Gen X icon Ione Skye on why she's more Liz Taylor than Jennifer Aniston
Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This week he talks to Ione Skye. The British-born American actor, director, painter, writer and podcaster, 54, is a Gen X film icon best known for her role in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything. Her memoir is Say Everything.
BODIES
You started acting at a young age. How much of the attention on your looks was flattering and how much was annoying? I was very photogenic, which was helpful, but there was so much worry about weight. One time, I did a job in Rome and in Tunisia and was told, 'Lose 10 pounds in Italy.' Are you kidding me? But I did, then gained it back in two days. I didn't get to eat any amazing Italian food the whole time.
None of this sounds healthy or joyous. I was never – for better or worse – strict enough. I did a movie with Jennifer Aniston before she did Friends. She'd eat a bagel and cut out the inside. That's someone who's very ordered. I'm more Elizabeth Taylor-messy, I think, which is kind of fun.
Do you have tattoos? [ Counts ] I have one … two … how many tattoos? … Three? Technically, four.
What are they and where are they? My first one was done by hand by the same guy who did my mum's tattoo: your classic moon and star that a young person gets. Then I did a swan on my hip with my ex-sister-in-law. This other tattoo is meant to say 'NOW' but it just looks like a blob. Then I had the name 'Adam' for my ex-husband [Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys], but I changed that to 'Madam'.
MONEY
Your father is the Scottish musician Donovan, your mother is model Enid Karl. As a result, you've been described as 'the OG nepo baby'. Is that fair? When I say I didn't get one cent from my parents, it's kind of true. I mean, my father paid child support, but my mum didn't make a lot of money. So it gave me a lot of confidence and pride when I started making my own. My father didn't really open any doors, but there were creative people around me, via my mother. So I saw examples of people in the industry, which was helpful. And having my father's name was intriguing to someone like [director] Cameron Crowe who was really into music; he cast me in Say Anything.
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