Taylor Page's star is on the rise.

"How are you doing?" Taylor Page asks. 'Are you really well?' Her warmth is undeniable and at first almost unsettling, but you quickly learn that it is the nature of the actress to be genuinely curious.

Perhaps it is the Libra personality in her.

Knowing Paige's zodiac sign is like a key in the sky that reveals her whole personality. She describes her life in terms of duality and balance, which is appropriate for a zodiac sign represented by a scale. (I am both optimistic and pessimistic. I cannot see the light without the darkness.") She also often makes the kind of heady, soulful statements that air signs excel at. ("I'm always thinking about how the past, present, and future are not linear.")

Paige, like other millennials, may seem addicted to "Co-Star" (a very popular app that generates nuggets of astrological charts and guidance based on time and place of birth), but she describes her relationship with astrology as much more than trendy. She describes it as spiritual. She does not track her daily horoscope and instead espouses the godmother's practice of studying the moon and the elements, setting intentions, and giving thanks through mindful rituals.

"I believe astrology is a signpost," the actress tells Marie Claire.

"But I think there's something really wonderful about the day your soul decides to show up on this planet, the time and place in the day where the sun and moon were." (Paige's soul appeared on October 5, 1990.) "We are all an infinite extension of this great big thing."

Just as astrology influences the course of her life, it also influences her career and the journeys of her characters. She says that her scripts and films "line up" like planets ruled by the universe, and admits that after accepting a role, the second thing she decides (the first is how her character will walk) is her zodiac sign. In Eddie Huang's "Boogie," which opens March 5, Paige and the director have chosen Scorpio for her character Eleanor.

"I could have said she was a Libra like me, but I decided to go a little taller and say ...... I decided it was a water sign. So it has a protective nature, but really deeply felt. Very careful about who she shares her space with and very passionate about what she cares about. I also didn't want her to feel like just another annoying, angry girl. I wanted her to have depth and rhythm, to be super assertive, positive and strong."

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Whether it's the script or the constellation, Paige's character is all of those things. Eleanor, who grew up in Queens, is assertive and sassy, a "deep thinker," as Paige puts it, and "doesn't take any shit." She captures the heart of her high school classmate Boogie (Taylor Takahashi), a Chinese-American trying to find his footing on and off the basketball court.

Page identified with the script. She said, "I have this dream of starting high school all over again.

The raw emotion is most poignantly conveyed when Eleanor and Boogie argue over family trauma. Who feels more like an outsider, the black woman or the son of Chinese immigrants? Whose exclusive right to feel oppressed? It hurts. Says Paige about this scene. 'They both live in a world where they have to be much more dynamic and better than white people.'

It's a harsh reality the actress knows all too well: because of the color of her skin, she says, directors often fail to see her as a "blank canvas." She says, "It's a challenge to surrender to the narrative deliberately and carefully for the sake of truth, but at the same time, sometimes it's a challenge to ask, can I just be a girl? "

Despite the obstacles Paige faces, her star is steadily rising. Last year's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" opposite the late Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis, and this summer's "Zora," in which she plays the titular character, will finally be released, solidifying Paige's star power.

Paige credits the film, based on a thread about a crazy road trip that was spread on Twitter in 2015, as a true turning point for her." I knew (then) that I had to stop apologizing. I had to stop apologizing for my space and waiting for the world to tell me who I was," she says. 'A lot of acting is waiting for someone to tell you enough is enough. Then you're at a party you're catering, and you're greeting people at the door, and one of the performers is at the party. I'm so anxious. But I found myself through Zola"

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With that self-realization, Paige seems ready to take on the challenges of the future. She imagines herself directing, working as a cinematographer, or taking cooking classes." I really, really want to live a colorful life."

It seems likely and as if it were written in the stars.

A version of this article appears in the Spring 2021 issue of Marie Claire.

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