Sarah Pidgeon: The actress playing tragic icon Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in controversial series Love Story
She’s the rising star you might not know by name, but who’s got millions of people talking thanks to her portrayal of one of the world’s most recognisable faces, the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.
Sarah Pidgeon, 29, has landed the role of a lifetime in Ryan Murphy’s series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, opposite Paul Anthony Kelly as the late attorney and journalist who came from one of the world’s most famous dynasties.
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The series chronicles the romance of the couple, who died in July 1999 in a plane crash off Martha’s Vineyard.
Bessette Kennedy was 33 at the time, and Kennedy Jr. was 38.
Her sister Lauren Bessette also died in the crash.
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A career-defining role – and an avalanche of backlash
While it has the world talking, Love Story has courted controversy, with its casting and costumes previously being panned by fans.
Kennedy Jr’s nephew Jack Schlossberg has also criticised the series, labellng it “grotesque”.
In June 2025, long before the series was released, there was fierce backlash when a ‘first look’ and test shots of the actors in character for the first time were released.
Pidgeon in particular found herself at the centre of the media storm, with thousands criticising the recreation of Bessette Kennedy’s iconic and distinctive ’90s looks.
A hair colourist who worked with the late Calvin Klein publicist, Brad Johns, even spoke out against the original hair colour seeon on Pidgeon while she was in character.
“I love Ryan Murphy. I mean, I live for him. But there must be some kind of glitch with the costume people or the hair people, because it’s not right — it’s all white and burnt,” he remarked about the hair colour to Page Six Style.
The criticism would have no doubt been off-putting for any actor, but Pidgeon, who comes from a theatre background, wasn’t deterred.
Speaking about the overwhelming response from fans and critics, Pidgeon told People earlier this month: “It reminded me of the weight of this responsibility and wanting to do these people justice.”
She added it “reinforced and reminded me of just how beloved these people are, and people are protective of their story.”
“There was a pressure, I think, on it and an awareness that you were playing a real person.”
It seems the show, before premiering, adjusted the look of the characters and styling, and now Pidgeon bears a remarkable likeness to Bessette Kennedy.
A star on the rise
Before Love Story, Pidgeon appeared in the reboot of hit slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer, alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt, Chase Sui Wonders and Freddie Prinze Jr.
She starred in the 2025 film, a continuation in the iconic franchise, as Stevie Ward.
“That movie was so fun to make. We were all in Sydney, it was summer and we were making a horror movie,” she recently told The Hollywood Reporter
Pidgeon is also known for her roles in the TV series Tiny Beautiful Things and The Wilds.
She’s also forged a successful career on Broadway with a Tony Award nomination under her belt for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Stereophonic.
“I guess I always hoped that I would be on Broadway, just because this is what I want to do with my life,” she once told Vogue about her love of the stage and theatre.
Pidgeone, who is believed to be good friends with actress Victoria Pedretti, known for The Haunting of Hill House and You, graduated from a drama school in 2018.
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These days, some fans may not even recognise Pidgeon, who hails from Michigan, without her signature dark brunette hair.
The actress says her role as Bessette Kennedy has inspired her approach to her own career.
“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,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
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