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"You must create a mood, an ambience," says Hutton. Wrapped in a scruffy blue towel, preparing for a session, she takes extreme pains to transform her face with makeup—glopping a brownish base on her neck to create "shadows," penciling in an outline around the lips to make them look more even. To even out her jaw—the left side is minutely larger than the right—she adds bronze gel to one side.
No Underwear. Off the set. Hutton rejects the glamour role completely. So far she has turned down talk-show invitations because she thinks that the hosts are "putdown artists," and she does not have anything interesting to say—at least not yet. "It would be pretentious for me to come on and say, 'O.K., folks, let's stop killing whales.' "
Her style is offhand. California hip rather than Gotham sophisticate, and four-letter words stud her rap. She avoids high-fashion designer clothes, prefers casual wear such as blue jeans, pants and sweater outfits, often teamed with a crazy hat and tennis shoes. She does not own a shred of underwear —just a head-to-toe tan.
Home is a former sculptor's smallish skylighted studio in Greenwich Village, which she shares with her boyfriend of eight years. Bob Williamson, a "freelance stock speculator." Marriage? "Great for taxes, necessary for children, but abominable for romance." Hutton also boycotts the uptown party scene: "I feel foolish in that kind of setup, and I think those people would feel foolish in mine." Lauren and Bob divide household chores because "I've never had a maid and don't want one. If you've got more things than you can take care of yourself, you've got too much." What they do have is old Moroccan rugs, Mexican hammocks, African fur throws and several cases of mounted insects and butterflies, which Lauren collects.
She could certainly afford a grander way of life, but prefers to sock her money away in "safe investments. I found out early in the game there is freedom in money. You can buy time with it." One extravagance Lauren indulges in recklessly is travel. Ignoring the advice of agents and business associates, she takes off as frequently as she can for far points—Malaysia, Africa, Nepal, Central America. The choice is simple. "We just find out where it is tourists are absolutely not supposed to go and strike out for there."
No Garbage. She also has a career itinerary in mind. From the beginning, Hutton has wanted to be an actress. Some of her contemporaries —Cybill Shepherd, Jennifer O'Neill, Ali MacGraw—have gone to Hollywood. Ironically, Hutton began a film career before any of them. Starting with Paper Lion in 1968, she went on to make three other mediocre films. But her career fizzled when she turned down other offers ("Some garbage you just can't eat") and got a reputation for being difficult. She also got depressed about her future. Often she is compared to one of her personal heroines, Suzy Parker, the top model who faded from Hollywood after four film tries.