Woman to Watch: Chloe Sevigny

The Connecticut-born It girl and Big Love actor is an indie darling for her edgy East Village vibe and cooler-than-thou fashion cred.

WHY SHE'S ON OUR RADAR: The preternaturally stylish Sevigny is back for the third season of HBO's polygamy soap, Big Love, playing the prairie-chic, straight-off-the-compound second wife, Nicki Grant.

AS SEEN IN: Kids, Boys Don't Cry, The Last Days of Disco

HER SHTICK: The Connecticut-born It girl, now 34, is an indie darling for her edgy East Village vibe and cooler-than-thou fashion cred.

MAMA BEAR: "It's true she's manipulating the family," says Sevigny of the rigid control freak Nicki. "But she's also their strongest protector--whenever there's trouble, she's the one to go to the front lines to protect them. That's very hip."

DAILY INSPIRATION: "My friends. Music. The Louise Bourgeois retrospective at the Guggenheim. Just walking around the city. Families. Seeing [Big Love costar] Jeanne Tripplehorn with her son and husband. They have such a beautiful little unit."

FASHION PARTY OR MOVIE PREMIERE? "Definitely a fashion party," says Sevigny, who launched her own line for Opening Ceremony in 2007. "Fashion people are more in tune to what's going on in the culture. Plus, they have a good time; their parties are more silly."

THEIR CHEATIN' HEARTS: "I'm not really big on men right now," laughs the single starlet, who has been linked in the past to musician Matt McAuley and actor Vincent Gallo, her partner in the infamous Brown Bunny (bona fide) blowjob scene. "The men that I've been experiencing around me right now, I think it's hard for them to be loyal."

UP FOR SOME BIG LOVE OF HER OWN? "That's too many men to have around," she laughs. "That's too much babysitting!"