Sarah Pidgeon on Carolyn Bessette Kennedy Style, Criticism

To play ’90s power couple John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, Ryan Murphy and the team behind FX’s Love Story took the Star Is Born route: they cast two unknowns.

For JFK Jr.’s role, creator Connor Hines saw more than 1,000 actors before landing on Paul Anthony Kelly. Sarah Pidgeon, meanwhile, emerged as an immediate frontrunner to play Carolyn from her first audition tape. In recent years, she’s appeared in Tiny Beautiful Things, earned a 2024 Tony nomination for Stereophonic and had a major role in last summer’s I Know What You Did Last Summer legacy sequel.

Now, she’s entering a new realm of fame. Much like the real Carolyn — a rising star at Calvin Klein who worked her way up to become a publicist — Pidgeon’s career is beginning to mirror that elusive “It” girl trajectory, earning rave reviews for her performance.

Still, the actress felt the weight of portraying a figure so beloved for her signature minimalist style. Carolyn Bessette’s aura and famed wardrobe remain touchstones of fashion inspiration, even three decades after she, her sister Lauren Bessette and Kennedy Jr. tragically died in a July 16, 1999 plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard.

Though wearing vintage designer pieces was thrilling, Pidgeon says a key takeaway was learning to speak her mind. “In playing her and wanting to do her legacy justice, by advocating for her through this process, I therefore also had to advocate for myself,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Below, she discusses adjusting Carolyn’s hair and wardrobe after early criticism, including comments from Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg; staying in the Ryan Murphy universe; filming the series’ most emotional scenes; returning to theater; and the possibility of another IKWYDLS.

When did this project come into your life? 

I got an audition for it at the end of January 2025. It came into my inbox, and the next day I put it on tape at my agency. My agent’s assistant helped me pick the right one, and we sent them off. Then, a few weeks later, I got word that I was moving up the ranks, and producers were watching it, and I was going to come in for a session. I went in and I auditioned. Ryan [Murphy] was there. Honestly, I think I blacked out during it. But I could not read the room at all. Sometimes you leave an audition and you’re like, “Oh, I think I might have a good shot at this.” I’ve had a few bad auditions in my life that, as I’ve left the room, I’ve turned around and said, “I just want you to know that I know that that wasn’t good.” (Laughs.) But I left and I called my team, and I was like, “I think I did what I wanted to do, but who knows how it went.” And then a couple of days passed, and I got a call from my team, and they told me I got it.

I heard that somebody on your team showed a photoshopped photo of you with blonde hair to the creators. Do you think that ultimately helped you land the part? 

You know, this is coming back to me. When I went in, Ryan was like, “Where’s your blonde hair?” Because I had this long, dark brown hair, so opposite of what I am now. But yeah I think it helped maybe visualize what this transformation could be. I’m really thankful to my manager for doing that, if that helps seal the deal. I was this Targaryen blonde and I’ve never been blonde before, so I’m into this new era. 

Looking at the series alongside archival photos and footage of Carolyn, the show really seemed to nail her most iconic looks. What was your favorite look to wear and which one was the most challenging to pull off?

I’m a huge fan of all her Yohji Yamamoto outfits. There’s one in particular, which is a cream pencil skirt, and it has these buttons. There’s boning, so it’s very structured, and these long sleeves with beige Manolo heels. That image of Carolyn wearing that, I think of her immediately. She’s holding John’s hand and she’s smiling. It was just, in particular, wearing these clothes that are so iconic of her later in life, because that was when she was really heavily photographed, you understand just how much they change how you hold yourself. I don’t know if she herself wore it, but I believe we got it from a collector.

The real creative conversations came when we were discussing Carolyn’s wardrobe in the early episodes because she had so much anonymity before she went out with John. There are photographs of her modeling and her college days and early 20s, but of course, that was also a photo shoot. So it’s not necessarily her in her own wardrobe. But it was nice to have these conversations about whether we could incorporate clothes from Calvin Klein at the time? Maybe she was able to pull this off the rack? Because she’s either in these Calvin uniforms and Narciso Rodriguez dresses and just thinking about what would a young Carolyn wear. There’s not a bad outfit in the show. I was wearing Calvin Klein from the ’90s in some of the scenes. I’m still waiting to see if I can get my hands on my wardrobe. Time will tell.

You didn’t get to keep any?! 

