this role. She also appeared in bigger movies like David Fincher's Zodiac (2007). She starred in TV shows such as the British series Hit & Miss (2012) and had roles in Portlandia (2013) and American Horror Story. She was also in the Netflix series Bloodline (2015–2017). In 2024, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her role in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

Sevigny started directing films in 2016 with her short film Kitty. Her third short film, White Echo, was shown at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. She also has a career in fashion design. Her unique and alternative fashion style has made her a style icon.

Early Life and Background

Chloe Stevens Sevigny was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on November 18, 1974. She is the second child of Janine and Harold David Sevigny. She has an older brother named Paul. Sevigny grew up in Darien, Connecticut, in a strict Catholic household. Her father worked as an accountant and later as an art teacher. Even though Darien was a wealthy town, her family lived a simple life. Sevigny said her father wanted them to grow up in a safe place.

As a child, Sevigny had scoliosis, a curve in the spine. She often spent summers at theater camp, where she played leading roles in plays. She went to Darien High School. During high school, she sometimes babysat actor Topher Grace. She also worked sweeping tennis courts at a country club.

Sevigny described herself as a "loner" and a "depressed teenager" in high school. Her main activities were skateboarding with her brother and sewing her own clothes. Her father passed away from cancer in 1996 when she was 22 years old.

Career Highlights

How Chloë Sevigny Started in Modeling and Acting

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Sevigny is close friends with Harmony Korine and made her acting debut in his film Kids (1995)

As a teenager, Sevigny often took the train from Darien to Manhattan. In 1992, when she was 17, a fashion editor from Sassy magazine saw her on an East Village street. The editor liked her style and asked her to model for the magazine. Sevigny later became an intern there. She also modeled for X-Girl, a fashion label by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, and appeared in Sonic Youth's music video for "Sugar Kane".

In 1993, at age 19, Sevigny moved to Brooklyn and worked as a seamstress. An author named Jay McInerney wrote an article about her for The New Yorker, calling her the new "it girl". She also appeared on album covers and in a Lemonheads music video. This made her well-known in New York's underground scene.

Sevigny met writer and director Harmony Korine in 1993. They became good friends, and she was cast in the independent film Kids (1995). Sevigny played a New York teenager in the film. She was 19 at the time and had no acting experience. Kids was a very talked-about film. Critics praised Sevigny's performance, saying she brought a gentle touch to the movie. She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.

In 1996, Sevigny appeared in Steve Buscemi's independent film Trees Lounge. She also worked as a fashion designer and actress on Gummo (1997), directed by Harmony Korine. Gummo was also a controversial film, but Sevigny said it became a cult film loved by young people. The film was dedicated to her father.

In 1998, Sevigny starred in the thriller Palmetto and had a main role in The Last Days of Disco (1998). Director Whit Stillman said Sevigny was "a natural phenomenon" in her role.

Rising to Fame with Boys Don't Cry

In 1999, Sevigny was cast in the drama Boys Don't Cry. This movie helped her become very famous. Sevigny played Lana Tisdel, a young woman who fell in love with a young man named Brandon Teena. Critics highly praised Boys Don't Cry and Sevigny's acting. The Los Angeles Times said she played the role with "haunting immediacy." Roger Ebert said Sevigny helped viewers connect with the story. This role earned her nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She won several other awards for her performance.

After Boys Don't Cry, Sevigny appeared in the film Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) and had a small part in A Map of the World (1999). In 2000, she played a supporting role in American Psycho. She also appeared in the TV film If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000), where she played a character in a relationship with another woman.

Sevigny chose roles in independent films over bigger Hollywood movies. She starred in Olivier Assayas' French thriller Demonlover (2002). She then filmed Party Monster (2003), a movie about the Club Kids scene in New York.

Around 2002, Sevigny started working with her friend Tara Subkoff on the Imitation of Christ fashion label. She was the creative director for this unique fashion project. In film, Sevigny had a role in Lars von Trier's Dogville (2003) alongside Nicole Kidman. In 2003, she reunited with her Boys Don't Cry co-star Peter Sarsgaard in Shattered Glass. Sevigny played Caitlin Avey, an editor in the film about a journalist whose reputation is ruined.

In 2003, Sevigny played the main female role in the art house film The Brown Bunny. The film caused a lot of discussion when it premiered. Sevigny defended the film, calling it an "art film." Some critics praised her performance, saying she brought "truth and vulnerability" to the movie.

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

Sevigny continued to work on various projects. She had a major supporting role in Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda (2004). She also appeared on the TV show Will & Grace and had small roles in Manderlay (2005) and Broken Flowers (2005). She played a character in the HBO TV film Mrs. Harris (2005). In 3 Needles (2005), a film about AIDS, Sevigny played a Catholic nun. Her performance received good reviews. In 2006, Sevigny starred in the film Lying and in the remake of the horror film Sisters.

