It’s been an enormous six months for Sarah Pidgeon. Since entering into the role of Carolyn Bessette in Love Story, the actress has seen her profession skyrocket. The FX anthology, created by Connor Hines and executive produced by Ryan Murphy, chronicles the tragic love story of John F. Kennedy Jr. (Paul Anthony Kelly) and Carolyn, who, along along with her sister Lauren Bessette (Sydney Lemmon), died in a plane crash on July 16, 1999. It became essentially the most watched limited series on Hulu and Disney+ with greater than 65 million hours streamed globally since its debut in February.
The breakout success transformed Pidgeon from portraying an “It” girl to becoming one herself. She fronted her first major fashion campaign for Balenciaga, directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Celine Song; attended Paris Fashion Week; and earned her first Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series. The morning after celebrating her thirtieth birthday — and just hours after the 2026 Emmy nominations were announced — Pidgeon spoke with The Hollywood Reporter from France about her first Emmy nod, portraying Carolyn and her thoughts on her castmates, including Kelly, not receiving recognition from the Television Academy.
Congratulations in your first Emmy nomination. Where were you once you came upon and what was your immediate response?
I’ve been in Paris for the Chanel show. Just hearing this all out loud sounds so insane, and my sister is on the town; we’ve had a girls’ trip. I used to be on the ground of the hotel room after I came upon, after which I got to call my mom, so it was form of just like the whole family was together. But my response … well, I’m an enormous crier. I used to be pretty overwhelmed, so I shed some tears on the phone with my mom and hugged my sister and got to discuss with my agent, my manager, my publicist, who’ve really cheered me on and believed in me. I got to spend a while on the phone with individuals who have really been in my corner for a very long time — or without end — like my family, in order that’s been really special.
You lately turned 30, and also you’re now a first-time Emmy nominee. This looks like quite a option to kick off a brand new decade. How are you feeling about this recent chapter?
What a option to start a 12 months, let alone a decade. It’s an honor to have my name with those other talented women [Claire Danes, Sally Field, Carey Mulligan and Sarah Snook]. It’s huge. They’re at the highest of their field. I’m still wrapping my head around it. I’m just so grateful to have been recognized, that Love Story can be recognized, and Constance Zimmer. I learned a lot. I feel I became a greater actor due to talented people who I got to act alongside. Paul Anthony Kelly is now an expensive friend. I feel that this show works because everyone’s performance is so incredible, and now I’ve got these incredible friendships.
What’s your response to Paul not receiving a nomination, and is there anyone else from the Love Story forged whom you’d have especially liked to see recognized who wasn’t?
Having the ability to watch Paul Anthony Kelly work and transform into JFK Jr. each day was just so remarkable, as was doing it alongside him. It only is sensible based on what your scene partner is doing. I throw the entire roses at Paul’s feet, at Grace Gummer [who plays Caroline Kennedy], Naomi Watts [Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis], Alessandro Nivola [Calvin Klein]. Speaking of those remarkable talents that I started working with, it’s bizarre to me to find a way to say that I used to be on this production with them, they usually are only essentially the most deserving of all recognition, and with Paul, I cannot wait to see all of the amazing things and projects that he gets as much as.
What was your most difficult scene within the series?
Oh, gosh. Episode eight [in which John and Carolyn have a big fight] was difficult just in the topic material and the intensity of where the characters were, but then because the bottle episode, it was choreography involved since it all took place within the apartment, so form of determining what the blocking was with the camera and really long shots. There have been quite a lot of elements that made that tougher, but for me that was also essentially the most rewarding. The very starting of the pilot, after they get to the airport, we shot that around episode five, so I felt that was difficult because I had yet to essentially embody Carolyn and feel what it’s like in that moment of her life, that a part of her marriage, because we had filmed that before episode eight. Quite a lot of the connection gets uncovered, and I used to be very aware of wanting to be sure that that I used to be portraying the state of the connection and their current state, emotionally and physically, accurately, despite still having 4 episodes before we got there in our timeline. That was difficult. It required an awareness of a thing I didn’t yet know.
Pidgeon as Bessette with Paul Anthony Kelly, who plays John F. Kennedy Jr. within the limited series.
FX
After we spoke in February, you said you weren’t yet in a position to keep any of Carolyn’s clothes. Did you finally get to maintain some after filming wrapped?
I haven’t yet. (Laughs.) I feel I would find a way to. I’ll find a way to leaf through them, possibly toward the tip of this month. I just feel really lucky that I got to wear them. That was pretty special.
Is there a pair whose story you prefer to to see unfold for a second season of Love Story?
My gut is telling me that Ryan and his team will [choose something] out of left field. I don’t think it’s going to be a classic love story. I feel it should be a unique form of romance, or possibly it won’t be romantic; it should be like an a-romantic love. Whatever it’s going to be, it’s going to be very unexpected. Personally, I need to see what that unexpected twist is — I feel something like Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe is a unique form of love story than John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. I loved reading Just Kids. But whether or not it’s Patti and Robert, I really like the concept of them continuing with serious pieces.
This story first appeared in a July stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.