There’s a few pieces that I got, but I have my eye on a few outfits that I wore that I really think I need. It’s like getting medically necessary at this point. 

After the initial photos of you as Carolyn were released, there was some online criticism and later adjustments in the series. What specifically was changed, and did you have input or collaborate with the costume, hair and makeup teams in helping to craft her final look?

The hair was a big transformative part of finding the Carolyn that we see in the show, and in terms of costumes, it was particularly helpful later on in the series, when we were able to source those vintage pieces that you can see in these heavily photographed images of her. But I think throughout the entire show, it really did feel like a collaboration. I always felt like I had a seat at the table. Not only in her costuming and hair and makeup, but also in the teamwork that we were doing. And making sure that I found integral parts of Carolyn. 

Karri Hill, who did my color for the show, is just such a genius, and working with Barry Lee Moe, who found the Carolyn hair. I’m just so thankful to him, in particular, he styled it every day. I am understanding how transformative the power of hair is, because this is my biggest hair transformation yet, unless you consider Stereophonic, but that was that ’70s sort of blowout wig.

Ryan Murphy was very outspoken in his support of you and Paul when the backlash first emerged. What did that support mean to you, and how did he help you navigate being thrust so publicly into the spotlight?

The support meant the world. I feel very lucky to have some really amazing people in my corner. And to be able to add Ryan Murphy to that list, I feel very grateful and honored and privileged to have worked with him. He and the creative team behind it, and all of us on board we’re like, let’s remember our focus here, which is to bring integrity and truth to these renditions of Carolyn and John. And he’s such a world maker. Being our fearless leader in this sense, that focus never waned. I don’t want to speak for Paul, but I think we really felt his trust in us, and having that reminder allowed us to really trust ourselves moving forward.

You’ve said before that you really admire Carolyn. What is it about her that resonates with you, and do you feel any part of her personality has stayed with you?

So much of it. She was a young woman in New York City, driven to make it on her own. She had this vibrant life before and after John, she was really her own person. She had this really, really strong sense of self, which I think is what allowed her to connect with people so well. There wasn’t this self-consciousness about her. While I believe she had her own insecurities, as we all do, I think she allowed herself to take up space. She allowed herself to be heard. I think that’s evident by how quickly she climbed the ranks of Calvin Klein.

She was funny, vivacious and could be loud. I remember reading the story about her going to a hockey game and she could just curse like a sailor and was getting competitive for the team that was playing. I found that so interesting, considering she is this icon of minimalist fashion, to have so much spunk and spice, a strong sense of opinion, because that showed up and how she dressed. But what I hope I get to keep is that I’ve never been a leader on a show. So often in past projects or just in life, I thought, “Oh, it’s maybe best I don’t speak up right now,” or “maybe I should keep my opinions to myself.” I think Carolyn wouldn’t have done that. She really spoke her mind. And in playing her and wanting to do her legacy justice, by advocating for her through this process, I therefore also had to advocate for myself.

The series is a love story and relies heavily on your connection with Paul. Was that chemistry apparent from the start or did it build over time?

From his immediate audition, everyone was so excited by him just walking in the room. There was just something there. We just immediately trusted each other and felt comfortable with each other, and there was a real friendship that developed. This series takes place over so many years, and there’s highs and lows, and at some points we were shooting three episodes at a time, so really we just had to give ourselves over to one another. There was never a moment where either one of us felt like the other didn’t have our back and was game to figure out where each character was in this moment. 

You filmed some of the couple’s highest moments, like the wedding, but also some of their lowest, including the Battery Park fight. What was it like shooting those extremes? And was any of it particularly challenging to get right?

You know, who knows what they really said in these moments. That certainly was a private moment that unfortunately, was captured on film. But it was quite exciting as an actor, especially approaching Carolyn, where there is so much mystery, in how she sounds and how she walks when she knows she’s not being filmed in the photos that are taken of her by a friend versus a paparazzo. And having a few moments where we actually had video footage, whether it be Battery Park or their first public photo as a couple when they come out of North Moore [Street], the Lost Tapes has some footage from their wedding, it was really exciting as an actor to be able to come at the scene with her physicality.

In terms of highs and lows, I think high, energetic, joyful scenes can be just as difficult as the emotionally-taxing crying — the lowest points. The extremes of emotions can be hard. It’s quite vulnerable to be completely joyous. Because when you’re joyous, you’re not watching yourself, when you really smile. It’s different from when you’re putting on a smile. 

