Paz de la Huerta urges me to abandon defining things in such limited terms. Whether it be the linear unfolding of time or the concept of a ‘career’, to her it is trivial to try and create boundaries for such things. Paz, herself, is evidence that the grandeur of life cannot be contained. Although the public might try to put her in the box of an actress, a model, or even a socialite, that has not deterred her from pursuing her creativity in many other ways or living a life in search of self fulfillment. Everything in her life is about fluidity. She doesn’t have the patience or desire to reel off calculated answers to interview questions, but instead, she goes at her own pace. She tells the story as it comes.

Although Paz doesn’t want to spend too much time on the subject, she is not without a past. Her father is the Spanish XVII Duke of Mandas and Villanueva and her mother a global advocate for women’s rights. They lived in the trendy art-fueled neighborhoods of TriBeCa and Soho, just as they were coming up. “[My neighborhood] was filled with incredible artists that I’m blessed to have known since I was little, whom I consider many of them to be my angels and cicerones.” Some of the close relationships she cites are with Francesco Clemente, Nan Goldin, and David Armstrong, among other artists and poets. New York and the creative community it fostered just next door fed her spirit and helped to shape her creatively, but much of her childhood was spent outside of its confines. As a child her summers were spent on a ranch in Spain with her family and her mother often brought her along to work trips in underdeveloped countries, particularly in Asia and Africa. She stops to reiterate that although such an upbringing provided her with invaluable tools for the future, she doesn’t want to talk to divulge her entire past. We keep moving.

“I’ve never really been just a model,” she claims. Throughout the interview she takes ownership of dozens of different skills; model, actress, director, singer, painter, and she’s currently taking classes to add flamenco dancer to her modest repertoire. She has been a creative person from birth and doesn’t give herself creative boundaries. She explored anything and everything. One of her earliest public experiences in this world of art and expression was modeling for Zac Posen’s debut show. The two became close in high school and although a thrilling opportunity for Paz at the time, it was hardly a seamless experience. “I hated the way they did my hair. My breast popped out without me knowing and everyone started clapping and cheering, and I was feeling really high on myself, like ‘Damn I’m great at this,’ then I got backstage and everyone [told me what happened]!” This, however, was just the start.

I just want to feel safe, be around a loving crew, be inspired by the story I’m telling and hope that through my being I can evoke compassion and healing and make one more person in the world feel less alone. — Paz De La Huerta

Hollywood embraced her just the same as the fashion world. From a young age she earned roles in major films including The Cider House Rules, A Walk To Remember, Choke, and even the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, but she doesn’t want to harp on those experiences. She doesn’t wish to talk about what the time on set was like or why she chose the roles. Instead, she prefers discussing the present, the future. Currently, she has three films in post-production — Concrete Underground, Death in the Desert, and Amy in a Cage — all expected to be released in 2016. As for future roles, she is outspoken about what she will and will not accept as a seasoned actress. “[On set] I just want to feel safe, be around a loving crew, be inspired by the story I’m telling and hope that through my being I can evoke compassion and healing and make one more person in the world feel less alone.” Drawn intimately to female characters that are misunderstood, I imagine to a degree she searches for a glimpse of herself in her chosen roles. “I always dedicate a role to someone. They’re all homages.”

Giving back to women is a major part of her creative process. Other than providing inspiration and a sense of security through her art, she also wants to protect young women who are getting their start in creative industries. As a woman in the male-dominated film industry, Paz has experienced a great deal of injustice and hopes young girls can take something from her learnings. “There were two projects that I was mistreated [by male directors]. I was lied to, deceived, and because I was the only woman and came on not just as an actress, but as an executive producer, I was mistreated.” She goes on to encourage other women trying to get their start in a creative field to “pay attention to the signs. You can’t fight darkness with darkness. Listen to your body, to your heart, and if it doesn’t feel right or safe, it ain’t worth it. Take care of you first.”

Although generally quiet about her upcoming work, Paz is exuberant when talking about the art exhibition she is working on. “I don’t wish to talk about things until they’re finished, but let’s just say I came out of the womb painting.” She currently spends most of her time in Sevilla, Spain, where she can focus on her many crafts. Typically — she reminds me — she doesn’t identify as strictly one type of artist, but she will take on one label in particular: “As my friend Billy Corgan refers to me, and as Zac [Posen] and many others have referred to me, I am more of a muse.” And that she is.

I ask her about what her career has in store for the future, and she responds thoughtfully, “You keep using the word ‘career’, which by definition an individual’s journey through learning and work. I feel it’s a word that has come to mean something else in this current society, like a ‘goal’. But my journey is now, it’s happening now. It  keeps unveiling itself to me.”