“People say, ‘She only got that [role] because of her mom.’ Yeah, yeah I did.” Lourd admits with sincerity, “But what would you have done if you got offered a role in Star Wars? Say ‘no?’ That’s even more pretentious.”

In rural Somerset, where grassy knolls tumble toward the Welsh coastline, there sits a small, flat-topped mesa over six hundred feet tall—Solsbury Hill—it’s on this mound of profundity that eagles fly out of the night, and where fleeting voices may be heard. It’s also the title to actress Billie Lourd’s most recent of obsessions: “I’m really into Peter Gabriel right now. I’m feeling him and ‘Solsbury Hill.’ Is that weird? I wake up to that [song] every morning and it’s like a breath of fresh air.”

It’s a balmy afternoon in Larchmont, L.A., the air less than fresh, and we’ve just walked to a local café to find outdoor seating; a prime people-watching location with a side of conversation. “Like all kids, I grew up wanting to be a neurosurgeon,” Lourd smirks, “But really, genuinely, I found it interesting.”

Obviously and earnestly so, Lourd is not like most kids, as she playfully puts it. The daughter to film icon Carrie Fisher and esteemed Hollywood agent Bryan Lourd, one can assume Lourd’s parents happily welcomed her to the family business. But to assume anything of her and her family would be selling them short.

“I always secretly wanted to act, but my parents didn’t want me to, at all. I went to performing arts camp and lied to them about why I was going. I said I was going to knit,” she laughs. “I made some pretty damn good scarves while being in The Music Man.”

It wasn’t until Billie Lourd was invited onto the set of 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens that her natural talent on-screen—in a minor role as “Lieutenant Connix”—became readily apparent: “I go there [on set] and I’m really comfortable, like my normal self; singing Jersey Boys and acting like a crazy person,” she says between sips from her iced tea straw. “My mom came up to me after the first day and was like, ‘Hey, you had a great day today.’ I told her how fun it was and she said, ‘Most people don’t feel like that. That’s very unique. You should really think about doing this.’”

And “doing” it, she is. Already slated to reprise Connix in Star Wars: Episode VIII, slated fro release next year, Lourd is best known for her role as the peculiar “Chanel #3” in Fox’s hit series, Scream Queens. Donning furry earmuffs as an homage to her mother’s double-bun of Star Wars infamy, Lourd’s ever-indifferent character says exactly what everyone’s thinking—no sugarcoating. These traits don’t seem like too much of a stretch from her natural disposition: “People say, ‘She only got that [role] because of her mom.’ Yeah, yeah I did.” Lourd admits with sincerity, “But what would you have done if you got offered a role in Star Wars? Say ‘no?’ That’s even more pretentious.”

With more success, comes less anonymity, perhaps even more so in Lourd’s case. “I don’t mind [the scrutiny]. As long as I’m a good person, have good morals, and I’m doing the right thing it’s okay if I say ‘shit’ or make little mistakes.” So what’s over the hill for Lourd? “Act, write, direct. I play music, so I’d love to release an album, open a fried chicken restaurant, start a clothing line for short people, and I want some kids. Is that too much?”

Source: Flaunt Magazine

Billie Lourd is one of those actresses that, in the slang of an earlier era, has “moxie” or “spunk.” At just 5’1″, she’s a tiny fireball that instantly fills the room. She laughs warmly while cracking jokes and makes sure everyone around her is at ease. It turns out when your mom is Carrie Fisher, your dad is CAA power agent Bryan Lourd, your grandma is Debbie Reynolds and your grandpa is Eddie Fisher, you learn how to hold your own.

The 24-year-old has made big career moves in a relatively small window of time, appearing alongside her famous mom in a small part in last summer’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens before quickly landing a lead role in Ryan Murphy’s campy primetime bloodfest Scream Queens. Shooting Star Wars was, in fact, her very first time on set and on camera, because her parents had expressly forbidden her from entering the profession until she’d obtained a degree in something else entirely. And so after graduating from NYU’s Gallatin School with a self-designed degree in “Art and Business as Religion,” she nabbed her first role and arrived on the Star Wars set under her mother’s watchful eye. “I walk on set and I’m singing Jersey Boys,” she recalls. “My mom pulled me aside that night and said, ‘You know, it’s really weird that you’re this confident on set. That’s rare. You should do this.'”

