Natasha Lyonne

Natasha Lyonne

New York actress and downtown icon

text by LIZZI BOUGATSOS
portrait by ANNABEL MEHRAN

 

Watching her wake up is not always the gentlest situation. I probably have been kicked in the ribs or punched in the face a few times while vacationing with her in Hydra or in Jamaica, where we shared a very large bed in a bungalow. Natasha likes to leave things scattered around before we leave the apartment: objects such as movie paraphernalia, posters or statues of Groucho Marx, strange ashtrays with cigarettes still lit. If she’s smoking, there are always 10 different brands in her purse. She doesn’t like to give out cigarettes.

The other night, Kim Gordon and I joined her at the movies. We thought we were seeing Point Break, but of course it was Point Blank, a weird, spiraling Hitchcock thriller mob movie. I mean, I…