The Oscar winner talks about memoir writing, roles for women, and her storied family.

Slate: You’re writing a memoir, which is already hotly anticipated. What’s been the experience of going back through your past?

Huston: You know, I’m just starting. And it’s one of those things, I don’t really want to talk about it too much because as soon as it’s out of my mouth then it sort of loses its potency. I don’t know how, really what form it’s going to take or how the narrative is going to evolve, so hopefully I’ll be able to answer that question more succinctly in months to come.

Slate: It takes a long time to really come up with that narrative that you feel satisfied with when it’s your own life.

Huston: I think so, yeah. And for some reason the early life is a lot easier than the later life. Probably because one has less judgment on it.

Slate: You’ve spoken in the past about your start in film, and how you felt like it was your father the director John Huston’s idea, and it took you a while to come into your own. Do you feel now that you have transcended those early beginnings, and that the decisions you make now are yours as an entity, separate from your family’s storied history?

Huston: Yeah, um, wow, it’d be pretty sad if I hadn’t at this point [laughing]. Yeah, I make my own decisions now, not that I ever really adapted that well to following along with other people’s decisions as to how I should run my life. I’ve always been a bit obstinate on that score, but, yes, I feel like I’m more the mistress of my decisions now.

This interview has been condensed and edited.