Focus Features

It’s difficult to put your finger on what gives Parker Posey, the “Queen of the Indies,” such an unusual and uniquely compelling presence. If you follow the basic recipe, it’s one part supermodel (she’s named 50s fashion icon Suzy Parker), two parts culinary wiz (her mother worked as a chef and cooking instructor) and two parts charming smooth talker (her father owned a car dealership). But it's just not that simple. Born in Baltimore but raised in Mississippi, Posey went to SUNY Purchase as a wannabe ballet dancer but discovered afterwards that acting was her true calling. She first appeared on screen in Richard Lanklater’s Dazed and Confused in 1993, and her spunky, individual personality seemed to strike a chord with the spirit of the indie community as a whole. In rapid succession, she worked with Hal Hartley (Flirt), Gregg Araki (The Doom Generation), Noah Baumbach (Kicking and Screaming), Linklater again (suburbia), Greg Mottola (The Daytrippers) and Julian Schnabel (Basquiat), while her indie star vehicles Party Girl and The House of Yes became cult hits. In the 1990s, Posey’s stock could not have been higher, but she nearly found fame through a much more mainstream method, as she was at one stage being considered for the role of Rachel on the TV show Friends.

It’s difficult to put your finger on what gives Parker Posey, the “Queen of the Indies,” such an unusual and uniquely compelling presence. If you follow the basic recipe, it’s one part supermodel (she’s named 50s fashion icon Suzy Parker), two parts culinary wiz (her mother worked as a chef and cooking instructor) and two parts charming smooth talker (her father owned a car dealership). But it's just not that simple. Born in Baltimore but raised in Mississippi, Posey went to SUNY Purchase as a wannabe ballet dancer but discovered afterwards that acting was her true calling. She first appeared on screen in Richard Lanklater’s Dazed and Confused in 1993, and her spunky, individual personality seemed to strike a chord with the spirit of the indie community as a whole. In rapid succession, she worked with Hal Hartley (Flirt), Gregg Araki (The Doom Generation), Noah Baumbach (Kicking and Screaming), Linklater again (suburbia), Greg Mottola (The Daytrippers) and Julian Schnabel (Basquiat), while her indie star vehicles Party Girl and The House of Yes became cult hits. In the 1990s, Posey’s stock could not have been higher, but she nearly found fame through a much more mainstream method, as she was at one stage being considered for the role of Rachel on the TV show Friends.