A Field Guide To Paz De La Huerta

September 20, 2011
OTTIMO-MASSIMO

Our Paz de la Huerta fixation stretches back a considerable amount of time, and even though we can name a handful of her works and accomplishments, we don't know much about the girl. Our Paz-related lacunae, plus the fact that "Boardwalk Empire" returns to HBO this week, inspired this field guide.

Also, you know, the fact that Paz is ridiculously hot; that also motivated us to write about her. Moving along then...

María de la Paz Elizabeth Sofía Adriana de la Huerta was born in New York City on September 3, 1984; she's the daughter of Iñigo de la Huerta, the Spanish Duke of Mandas and Villanueva, and Judith Bruce, an "authority" on women's issues in Third World countries. She was raised in SoHo and attended school with the famous designer Zac Posen—they met in design class, quickly became friends, and he took Paz for his muse.

Paz's breakout role was in the beloved 1999 film (with an infinitely gag-inspiring title) "The Cider House Rules"; she was fifteen years-old, and the envy of her classmates. She showed-up on "Law & Order" twice and "The Practice" once in the early 2000s, but she earned much more valuable praise and recognition from her appearances in "Chelsea Hotel," "Riding in Cars with Boys," and "A Walk to Remember." (We've been trying to imagine Paz de la Huerta hanging out with Mandy Moore and we simply can't do it. However, Paz said, "It was great. Everybody was really cool. We filmed in North Carolina, right by the beach. I would go swimming every other day.")

We first became serious Pazophiles when we saw her in Jim Jarmusch's "The Limits of Control" in 2009, in which she is credited as "Nude" and spends most of the movie talking about her bare butt and walking around in a clear, plastic raincoat. We then went back to 2008 so we could watch her hand her panties to Sam Rockwell in "Choke." Clearly, we're not the only ones obsessed with Paz and her sexuality. There have been art galleries filled with naked pictures of her, and Jarmusch noted, "Paz is completely aware of that contradiction of vulnerability and strength... Nudity is her favorite wardrobe, her way of confronting her own fears head-on. And that's what makes her a great actor."

To be perfectly honest, most of what we've learned about Paz comes from this brilliant profile of her by New York Magazine. You should read it—and not just because it begins with Paz rubbing salt and honey on her breasts in the middle of a busy New York sauna. However, it's about six pages long, so here are a few highlights:

Paz, as described by her mother: "Paz is Genghis Khan meets Marie Antoinette."
"At one point last year, desperate for work, Paz got a job serving lawsuits to older men, approaching them in nightclubs to hand them legal documents."
"She's dated Orlando Bloom, Jack Nicholson, and a slew of other celebrities."
"Who would you say you look like? 'Brigitte Bardot,' she says without hesitating.
"'It was like the time I went to Graceland. Elvis's ghost gave me an orgasm in his recording studio.'"
"Paz only wears black, so as not to distract from her personality."
"'What do you expect me to say, Pothy,' Judith says as they enter into another quarrel. 'I was in London and I open the paper, and you're going to a movie premiere with Jack Nicholson. It was not only a mother's worst nightmare. It was a grandmother's worst nightmare!'"

And finally:

"'Talk to my father!' Paz tells me. 'He'll have better things to say about me.' She passes me her cell phone. A raspy voice answers. It's three in the morning in Spain. 'Hello?'
Paz whispers into my ear that I should ask him what type of animal she is. 'What kind of an animal is Paz?' I ask Iñigo de la Huerta.
'A female Jack Russell terrier,' he snaps.
'Why?'
'Because I have twelve of them already, and she makes thirteen!'
'What did he say?' Paz pleads.
'I couldn't hear him.'"

Anyhow, we can't say that "Boardwalk Empire" has made her a household name, but it's certainly introduced a much larger audience to the de la Huerta dynamism. Paz exudes confidence and power, and she's determined to become a huge star, pushing herself into difficult roles, constantly expanding her emotional range in ways that few other actors can emulate. So if "Boardwalk Empire" doesn't get her where she wants to be, we're excited/frightened to think what her next big project will be.

[Picture via Paz De La Huerta (Almost) Uncensored)]

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