“I like shocking people.”
In 1989, Say Anything made Ione Skye an overnight movie star. The scene of a teenage Skye in her bedroom, John Cusack blasting Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” on a boom box, was instantly iconic. Since then, she has co-starred with Madonna, Keanu Reeves and her friend, the late River Phoenix. Her father Donovan, the Scottish musician and the poster boy for the Flower Power movement, named her for the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Though he was largely absent, the fuse had been lit – many of the men (and a few women) in Skye’s life have all been musical masterminds. At 16, she dated Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis (he was 24) and then at 21, she married Adam Horovitz of The Beastie Boys. These days, Skye lives in Sydney with her husband, the Australian musician Ben Lee and her daughters Kate and Goldie.
When I first met Skye at a dinner party in SoHo in the early 90s, she was at the center of everything cool in New York and Los Angeles – racing around town with Sofia Coppola, Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow and her brother Donovan Leitch. A few decades later at 54, she has published a brutally honest memoir “Say Everything.” And she’s not 100% sure that everyone she writes about is going to love it. – PETER DAVIS
“Say Everything” is funny and painful – a lethal literary combo. It’s also very sexy.
I was like, wait, am I going to really have sex scenes? I just didn’t want them to be cringey or sleazy in the wrong way. Sex scenes are so tricky. You can use the wrong words and its gross. I wanted it to be good. I like shocking people. For example, the Jenny [Shimizu] strap on scene. Who else has that in a book? Of course, my mom was going to read it. I don’t think my kids Kate or Goldie have read the book, which is cool because I don’t really need to talk to them about it.
“My brother Donovan said that he was concerned about me. He said, ‘it’s not the drugs, it’s the girls.’”
You’re very open about being bisexual with some high-profile women like model Jenny Shimizu, musician Alice Temple and Madonna gal pal Ingrid Casares.
It was the 90s model era in New York. At the time it was such a fun scene. I was just swept up. The L Word – that’s what it felt like, but better. Alice said she wasn’t out then. It is so interesting – people who didn’t know they were gay but were totally living in gay life. Alice was thrilled though. She was like, ‘you made me seem so cool.’ It’s funny, back then my brother Donovan said that he was concerned about me. He said, ‘it’s not the drugs, it’s the girls.’
I met you when you were married to Adam Horovitz from the Beastie Boys. The failure of that marriage, and your infidelity, was tough to read about. Has Adam read “Say Everything”?
I don’t know. I’m scared to find out, but I’m curious too. I think I was kind. His sister Rachel told me I shouldn’t write the book. But I can write a memoir if I want.
“I was like, wait, am I going to really have sex scenes? Sex scenes are so tricky. I wanted it to be good.”
You write about your father, the musician Donovan, and growing up having almost zero relationship with him. Has he read the book?
I don’t think so. I want to send him a signed book. I’m working on the dedication to him. When the New York Times reached out to him, he responded late, and they didn’t put it in. He said something really sweet, ‘I’m proud of her’ or something, which was nice. I was hoping writing the book would be therapeutic and helpful, and it was.
You were a child star and the family breadwinner. That’s a lot of pressure for a kid.
It gave me confidence. I wasn’t getting that confidence in school the way some people might if they felt supported by a school or are academic or sporty or whatever. I felt good to be working and creative and making money. But looking back, it was a lot of responsibility to keep it going.
Are you a bookworm?
I love English books. I love Jane Eyre. There’s this book The Magic World by E. Nesbit, which is sort of Victorian, an English fairytale. It was published in 1912. I like fairytales. I read a lot growing up. Even Flowers in the Attic had a profound effect on me. I went high and low with my reading.
You’ve been living in Sydney for a year.
It’s the most gorgeous lifestyle. Unreal, beautiful days. I live near the ocean. But it’s almost like a gilded cage. You do feel a little trapped. I’m far from my friends. Growing up I thought I’d be living in Paris. I didn’t think Sydney.
You’ve been married to Ben Lee since you got married in India in 2009.
After Adam, I thought I’d be one of those people who find love at an old age. With Adam, I did love being married, but I was way too young. With Ben, another musician, I really lucked out with someone who loves me and is supportive. Finding someone you admire and feel romantic about – it’s hard to get the right combination in a person. Ben was somebody I wanted to read everything to as I was writing the book. A lot of the stuff was painful, but Ben is a confident person. All the Adam stuff. He knew how hard the loss of that friendship really was with Adam. I struggle with those feelings. But Ben is thick skinned. He knows me well. He knew he wasn’t getting any surprises.
You can order “Say Everything” HERE
