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Why we love actress Sarah Pidgeon, star of the series Love Story
In the new series directed by showrunner Ryan Murphy, Love Story, American actress Sarah Pidgeon plays Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, fashion icon and wife of John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., son of the 35th President of the United States. A role that places her as one of Hollywood’s rising stars.
Sarah Pidgeon’s remarkable performance as Carolyn Bessette in Love Story
For American actress Sarah Pidgeon, 29, there will no doubt be a before and an after Love Story. Produced by Ryan Murphy, the series brilliantly revives an American myth. Sarah Pidgeon takes on the role of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, a socialite who worked at Calvin Klein and married John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. in the 1990s. She would go on to become one of the most closely watched fashion icons of her generation.
A figure of nineties chic minimalism, she was hounded by paparazzi and her private life turned into a national obsession. Then, a tragedy would make the couple legendary. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy tragically died at 33 in the plane crash piloted by her husband on July 16th, 1999.
An ambitious project
In the show, Sarah Pidgeon impresses us with her accuracy, elegance and uncanny resemblance to the fashion icon. She stars alongside Paul Kelly, who portrays JFK Jr., son of the 35th President of the United States. Together, they form an electric and doomed couple. Under the relentless gaze of the media and the voyeurism characteristic of that era, their intimacy becomes a spectacle and their romance a public affair with a tragic ending.
Yet, the gamble was far from easy. The audience judged the actress’s looks before seeing a single scene of Love Story. From the moment the series was announced, the legitimacy of this almost unknown acting duo was already being questioned. The same scrutiny extended to every decision surrounding the project, down to Sarah Pidgeon’s exact shade of blonde hair. However, the actress admits that her ambition was not to replicate an icon, but rather to reenact a dramatic life.
A promising actress
While many viewers will discover the actress through Love Story, she is everything but a newcomer. Born on July 7th, 1996, in Detroit, Michigan, Sarah Pidgeon attended Interlochen Arts Academy, one of the most selective arts schools in the United States, before earning a degree from the research-focused Carnegie Mellon University in 2018.
After a low-key debut in One Dollar (2018) and Gotham (2019), she ultimately made her mark with The Wilds (2020) on Prime Video. In the series created by Sarah Streicher, a group of teenage girls find themselves stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. But the disaster, far from accidental, actually conceals a secret social experiment… Despite critical acclaim, the show was stopped after two seasons.
An erotic thriller alongside Liam Hemsworth
She then shone on Broadway in 2024, following her role in the series Tiny Beautiful Things (2023), starring Kathryn Hahn. Indeed, the play Stereophonic, written by David Adjmi and directed by Daniel Aukin, earned her a Tony Award nomination in the category of Best Featured Actress in a Play. The work follows a fictional rock band on the brink of fame as they struggle to record their album between 1976 and 1977.
This deep dive into the tensions and fractures generated by collective creation evokes the story of Fleetwood Mac and the making of their album Rumours (1977). Stereophonic made history by receiving 13 Tony Award nominations, an all-time record for a play. It went on to win five awards, including Best Play.
Since then, Sarah Pidgeon has starred in the horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025), adding yet another string to her bow. The actress also appeared in the series The Friend, alongside Naomi Watts and Bill Murray. Audiences will soon see her next to Liam Hemsworth in Paul Schrader’s erotic thriller Non Compos Mentis.
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette (2026), available now on Disney+.
