Sarah Pidgeon addressed concerns over her portrayal of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy in American Horror Story cocreator Ryan Murphy’s new series, American Love Story.
“I know how special Carolyn is to me, and I understand how widely beloved she is, so this role comes with a lot of responsibility — and I’m not surprised that people have strong opinions about it,” Pidgeon, 29, told Variety in an interview published on Tuesday, July 15. “That’s what makes her such an interesting person.”
Pidgeon and Paul Kelly will play Bessette and her late husband, John F. Kennedy Jr., in a dramatized depiction of their courtship during the early 1990s and their deaths in a 1999 plane crash just off the coast of Massachusetts. Bessette was 33 and Kennedy was 38 at the time of their tragic deaths. Murphy’s all-star production has cast two-time Golden Globe winner Naomi Watts as JFK Jr.’s mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Grace Gummer will play his sister, Caroline Kennedy. American Love Story has been in the works since 2021 as the first romance-themed spinoff of Murphy’s American Crime Story docudrama franchise.
Pidgeon stressed how important it is for her to capture Bessette’s humanity, not just simply emulate “how she dressed” in the now-iconic paparazzi photos from the 1990s.
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s real-life hairstylist agreed with fans — Sarah Pidgeon’s hair in American Love Story is too platinum. Hairstylist Brad Johns set the record straight on what Carolyn’s hair should actually look like in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming series — which is set to be released in February 2026 — while chatting with Page Six on […]
“[This is a] woman who worked at Calvin Klein and the person that JFK Jr. fell in love with,” the I Know What You Did Last Summer actress added. “She’s a human being beyond just these pictures. She really resonates with a lot of people, and she certainly does with me.”
The actress continued, “I think that she is an incredibly generous person, and she’s incredibly confident. I don’t know if I necessarily always carry myself in that way, but it’s been really empowering to channel those elements of Carolyn. I could talk for a while about everything there is about her. It’s been really, really fulfilling and incredibly special to do it on camera.”
Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Kelly as Carolyn Bessette and JFK Jr in Ryan Murphy’s “American Love Story.” Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Fans of the Kennedys have already been critical of some of Pidgeon’s wardrobe selections from the American Love Story set, while JFK Jr.’s nephew Jack Schlossberg has accused Murphy, 59, of “grotesque[ly]” profiting off his late uncle’s death.
“Lately, my news feed has been filled with pictures of my uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., a great man,” Schlossberg, 32, wrote via Instagram in June. “For those wondering whether his family was ever consulted, or has anything to do with the new shows being made about him, the answer is no. And there’s really not much we can do.”
He explained that the “the ability to control your own name, image and likeness” doesn’t extend beyond death in New York, where American Love Story is being filmed.
John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in May 1999. Justin Ide
“For that matter, [JFK Jr. is] considered a public figure, so there’s not much we can do,” Schlossberg admitted. “I hope those making these shows about him take seriously what he stood for in his life, all that he achieved in it. And that they donate some of the profits [that] they’re making.”
American Love Story creator Murphy initially responded to the backlash by condemning “inflammatory” criticism of his project before anyone had actually seen it.
“They’re doing to our Carolyn, what they did to the real-life Carolyn. It’s not fair,” the TV producer told Variety in June.
Ryan Murphy‘s Monsters elicited a divided response about how Erik Menéndez and Lyle Menéndez‘s murder trial was portrayed in the Netflix series — but it isn’t the only show that covers the controversial case. After their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, were murdered in 1989, Erik and Lyle became the prime suspects. They were arrested […]
Murphy previously faced complaints over his 2024 Netflix true-crime show, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which dramatized the 1989 killings of José and Kitty Menendez by their sons. Erik Menendez responded to Monster’s release by accusing Murphy of contributing to “the lies and ruinous character portrayals” of himself and his brother. (Those close to the Menendez family took issue with Monster’s insinuation that Erik and Lyle had an incestuous relationship.)
“[Murphy created] a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant likes rampant in the show,” Erik wrote in a statement via Lyle Menendez’s Facebook page. “I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Murphy responded by saying he had “no interest” in meeting with the Menendez brothers to discuss their grievances, before suggesting they should thank him for reigniting interest in their ongoing appeals process. (The Menendez brothers were convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder, for which they were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.)
Ryan Murphy in 2018. M. Brown/Getty Images
“I’ll tell you my thoughts about the Menéndez brothers. The Menéndez brothers should be sending me flowers,” Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter in October 2024. “They haven’t had so much attention in 30 years. And it’s gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world. There’s sort of an outpouring of interest in their lives and in the case. I know for a fact that many people have offered to help them because of the interest of my show and what we did.”
American Love Story does not yet have a premiere date on FX.