With that blessing, she quickly parlayed her way into a meatier reappearance as Lieutenant Connix in Star Wars: Episode VIII, set for release in December 2017, as well as a second season as the droll and deadpan Chanel #3 on Scream Queens. Of this latter role, Lourd says she plans to make her kids watch the show someday, just like her mom once tried to do by placing little Billie on the couch to watch the original Star Wars. “When my kids are pissing me off, I’m gonna be like, ‘Watch Scream Queens,'” she says with a laugh. “Look how cool I was!”

Source: PaperMag

Scream Queens’ Ryan Murphy Talks to Billie Lourd About Female Representation in Hollywood

Over the years, television maestro Ryan Murphy has brought some of the most compelling female characters to our screens: Rachel Berry in Glee. The Chanels in Scream Queens. All the astonishing iterations of Jessica Lange in American Horror Story. Now his shows celebrate the women who work behind the camera, too. Earlier this year, Ryan created the Half Foundation, whose mission is to ensure that women — as well as minorities — make up at least 50 percent of the directors on his shows. Billie Lourd, who plays Chanel No. 3 on Scream Queens, recently caught up with the visionary to talk about the foundation, feminism, and the power of females on set. Is his mission working? As it turns out, the end result is even better for everyone involved than he’d imagined.

Ryan Murphy: Your mother, Carrie Fisher, is known for portraying the iconic Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, and she is also a huge feminist. What advice did she give you when you were starting acting?

Billie Lourd: She told me to be true, and kind, and confident in yourself. She raised me to not think of men and women as different. She raised me without gender. It’s kind of the reason she named me Billie. It’s not about being a strong woman — it’s about being a strong person. She once told me, “I never sat you down with a credo. It was more about leading by example.”

RM: You come from a family of rule-breakers. You grew up realizing that you can create your own rules. I love that about you. I didn’t have the same experience growing up.

BL: You’re the number one rule-breaker now! I noticed the effects of the Half Foundation before I realized it was happening: There were more female directors coming around. I ended up Googling it and realizing what you had done.

RM: I’m really proud of it. I think that, like a lot of good things, it came from a moment of shame for me. We were doing an episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story; the female director we had lined up fell through, so I was like, “I’m just going to do it.” I thought, You know, this isn’t right. Why don’t I have a stable of women who can fill in? I should have that. In television and the movie business, the people who are promoted and the people who are mentored always look like the white guys.

BL: It’s so true. And even if a woman director does her thing, it’s like they never come back. It’s like, “Oh, great, she got her directing job. Now she’s done.”

RM: I was embarrassed of myself. What’s the point of having any power if you can’t use it? I met with the head of Fox and said, “I want half of all my crews to be women.” What has it been like for you when the set is 50 percent women?

BL: It feels totally different. When you walk onto any set, it’s usually primarily men. Which can be weird, especially when you’re doing something emotionally challenging. This year, when I made out with John Stamos — which was a dream, thank you for that — I walked in and half the people were women. And that was a really, really nice feeling, and it made me more comfortable. The great thing about women directors is that they’re not only involved in the performances — they can gauge where we all are personally and know how to direct us better because of that.

RM: I just think people do better work when you feel a part of the world. In Scream Queens, the cast is 80 percent women. I find that women are much more comfortable showing their emotion and inviting you into their emotional landscape. Writing female characters is a no-brainer because that’s the world I want to live in. I’m not interested in anything but emotionally driven stories; that’s why almost all of my work is exclusively anchored by women. That’s where my heart goes. Hollywood is stuck in this weird time warp, and I feel like these women and men who love women above all else are rising up right now and taking some of the power back.

Source: Teen Vogue