Big Love and Fashion Work

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

In 2006, Sevigny began a five-season role in the HBO TV series Big Love. The show was about a family of fundamentalist Mormon polygamists (people married to multiple partners). She played Nicolette Grant, the second wife of a polygamist husband. Sevigny also appeared in her first big-budget movie, Zodiac (2007), playing Robert Graysmith's wife.

In 2007, the French fashion company Chloé announced that Sevigny would be a model for their new perfume. Sevigny also launched her own clothing collection for Opening Ceremony in 2009. It included clothes for men, women, and unisex styles.

In January 2010, Sevigny won a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Big Love. She later expressed some disappointment with the show's fourth season, but apologized for her comments, saying she was tired and didn't want to seem ungrateful.

While starring in Big Love, Sevigny also appeared in two independent comedy films in 2010: Barry Munday and Mr. Nice. She also did voice acting for the documentary film Beautiful Darling (2010). The final season of Big Love aired in January 2011.

Recent Television and Directing Projects

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Sevigny in 2015 at the premiere of #Horror

In 2012, Sevigny starred in the British miniseries Hit & Miss, playing a character who is a contract killer and is also transgender. She also appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and in the second and fifth seasons of American Horror Story.

Sevigny had a supporting role as a journalist in Lovelace (2013). The same year, she starred in The Wait, a psychological thriller about two sisters. Sevigny also had roles in TV shows like Portlandia and The Mindy Project.

In 2014, Sevigny starred in the crime drama Those Who Kill. In March 2015, it was announced that Sevigny would return to American Horror Story for its fifth season, Hotel. She also starred in the Netflix series Bloodline. In 2015, Sevigny published a picture book about her life. She also appeared in Tara Subkoff's film #Horror.

Chloë Sevigny 2017
Sevigny in 2017

In early 2016, Sevigny appeared in the horror film Antibirth and reunited with director Whit Stillman for Love & Friendship. Both films premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Sevigny also continued her role in Bloodline for its third and final season.

Sevigny made her directing debut in 2016 with the short film Kitty. This film was shown at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. In late 2016, she directed her second short film, Carmen.

Sevigny played supporting roles in several films in 2017, including Lean on Pete, Golden Exits, Beatriz at Dinner, The Dinner, and The Snowman.

Sevigny starred as Lizzie Borden in Lizzie (2018). She also appeared in The True Adventures of Wolfboy and starred as a police officer in Jim Jarmusch's comedy horror film The Dead Don't Die (2019). Her third short film, White Echo, also competed at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2019 and 2022, Sevigny appeared in the Netflix show Russian Doll. In 2023, she was a guest star in the Peacock show Poker Face. In 2020, Sevigny starred in We Are Who We Are, a limited series on HBO.

In 2024, Sevigny appeared in a Charli XCX music video. She also starred as socialite C. Z. Guest in the TV show Feud: Capote vs. The Swans and as Kitty Menendez in the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Her performance in the latter earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Fashion and Style

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

Chloë Sevigny has been seen as a fashion icon for a long time. She often appears on both best- and worst-dressed lists. She has modeled for many famous designers like Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, Chloé, and H&M. Even before she became an actress, she was known for her unique style. Her fashion choices in the early 1990s influenced high-end fashion brands.

Sevigny has always been interested in fashion design, even as a child. She has created several clothing lines, both by herself and with others. Her unusual style is often called "eclectic," meaning it's a mix of different styles. She prefers vintage clothing over expensive designer items. She once said, "I still prefer to buy vintage over spending it all on one designer."

Fashion experts and designers have often praised her style. American designer Marc Jacobs said in 2001 that the fashion world was "fascinated by her" because she stands out. Sevigny has said that the film Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), which features girls in old-fashioned clothes, is a big inspiration for her style.

In 2023, she held a clothing sale in New York, selling most of her stored clothes. This sale showed that she still has a strong influence in fashion.

Personal Life

In the late 1990s, Sevigny dated British singer Jarvis Cocker. She saw how famous he was and decided she didn't want that level of celebrity for herself. She chose to work on projects she loved with directors she admired.

Around 2000, Sevigny started a relationship with musician Matt McAuley. They were together for eight years.

Sevigny began dating art gallery director Siniša Mačković in 2018. They got married on March 9, 2020. On May 2, 2020, she gave birth to their son. She is Catholic and goes to church.

Sevigny supported Senator Bernie Sanders for President in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Acting Credits and Awards

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Chloë Sevigny para niños

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