Sarah Catharine Paulson was born inTampa, Florida, on December 17, 1974,[4] the daughter of Catharine Gordon (née Dolcater) and Douglas Lyle Paulson II.[5][6] She spent her early life inSouth Tampa until her parents' divorce when she was five.[7] After her parents' separation, she relocated with her mother and sister toMaine, then to New York City.[8] Her mother worked as a waitress, and Paulson lived inQueens andGramercy Park before settling inPark Slope.[8] She recalled of this period, "My mom was 27 years old [when we moved]. She didn't know a single person in New York City. She got a job atSardi's Restaurant." Throughout her childhood, Paulson spent her summers in Florida with her father,[7] who was an executive at a Tampa door manufacturing company.[9] She attendedP.S. 29 andBerkeley Carroll School[10][11] inBrooklyn before attendingManhattan'sFiorello H. LaGuardia High School[12][13] and theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts.[7]
Paulson began working as an actress immediately after high school. She made herBroadway debut in 1994 as a replacement understudy for the role of Tessin, played by Amy Ryan inWendy Wasserstein's playThe Sisters Rosensweig at theEthel Barrymore Theatre.[14][15] She appeared in theHorton Foote playTalking Pictures at theSignature Theatre, and in an episode ofLaw & Order in 1994. The next year, Paulson appeared in theHallmark television filmFriends at Last (1995) oppositeKathleen Turner, playing the adult version of Turner's character's daughter.[16] She also starred in the short-lived television seriesAmerican Gothic (also 1995), playing the ghost of a murdered woman.[17] In 1997, Paulson made her feature film debut in the independent thriller filmLevitation, playing a woman who discovers she is pregnant after an anonymous sexual encounter.[18] Leonard Klady ofVariety noted that Paulson and her co-stars are "not supported by the script", concluding: "Levitation is a grim, convoluted saga of identity and belonging. An ill-fitting combination of melodrama andmagic realism, the indie effort will have a decidedly difficult time in the theatrical arena."[18] In 1997, Paulson was a featured actress (Janice/Nina) in the two-part episode "True Romance" ofCracker, which starred Robert Pastorelli. The following year she returned to the stage acting in theOff-Broadway production ofKiller Joe (1998).[19]
In 2004, she had a supporting role in theABC seriesThe D.A., which was cancelled after only four episodes.[28] In the spring of 2005, Paulson starred in aBroadway revival of theTennessee Williams playThe Glass Menagerie opposite co-starJessica Lange.[29]Ben Brantley ofThe New York Times deemed the production as "misdirected and miscast... reality never makes an appearance in this surreally blurred production."[29] Later that year, Paulson appeared Off-Broadway in a production ofColder Than Here, oppositeLily Rabe (also her future co-star onAmerican Horror Story).[30] The production received an unfavorable review fromVariety, with critic Dave Rooney writing: "Rabe speaks in an affected monotone while Sarah Paulson has the measured, upward-inflected delivery of a children's TV presenter... this mannered, melancholy play elicits a mainly impassive response, which is no small obstruction in a work dealing with loss."[30] Also in 2005, Paulson had a small role in theJoss Whedon-directed science fiction filmSerenity.[31] In the 2006–07 television season, Paulson co-starred in theAaron Sorkin createdNBC comedy-dramaStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip, playingHarriet Hayes, one of the stars of the show-within-a-show. This role earned her a nomination forGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. In December 2008, Paulson appeared in thescreen adaptation ofWill Eisner's comic bookThe Spirit, playing an updated version of the characterEllen Dolan.[32]
In 2014, Paulson appeared in the fourth season of series ofAmerican Horror Story, titledFreak Show, playing the roles ofconjoined twin sisters Bette and Dot Tattler, who are members of a circusfreak show.[48] She returned for the fifth season, subtitledHotel, in the role of Hypodermic Sally, the ghost of a drug addict trapped in a Hollywood hotel.[49] For her roles inFreak Show andHotel she received nominations for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie in 2014 and 2016.[50] She also reprised the character of Billie Dean Howard in the last episode of the season, making acrossover appearance.[51] During this time, Paulson also took on the role of Abby Gerhard in theTodd Haynes-directed romantic dramaCarol (2015), a period piece in which she played the supporting role ofCate Blanchett's close friend.[52]
