‘Georgette’s parents’: A portrait of an artist family

Now in their 40s, Valerie Vonprisk, Linda Vargas and Jose “Hoza” Rodriguez never could have imagined life would turn out so perfectly.

It’s a typical Thursday night at Valerie and Linda’s home in Boyle Heights. Barks from Stellar, a yippy terrier named after the Incubus song, give way to a cozy living area complete with vinyl records and Amy Winehouse and Yves Saint Laurent coffee table books.

Fetching ingredients from a fridge decorated with magnetic letters and arts and crafts, Linda preps homemade guacamole to go with ceviche from the market. Valerie sips wine from a straw while telling the group about her latest projects — including doing makeup for musical acts Jenevieve and Joyce Wrice. Hoza sneaks candy out of a bag, lest the trio’s 2 ½ -year-old daughter Georgette, watching AI ginger cat videos in her nearby bedroom, senses the presence of sugar — in which case, the doting parents would likely be unable to say no.

It’s a far cry from the club-induced thrills of 2007, when Valerie, a makeup artist, and Linda, a DJ, first met at a “very straight” Ed Hardy fashion show. Or two years later, when Valerie and Hoza, a fashion designer, first connected doing the makeup and styling, respectively, for rapper-dancer club-banger-maker Rye Rye (then associated with M.I.A. of “Paper Planes” fame).

“We were really young, so it was a taste of what we wanted to do in real life,” says Valerie, who soon leveled up from working the MAC counter in San Diego to booking shows for NYFW. And when Valerie and Linda, who put a ring on it as soon as gay marriage was legalized in California in 2008, visited Los Angeles, the couple would bum on Hoza’s Silver Lake couch.

Day-to-day, all three best friends pitch in to take care of Georgette, who is precocious and theatrical and a huge fan of Selena.

Linda wears Vivienne Westwood Boucher jacket and Emilio Pucci boots from Pechuga Vintage, Planeta Los Angeles jorts and shirt, jewelry her own. Hoza wears Hologram City jacket and kilt shorts, Vivienne Westwood Boucher shirt from Pechuga Vintage, Vivienne Westwood shoes and Polo tie. Georgette wears Planeta Los Angeles custom shirt and flare jeans, Vivienne Westwood necklace and Dr. Martens boots. Valerie wears Vivienne Westwood Boucher bodysuit and Christian Dior shoes from Pechuga Vintage, Planeta Los Angeles shorts, Vivienne Westwood earrings and necklace, and Urban Outfitters stockings and mesh top.

“It became a queer family dynamic,” says Hoza, who enlisted Valerie to do the makeup for his brand Hologram City’s first-ever photo shoot. “We would party, like party party.”

In 2013, Valerie and Linda moved into the Los Angeles apartment adjoining Hoza’s — their kitchens literally shared a wall. Life continued as normal, with each artist’s career ascending, until the pandemic. With Valerie no longer working the fashion week circuit and Hoza recovering from a fashion district fire that decimated Hologram City’s workroom, Linda started streaming DJ sets — hip-hop, R&B, oldies, a variety of Latinx genres, or house and EDM depending on the day — on Twitch to support their extended friend group financially.

“It was a freedom in a way to start something new,” says Linda of that terrible yet transformative time.

Case in point: In 2021, on a group walk, Hoza casually mentioned to “the girls,” as he calls them, that if they wanted a baby, he would definitely have a baby with them. The idea initially took Valerie and Linda by surprise. The couple had mulled over the kids question before, initially thinking Linda would carry, with Valerie’s brother donating sperm. But realizing such a dynamic might put strain on the larger family dynamic, coupled with the fact that while Linda loves babies, Valerie had always had more of what she describes as a “f— them kids” attitude, made them in no rush to go that route.

Valerie, Linda and Hoza, communicating in a group chat called “Georgette’s Parents,” overflow with gratitude to provide Georgette a life they didn’t have.

But with their gay best friend and de facto brother Hoza, things might be different. “This portal was opening up,” says Valerie. It undeniably felt right.

In the end, Linda decided that Valerie should be the one to carry the baby — precisely because she wasn’t overly fond of kids at the time. The trio went for the turkey baster method to save money, transporting Hoza’s donation from his apartment door to Linda and Valerie’s in a Chanel box blessed with letters and prayers from all three parents to the future baby.

After three months of trying, some tweaks had to happen. Linda, the scientist of the bunch, discovered a veterinary catheter that would allow for more precise dropping. Then Hoza, while working a photoshoot, learned from a pregnant woman on set that taking raspberry tea and Myo & D-Chiro Inositol supplements would help spur conception. As the woman promised, after a month of taking the supplements, Valerie’s period was late. And after a “very angelic pregnancy,” Georgette Mercedes Vargas Vonprisk was born on March 8, 2023, incidentally the same date Valerie and Linda met.

Over candy and ceviche three years later, Hoza says it feels like “our lives started over again.”

In some bittersweet ways: After 11 years, Valerie and Linda moved out of the trio’s shared Silver Lake apartment complex to a charming Boyle Heights Craftsman when Georgette was 1 year old. But day-to-day, all three best friends pitch in to take care of Georgette, who is precocious and theatrical and a huge fan of Selena.

It works, since all have freelance schedules. When Linda and Valerie — Georgette’s legal parents — are out of town, Georgette may stay at Hoza’s apartment. Hoza regularly comes over to Linda and Valerie’s home to do his laundry or just to hang out. Georgette calls out “Momma” (Valerie), “Mom” (Linda), or “Dada” (Hoza) depending on which parent she wants. Valerie, Linda and Hoza, communicating in a group chat called “Georgette’s Parents,” overflow with gratitude to provide Georgette a life they didn’t have.

“We have a different purpose,” says Hoza. “Before it was get the bag, be with our friends.” Today, “the music we’re bumping right now is so crazy,” he says of “The Wheels on the Bus,” which goes triple platinum on Georgette’s watch.