Norwegian-American model-turned actress, Kristine Frøseth, has worked with the likes of Chanel, Armani and Miu Miu, and starred in The Weeknd’s music video for False Alarm.

She swapped the catwalk for the big screen when she landed her first major movie in 2017: Rebel in the Rye, alongside Nicholas Hoult. Having also learned to plié for Amazon’s 2021 ballet thriller Birds of Paradise, her latest projects include Lena Dunham’s hotly anticipated dramedy Sharp Stick, and the upcoming all-star ensemble series The First Lady, in which she plays a young Betty Ford. As busy as she is, Froseth still had time to chat with us via Zoom about playing a feminist icon, working with trailblazing women and the Eurovision Song Contest.

You’re playing a young Betty Ford as she trains as a dancer for Martha Graham in the TV series The First Lady — what is it with you and dancing?

Ha ha! Well it all happened so quickly with that role, and I didn’t really have time to prep, or learn much as there was a very different approach, but hey, I’m down and if I get the chance I’ll fully go in for any dance movies, hit me up!

So what drew you to that role?

For me I didn’t know much about her personal life other than her struggles with addiction and that she created the Betty Ford Clinic, and really anyone who advocates for change or de-stigmatises the labels or terms of addiction, is really powerful to me, and people who speak their truths and save other people’s lives. She was really such a hero in that space, and for women too.

Yes, she was a courageous and vivacious activist for women's rights, what was the most interesting fact you learned about her that really inspired you?

Knowing where she grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in this small town, and to be able to find the courage and confidence she did being in that environment is really inspiring to me. Her Mother wanted her to get married and follow the same path as everyone around her at that time, and yet she was so determined to be a dancer or work in fashion, she was always so ahead of the times. She got a divorce when it was not really common, and she spoke up for herself because she was being abused, and women then never really spoke up about those things. So I was inspired by everything I learned through reading a lot of books about her and listening to some Podcasts, and we also had a historian on set to help us too.

Talking of trailblazing women, your co-stars include Michelle Pfeiffer, Viola Davis and Gillian Anderson - working with actors of that caliber and of a different generation, must be quite intimidating. What was the experience like?

I was shaking when I first spoke to Michelle on Zoom, and I was trying to do my breathing exercises beforehand, like ‘ground yourself Kristine, ground yourself’! but as soon as she was up on screen, she was the most grounded, kind, human being, so present, no ego. It was really awesome to just watch her too, and how she talks to producers and the strength she has. Sometimes navigating the industry as a woman is hard, for example; in the beginning, if I wasn’t smiling all the time, people would think I was being difficult or having issues with something. So navigating your space and understanding how to be direct and strong, but still be kind, has been a tricky thing, and she just really knows how to be a badass and be generous while doing it all. I wish I had got to watch her more on set.

So you shot your scenes before everyone else then, and where were you filming?

Yes we shot the Betty Block first, and we were in Atlanta for about a month, the hours were really long and it was during Covid, so outside of filming, I just hung out with the cast who were really fun, and we just got lots of take out!

You’ve also worked with the super-talented Girls creator, Lena Dunham, on the project Sharp Stick, in which you play quite a complex character - can you tell us more about that, and what was the most challenging part of the role?

Working with Lena was something I really wanted to do, and she sent a script and also a thesis over about what she wanted to accomplish with the film, and also a list of 4 or 5 movies that she wanted me to watch that she was inspired by for it. I loved the films and I understood the script and felt really connected and thought it was empowering as my character has this sexual awakening, and is also growing from this trauma that’s held her back for so many years. She’s 26-years-old but she acts like she’s 16 and she’s not had much life experience, and she hasn’t really been exposed to a lot, stuck in this same narrative — but then through her journey she really rips off the shackles and finds herself. I also love that it doesn’t end up with her being ok now, she comes to the realisation that things need to change and the journey is a long one, and that’s just like life really.

“Working with Lena [Dunham] was something I really wanted to do.”

Working with the rest of the cast must have been fun too, like your Mum [Jennifer Jason Leigh], and adopted sister [Taylour Paige] are really quite endearingly dysfunctional in the story?

They’re both incredible and Jon Bernthal too, who has like a million ways of walking and doing a scene. It’s a heightened world that these characters are all in, and a little kooky, but the way it was written was really funny and the characters are amazing.

Were you able to add or change things about your character in the early discussions with Lena, what was she like to work with on set as a Director?

She was so open and we talked through the script several times beforehand, and we had probably 15 days to shoot it all, and she would come up to me and give me some thoughts or notes and say ‘do with it what you will’. We would get three takes and there would always be something new in between, nothing was ever set in stone or results based, there was always a discovery, and I think that’s why it’s one of my most favourite sets of all time that I’ve been on.

Ok final question, and completely off-topic here, but I have to ask, did you see Norway’s Eurovision entry this year, with a song called "Give That Wolf a Banana" by Subwoolfer?

Ha ha! No I didn’t see it…

Ok, YouTube it, and I guarantee it will be stuck in your head for the rest of today… and possibly for the rest of this year.

Oh wow, I have to hear it, I’m gonna go and watch it right now!

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Full feature in our upcoming FW22 issue. Stay Tuned!

Interview by Kate Lawson

Photography by Ellen Fedors

Fashion by Yael Quint

Casting by Imaginemachine Cs

Hair by David Von Cannon

Make-Up by Quinn Murphy

Nails by Nori Yamanaka using Chanel beauty