Stephanie Szostak

I painted with my husband a portrait of a naked Serge Gainsbourg draped with a French flag, and it hangs in our bedroom. I love gritty and dark art like what the German couple Herakut does.

We don't have drama in public schools in France. I had never taking an acting class.

People in fashion treat it as a business... I guess Hollywood is a business, too, but you talk about story: you talk about a more artistic world than in fashion.

I started with commercials - for shampoo, pancakes, insurance, Volvo. I did a Lux soap commercial with Sarah Jessica Parker. And I got a role in an indie film called 'Satellite' that did well in festivals.

My name is actually Polish. It's my husband's name. Most people say 'Zaw-stak,' but it's 'Show-stack,' like you're going to a show, eating a stack of pancakes.

I remember passing through New York in college and thinking, 'I'm going to come back here.' The energy just made me think of Europe - everyone walking, seeing the delis and flowers outside. It just felt very familiar. I loved it right away.

I studied business in school, so I worked for Chanel in marketing. And I also worked part-time in an office. So I had office jobs. And then I realized I needed to get the hell out of there, just realizing there was no fulfillment.

My dad's American, and my mom's French. I lived in France for the first 18 years of my life, then came here to go to school at the College of William and Mary. I studied marketing. I really didn't know what I wanted to do, so I thought that's what I should do - study business - because it would give me the best chance to find work.

People are so obsessed with making their careers and having a big house; then you realize that kills your dreams. It even kills what makes your life because you get so busy inside.

I love that New York City is a true melting pot.