DEREK BLASBERG Let's talk about the family. Where were you born?DREE HEMINGWAY Sun Valley, Idaho.
DB I'm from the Midwest, and I love my Midwest roots.DH I love it there too. It's a good change from the New York craziness. My mother grew up there and lives there part-time, so that's where I spent my childhood. I went to Hemingway Elementary, and I was a huge nerd.
DB How could a Hemingway be a nerd in the Hemingway school?DH I was never in a clique and I was scrawny and awkward. And I really didn't get the whole "Hemingway" thing, even though there was a huge mural of Ernest in front of the school.
DB Is that what you call him, Ernest?DH Yes.
So you didn't know who he was?DH No, not really. When I was growing up I was very naive, and then once I found out the extent of his legacy I was too intimidated to read his books. I probably shouldn't say this, but I still haven't read them all.
DB You're kidding!DH They're all kind of depressing.
DB But they're so good! It's Hemingway for heaven's sake!DH I can remember when I was about 12, I did an interview with my mother for this documentary on Ernest. My mother was in the background and the interviewer asked me what I thought about his books, and I had just read
The Old Man and the Sea, so I was like, No, I don't like him. But I really love those Harry Potter books! I turned and looked at my mother's face and she was just mortified.
DB And of course, you never knew Ernest Hemingway.DH I didn't. My mother didn't either.
DB I have a favorite story about you: we were at dinner and someone told you they were a writer, and you responded, "Oh really? My mom is a writer!" I almost fell out of my chair. I'm sure your mom is a wonderful lady, but I think you forgot the real writer in your family.DH Yeah that did happen. Ha! But Ernest is not someone I'm constantly thinking about. In fact, I might like his friend F. Scott Fitzgerald a little bit more. Right now I'm more in a
Gatsby phase. I will say, though, that Hemingway had a great look: that scruffy bear look. I'm into that. A little scruff goes a long way.
DB Speaking of your future, what are your plans? Writer like Ernest, actress like mom?DH I thought about taking acting classes and becoming an actress for a while, but right now I'm in love with this job. And I have to be honest here: I think sometimes in certain situations, I'm not taken seriously because of my last name.
DB Really?DH It can be a double-edged sword. It gets me in the door, but then I really, really have to prove myself.
DB I can see that. Sort of.DH My last name has been in so many arenas: Ernest was a writer, a profilic writer. Margaux was a big model, and my mom is an actress.
DB An Academy Award-nominated actress, I might add.DH So I think some people have this idea of me making it because I'm a Hemingway, but I don't think I'm here because of that. I think I'm here because I work hard and I want to be here.
-V Magazine