The series starts with an opening sequence of the day that Carolyn Bessette, Kennedy Jr. and Lauren Bessette died and cuts off after they’re flying in the plane. I’ve only received screeners for eight of the episodes so I don’t know if their death is shown, but from what audiences have seen, how did you prepare mentally for knowing what’s to come?

It was interesting shooting that scene because we shot that in September, and we were on maybe episode five or six. So I hadn’t been in Carolyn’s shoes, living all of these moments that lead up to her getting to the airport. I was always conscious of what choices am I making. How is she holding herself? What part of the relationship are her and John in this? Because we hadn’t played that all out in the series yet. And of course it’s very delicate thinking about what happened — it’s incredibly upsetting. There was this energetic sense on set of knowing what part of their lives we were depicting. And how we were directed in episode one, while there is a tension, we have to find the love between them again. That’s how that scene ends by saying, “I love you” to each other and reminding everyone in the first couple of minutes of the show, there’s a deep, deep, strong connection between these two that’s really filled with love, even if they are tense or upset or anxious. I actually haven’t seen episode nine either. But I know that was always the focus, from their romance beginning to bud, to being on that plane.

Something interesting about Ryan Murphy’s shows is that once you’re in one of his shows, he tends to keep working with the same actors. Having entered the Ryan Murphy universe, is that a creative space you’d like to continue working in?

I would totally jump at the chance to work with Ryan again. I think he makes such fun and exciting television from his anthology series like Crime Story and then to [American] Horror Story, there’s so many different worlds that he’s created. I loved Nip/Tuck. I probably watched that when I was a little too young to watch it, but I really, really loved that early Ryan Murphy television. I’d love a Glee reboot. We’ll see. Maybe I could play a teacher. 

You’ve already tackled TV, movies and theater, is there one space that you feel the most pull toward or one that you really want to focus more on?

Right now, I don’t know. I feel so spoiled and that I’ve worked on really wonderful projects that have challenged me and pushed me in different ways as an actor. I always love to get back to theater. That’s where I guess my love for this craft started. And all of the acting forms are so collaborative, but I think when you’re on with someone, and you realize that if something goes wrong, like it’s all on us to fix it, because when we were in Stereophonic, door handles would come off, and we wouldn’t be able to get on stage to do a scene, and you can’t really stop the performance. That high wire act is really, really exciting.

[This answer contains spoilers.] One of your major projects last year was I Know What You Did Last Summer. Your character Stevie’s fate is left somewhat open — do you think she could return if the story continues, especially given how horror franchises like Scream, for example, love a comeback?

I don’t want to speak for anybody, but I mean, yeah, you’re right. There is room for her [to come back]. Doesn’t Ava (Chase Sui Wonders) straight up say, “Stevie, she’s alive.” Spoilers! Sorry to anyone who’s reading this and hasn’t seen it. (Laughs.) But that movie was so fun to make. We were all in Sydney, it was summer and we were making a horror movie. It was like the best group of people, and if we do it again, I’ll be sad, because half of us are dead.

So no word yet on a sequel? 

Not that I’ve heard. But also all of my characters that I played, I’d love for things to come back.

You’ve taken on such a wide range of projects. Is there a genre or type of role you haven’t explored yet that you’re eager to try?

A real comedy. I tend to be a drama girl. But I would love to do some sort of like knee slapping, funny play, TV show, movie. I want to get my comedy chops up.

You and Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie were sitting next to each other at a Chanel dinner last month, and there was a funny moment when he introduced himself to you. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

It turns out we’ve actually worked together before on Tiny Beautiful Things and he had to remind me that we’ve actually had an intimate scene together. (Laughs.) But the guy sitting next to us was like, “Did you not recognize him?” You’ve worked with him before? I did think that Connor looked familiar, and I was such a fan of watching Heated Rivalry. It’s been really exciting see seeing Connor and Hudson just really take off. I feel like they that show touched a lot of people. It was wonderful to get to re-meet him.

The first three episodes of Love Story are now streaming on Hulu and Disney+, with new episodes of the nine-episode series to premiere on Thursdays at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on FX/Hulu. Read THR‘s interviews with the stars and creatives here and more coverage here.