Known as an indie icon, Chloë Sevigny has enjoyed success since the 1990s, switching between indie films, experimental features, and TV Shows. Sevigny has appeared in films from some of the most interesting directors of recent years, including Larry Clark (Kids), Harmony Korine (Gummo), Mary Harron (American Psycho), Lars von Trier (Dogville and Manderlay), Woody Allen (Melinda and Melinda), Olivier Assayas (Demonlover), David Fincher (Zodiac), and Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers and The Dead Don’t Die).
The Oscar nominee (for the 1999 drama Boys Don’t Cry) and the Golden Globe winner (for the HBO series Big Love, which ran from 2006 to 2011) met some controversy, but doesn’t regret playing in one of the most hated movies of all time, Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny, which features an unsimulated sex act between Sevigny and Gallo, the film’s director, Sevigny’s costar and then boyfriend. She’s often been a bold and provocative actor, and she continues to excel today, losing none of her courage.
Let’s take a look at Chloë Sevigny’s best performances, ranked.
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8 The Girl from Plainville
Hulu
Sevigny has appeared in numerous television projects, including central roles in two seasons of American Horror Story and key supporting roles in the Hulu true crime drama The Act and Netflix comedy-drama Russian Doll.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
In 2022, Sevigny takes another challenging small screen role in the puzzling Hulu crime The Girl from Plainville. Inspired by the true “texting-suicide” case, the drama stars Elle Fanning as Michelle Carter, who encouraged her boyfriend, Conrad Roy, in text messages to kill himself. Chloë Sevigny steps into the role of Roy’s mother Lynn. “I wanted to try and capture something of the depth that I felt in her, her soulful nature, her salt of the earth quality”, Sevigny told Gold Derby. The actress’ performance brings a lot of emotionality and humanity to The Girl from Plainville.
7 Lizzie
Saban Films
Based on the true story of Lizzie Borden, the 19th-century axe murderer of her father and stepmother who was acquitted, the 2018 thriller Lizzie stars Chloë Sevigny as Lizzie Borden and Kristen Stewart as Bridget Sullivan, the family maid and Lizzie’s lover. Two lead performances are fantastic. Sevigny and Stewart brought so much to their characters and delivered a sensitive take on one of the most famous murders in American criminal history.
6 We Are Who We Are
HBO
In the Luca Guadagnino-directed 2020 coming-of-age HBO drama We Are Who We Are, Sevigny is outstanding as army colonel Sarah Wilson who takes command of US military base in Italy. Sarah’s son Fraser (Jack Dylan Grazer) and other teenagers living on the base are searching for their place and questioning their sexuality and gender identity. It is an atmospheric tale of self-discovery that is enhanced by Sevigny’s presence.
5 American Psycho
Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International
The 2000 iconic satirical horror American Psycho centers on Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale), a New York City investment banking executive who leads a double life as a serial killer. As Patrick’s naive assistant Jean who falls in love with him, Sevigny brings a lot of innocence to American Psycho. The viciously dark satire took Savigny’s career to a new level.
4 The Dead Don’t Die
Focus Features
In Jim Jarmusch’s 2019 comedy horror The Dead Don’t Die zombies take over the sleepy town of Centerville. The local police officers (played by Bill Murray, Adam Driver, and Chloë Sevigny) have to deal with the situation. “What does a Jim Jarmusch zombie movie look like? It looks like just what you’d expect: a cheeky hipster walking-dead comedy that surveys the apocalypse with a shrug of blasé self-consciousness”, Variety described The Dead Don’t Die. To put a cherry on top, Sevigny’s character, Officer Mindy Morrison, behaves as if she were in an actual horror film.
3 Big Love
Big Love is a first-rate drama that centers on the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family, Bill Henrickson (played by Bill Paxton), and his three wives. The television series with a non-judgmental portrayal of polygamy in America was a big hit for HBO. Sevigny plays the manipulative and cold Nicki Grant, the second of the main character’s wives. The role earned Sevigny critical acclaim and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.
2 Kids
Shining Excalibur Films
Sevigny made her movie debut in Larry Clark’s controversial 1995 film, Kids. This coming-of-age drama is a disturbing look at the troubled youth of our times and a wake-up call to the modern world. In the film, Sevigny appears as Jennie, a teenage girl who learns she is HIV positive. For her heartbreakingly authentic first role, Sevigny went on to receive Independent Spirit Award nomination for the performance.
1 Boys Don’t Cry
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Boys Don’t Cry has been described by film critic Roger Ebert as “Romeo and Juliet set in a Nebraska trailer park.” This heartbreaking and powerful 1999 biographical film tells the tragic real story of American transgender man Brandon Teena (one of the best Hilary Swank performances) and his girlfriend Lana Tisdel (Chloë Sevigny). Sevigny called Boys Don’t Cry the most important film in her career, “Everyone, especially from the LGBTQ community, has a very emotional attachment and response to it, and I am really proud of it.” The film remains a poignant masterpiece that introduced Sevigny to mainstream audiences.
