Chloë Sevigny’s relationship to books mirrors her relationship to fame. She does not catalogue, promote, or explain. Titles surface casually in interviews or in the margins of her work, often tied to childhood, long-standing obsessions, or creative detours rather than current tastes. Her reading skews early, gothic, American, and inward. 

Below is a collated list of books Chloë Sevigny has referenced over the years in interviews and profiles, her shortlist. 

• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
  A childhood favourite that left a lasting impression. Sevigny later named her production company Hollow Tree after a detail from the book.

• Dracula by Bram Stoker
  A book she read multiple times growing up and has described as a favourite from her youth.

• The Bible (First Corinthians) by various authors
  Mentioned jokingly in an early interview because it contains a reference to a woman named Chloe.

• A Hall of Mirrors by Robert Stone
  A literary novel she has cited as a favourite, known for its political tension and psychological depth.

• The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll
  A book she connected with as a teenager, during the period when its film adaptation was shooting in the East Village.

• Midnight Mass by Paul Bowles
  A short story collection from which she adapted “Kitty” into a short film.

… and her film Shortlist, for good measure.

• A Very Curious Girl (1969) by Nelly Kaplan
  She described this as “punk as fuck” and “a feminist call to arms,” praising its unapologetic portrayal of a woman resisting the expectations placed on her.

• Red-Headed Woman (1932) by Jack Conway
  Sevigny picked this pre-Code portrait of Jean Harlow as a woman using her sexuality as a tool of agency — another example of her affinity for films that feel subversive or boundary-pushing.

• Over the Edge (1979) by Jonathan Kaplan
  A film about suburban teen rebellion she has said captures a certain 1970s Americana angst, with its gritty sense of youthful resistance and style.

• The Magdalene Sisters (2002) by Peter Mullan
  Sevigny called this a powerful, unsentimental look at institutional brutality, noting its emotional and moral weight.

• Depeche Mode: 101 (1988) by David Dawkins, Chris Hegedus & D. A. Pennebaker
  A documentary she admires for its portrait of fans and music culture, calling it a perfect cocktail of personal insight and cultural moment.