Vanities

VANITAS VANITATUM

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"There's no 'off' button with Americans. It's crazy. For me, being around nature and horses in Norway is the best 'off' button there is."

Kristine Froseth, 23, star of the Netflix films Sierra Burgess Is a Loser and Apostle

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Vanities / Opening Act

V.F.'s Krista Smith speaks with Kristine Froseth, the Norwegian model turned actress.

You're practically the face of Netflix this fall as a star of two new original films.

Yes, and they're very different.

In Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, a high-school comedy, I'm Veronica, the mean girl. High school is an awful time, so I wanted to show the conflict that creates a bully. And in Apostle I play Ffion, who gets wrapped up in this cult, along with her lover. It's a thriller with Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen, and it's very, very dark.

You were first discovered as a model in Norway, right?

I was in Oslo, which doesn't really have a fashion community, but I was scouted at my local mall, walking in this catwalk event that they hosted. Three months later, my family moved to the States, so the timing was amazing, because it all continued for me in New York.

But you were born in the U.S. What was it like growing up between here and Norway?

Because of my dad's job, we would move every three to four years between two very different worlds—Norway and New Jersey. In Norway, we lived in the woods, so we could run around and play. New Jersey was a lot more competitive: the playdates were scheduled, the parents were nervous, and I was a lot less independent. There's no "off" button with Americans. It's crazy. For me, being around nature and horses is the best "off" button there is. What's your ideal "off" button day? Well, the bread in Norway is amazing. I would wake up and have two pieces that I get at a bakery right next to my family's apartment, in Oslo. You must add this brown cheese on top of it with butter and strawberry jam... maybe two pieces of chocolate. It really is the best breakfast. Then I would travel to Drobak, which is my hometown, an hour outside of Oslo, and I'd swim and eat some ice cream. That sounds like a perfect "off" button day.

WHAT KRISTINE LOVES

Style icon: Diane Keaton

Favorite bag: My mom's old Norwegian leather school backpack

Favorite shoes: Prada booties Favorite sneaker: Nike Air Max 97

Product you can't live without: Weleda Skin Food

Lipstick: Chanel Poudre A Levres Lip Balm

Favorite hotel: Le Bristol Paris

Necessary extravagance: Rent in New York City

Favorite discovery: HU cashew-butter dark chocolate

Whom do you text the most? My dad

Did modeling prepare you for an acting career?

It changes with each project. Often, you're not able to be as creative— it's up to the designer or the photographer to play and experiment. But with some projects, I would talk with the photographer to create a character and a world together, so it became very similar to acting.

Your first major role was in the J. D. Salinger biopic Rebel in the Rye. What was that like?

I couldn't stop smiling on set.

I had no idea how movies were made, so it was mind-blowing.

But since then you've been busy with a roster of roles. Are you starting to feel at home on set?

I've always been a complete cinephile and watched way too many movies growing up. But I never really knew how to get into it, so I never had the guts to try it. It's complete luck that I get to do this for a living. I've always been obsessed with human nature, and now I get to be a detective of sorts and dive into a character's psychology—it's a dream.

Reading List Georgias Democratic candidate for governor, Stacey Abrams, authored the political memoir Minority Leader this year—and eight romance novels before that, including Deception and Never Tell. Her current must-reads are equally eclectic:

HISTORICAL FICTION The Moor's Account, by Laila Lalami

"This novel about Estebanico, a Moroccan slave who was part of the de Narvaez expedition, excavates the horror faced by Africans and native peoples in 16th-century Florida. His story makes the reader by turns uncomfortable, angry, and bereft—yet it's impossible to turn away."

ROMANCE Honest Illusions, by Nora Roberts

"Roberts's ability to blend suspense and romance, and to craft intense characterizations without losing the thread of any story, delights the mind and the heart. Plus, her heroines are fiercely independent, and her heroes are flawed and dashing. Excellent romantic fare."

NONFICTION The Dictator's Learning Curve, by William J. Dobson

"Dobson investigates how authoritarianism has taken on the trappings and lessons of modern institutions to strengthen its ability to strip nations around the world of their democracy. A timely handbook for current political times."