*Any meaningful discussion of 15-year-old Paris Hepburn begins with her iconic last name, its impactful, well-documented history dating back centuries to England and its enduring influence representing the Golden Age of Hollywood, class, humanitarianism and power to defy societal norms.
Because that will likely be the first thing to pique people’s curiosity, yes, the fast-emerging young talent is indeed distantly related to Audrey (Hepburn) via her mother’s side of the family.
Her grandfather and great grandfather’s middle name was Hepburn, and her great-great-grandmother was a Hepburn. With humble gratitude, Paris has always felt that her natural acting ability streams powerfully through that cherished lineage.
“It’s in my genes,” she says. “Audrey is a role model for me, but I was raised on and obsessed throughout my childhood by James Bond films, so acting legends like Sean Connery, as well as contemporary actresses like Scarlet Johansson were influential as well.”
While proudly bearing her family name, Paris wants to be known as her own individual, judged less as a Hepburn and more by her spirited, charismatic personality, deep well of talent and strength of her diverse performances. Over the past few years, as she’s racked up an impressive list of independent film credits, Paris is clearly beginning to carve out her own unique path even as she honors the family legacy.
Paris’ passion for sci-fi, space movies, action films, superhero flicks, fantasy and supernatural titles fuels her ability to ease effortlessly from one genre to another. Ironically, while she’s not particularly a fan of horror films, she has been aces in several films in that realm. Starting with her first role in “Meathook Massacre 3: First Hunt” in 2017. Her appearances have included “Stories in the Night,” “The Domestics,” the short “Alien Teachers from Mars,” “Dust: Nightmare in Three Movements,” and, this past year, “Assassin 33 A.D.” (playing a villager in Jesus’ time) and the short “T-Squad.”
Her upcoming films include “Tree Secrets,” “Give Me Strength, Joshua” and “Triptych: The Story of a Girl Named Arizona,” in which she will play the lead role. The actress will also be starring in an Italian movie next year. In addition to acting, Paris has also worked as a model, and has done numerous photoshoots with Leon Galek, who has worked for high fashion publications (including Vogue Zara) and brands like The Gap, Victoria’s Secret and H&M.
One of the most fascinating aspect of Paris’ career thus far is that she is scoring these roles and gigs without the benefit of an agent – and while living in her adopted hometown of Dallas-Ft. Worth. Managed by her grandparents who have raised her, she has had an impressive array of acting coaches and has gotten parts and auditions by impressing these coaches and casting directors and sheer word of mouth. A great example of this is how she came to appear in “Tree Secrets.” A friend contacted her and told her that she would be a great fit for the movie. She contacted Danny Winn, an actor cast in a lead role in the film, auditioned, and got the part. Winn joins thousands of others over the years who have been impressed with Paris’ impactful acting abilities.
Though she takes her work as an actor very seriously, sometimes Paris’ playfulness takes over on set. When she was filming “Meathook Massacre,” she recalls that during the scene where she was about to get chopped up, she “woke up,” looked at the actor playing her would-be killer and locked eyes with him. They stared at each other so long that they burst out laughing – in the middle of filming a heavy scene! Another anecdote she loves sharing is the one when she was in “Dust: Nightmare in Three Movements” playing “The Dream,” a demon-like being who spent time floating around. “In one scene, they had to film my feet being cut open,” she says. “The film is black and white, so to simulate blood, they had Hershey’s syrup literally dripping from my feet! I love fun things like this and being on set in general – the excitement of being among so many creative people working together, being super professional and yet at times, saying and filming things that should wind up on behind the scenes clips because they’re so funny.”
Dancing from the time she was two, acting since she was four and singing since the age of six, Paris is a serious triple threat who has chosen to concentrate on acting, the one that sparks the most excitement, ambition and opportunity. Her earliest acting role was at age four, playing the title role in “The Gingerbread Girl” at a local theatre – but it was a moment she remembers from one of her dance recitals that that truly reflects those youthful creative interests and how her love of them later fueled her ambition as a performer.
“When the dance I was doing ended and I was going off stage and yelled, “that was so much fun!’ Everyone in the audience could hear me and they cracked out laughing. “When I got back to the dressing room, I begged to go back on stage,” she says. “This was a pivotal moment for me in entertaining. I did every kind of dance, but eventually burned out because I was doing it at one point every day of the week. When it came to acting, I was the kid who didn’t need the teacher to whisper lines to them before she went on. Both literally and figuratively, performing was in my blood, and I’ve always felt at home in that environment, whether on stage or film, which over the years I have come to enjoy much more than theatre. I’m blessed to have a wonderful support system helping me to achieve my dreams and I love nothing more than being on a film set. As my career develops, I want to inspire others to be classy, be true to who they are, hold their heads high and fight for themselves and what they believe in.”
For more: www.parishepburn.com
source: www.tomestey.com
