Wild Child

At age 16, Chloe Sevigny pierced her nose by poking a safety pin through the skin into a carrot she had lodged in her nostril.

“I was a teenager!” she protests. “I’m not a teenager anymore.”

True. She’s a mature, 24-year-old actress whose resume bulges with daring, edgy films. From Larry Clark’s nihilistic “Kids” to Mary Harron’s soon-to-be released adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ yuppie horror show, “American Psycho.” And what about the progress of her personal style?

“Consistent, but slowly evolving,” she says.

Indeed. At 17, she left her hometown of Darien, Conn., for culturally diverse New York. “Kids” screenwriter Harmony Korine discovered her and cast her as the vulnerable teenager who simultaneously loses her virginity and contracts the HIV virus (her character is smitten with more STDs in Whit Stillman’s “The Last Days of Disco”). The two started living together. Korine, who moved on to director duties, then used Sevigny in “Gummo” and in the just-released “Julien Donkey-Boy.”

By the time her career began, she says, “I had taken my nose ring out. I cut my hair short and was dressing like a boy.” After that: “The girly thing. Black satin.” Meanwhile, more quality roles--opposite Steve Buscemi in his directorial debut, “Trees Lounge”; with Matt Dillon in “Palmetto” and alongside Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore in “A Map of the World.” As she became more recognizable in public, she abandoned extreme couture.

“I don’t want to draw as much attention to myself,” she says. “I’m kind of more conservative and low-key. Blue blazers. More of a preppy style. I’m a little loose with the shoes though. My favorite pair are black, high-heeled Charles Jourdan pumps with these metal strips on the back of the heel.”

So is the preppy style a return to her roots? Already?

“Oh, God! That’s frightening.”

Her dream is to have her own apartment in Gramercy Park and a home in Martha’s Vineyard. But for now, home is back in Darien--in the room she grew up in. There she surrounds herself with her favorite things--her books, a collection of miniature animals and statuettes, and the pink, sparkly cocktail drum kit that she plays standing up--just like one of her favorite drummers, Maureen Tucker of the Velvet Underground. Part of the time she lives at her brother’s place in Manhattan. No other fixed addresses.

“I’m not really in New York enough. This year I did five films. And then I travel on the festival circuit. To rent a place would be a waste of money.”

So many films and money’s still tight?

“I’ve never made a studio film.”

And what does a city like Los Angeles have to offer the now-L.L. Bean-wearing New Englander?

“KXLU. That’s my favorite thing. And I like the music scene. There’s bands to see almost every night--Spaceland, the Troubadour. And I like driving.’

Of course, very indie.

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Helmut Lang silk organza padded tank, $490, available at https://www.helmutlang.com.Styled by John Hullum/Art Department, New York City; hair: Jonathan Connelly for Aveda; makeup: Ana Marie for Aveda/Kramer + Kramer, New York City; fashion assistant: Missy Yoneta