2016–present: Career expansion and return to Broadway
In June 2016, theHuman Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of theOrlando nightclub shooting; in the video, Paulson and others told the stories of the people killed there.[61] In the fall of 2016, she starred in the sixth iteration ofAmerican Horror Story, subtitledRoanoke; in it, she was cast in the dual roles of British actress Audrey Tindall and tortured wife and yoga instructor Shelby Miller, the latter of whom is portrayed by Tindall's character inMy Roanoke Nightmare, adocumentary within the series.[62] She also reprised her role of Lana Winters in the final episode ofRoanoke, in which the character makes a crossover appearance.[63] After completingRoanoke, Paulson appeared in the series' seventh season,Cult (2017), in which she played restaurant owner Ally Mayfair-Richards,[64] as well as Susan Atkins in the 10th episode of the season. She also starred asGeraldine Page in one episode of the first season of drama anthology seriesFeud (2017), which chronicles the turbulent working relationship between actressesBette Davis andJoan Crawford.[65][66]
Paulson was then cast in the heist filmOcean's 8 (2018), co-starring withCate Blanchett,Sandra Bullock,Anne Hathaway,Mindy Kaling,Awkwafina, andRihanna.[67] The film was a commercial success, grossing nearly $300million at the worldwide box office.[68] In 2017, she was invited to join theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[69] Paulson returned for the eighth season ofAmerican Horror Story, titledApocalypse, which premiered on September 12, 2018. InApocalypse, Paulson reprised both theMurder House andCoven roles of Billie Dean Howard and Cordelia Foxx, respectively, and also starred as the villainous Miss Wilhemina Venable.[70] In addition to appearing as three characters, Paulson also directed one of the season's episodes, marking her directorial debut.[70] She played Sandra Bullock's character's sister, Jessica, in the drama horror filmBird Box (2018), which was released onNetflix in December. In 2019, Paulson starred as Dr. Ellie Staple in the superhero thriller filmGlass, Xandra in the drama filmThe Goldfinch, and Dr. Zara in the animated adventure filmAbominable. Paulson then starred as Alice Macray in theFX limited drama seriesMrs. America (2020) about the unsuccessful political movement to pass theEqual Rights Amendment. Paulson acted oppositeCate Blanchett,Rose Byrne,Uzo Aduba,Melanie Lynskey andMargo Martindale.[71] She also starred as Clarissa Montgomery in theHBO satirical comedy television filmCoastal Elites, which premiered in September 2020.[72]
In February 2022, it was announced that Paulson had been tapped to portray authorGlennon Doyle in a television series based on Doyle's memoir,Untamed.[81] In 2023, she guest-starred in theHulu comedy drama seriesThe Bear, playing Michelle Berzatto in the episode "Fishes".[82] Paulson returned to Broadway in 2023 to star inBranden Jacobs-Jenkins's playAppropriate acting alongsideCorey Stoll,Natalie Gold,Elle Fanning, andMichael Esper.[83] In the play she portrays Toni, the eldest sibling who tries to reconnect with her siblings after the death of their late father. While at their father's home in ruralArkansas they all discover his shocking past. Adrian Horton ofThe Guardian declared that Paulson was "the top reason among many to see this play" adding, "Part of the play's delight is relishing Paulson's delivery of some truly scathing burns".[84] Paulson won theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play.[85]
In the media
In 2016, French hidden object gameCriminal Case modeled character Mary Patrick in its fourth season,Mysteries of the Past, after Paulson.
In 2018, Paulson was ranked one of the best dressed women by fashion websiteNet-a-Porter.[87]
Personal life
Paulson lives in Los Angeles.[88] She is a supporter of theDemocratic Party.[89] She was diagnosed withmelanoma on her back when she was 25, and the growth was removed before the cancer could spread.[90]
Addressing her sexuality, Paulson called it "a fluid situation"[91] and later said, "If my life choices had to be predicated based on what was expected of me from a community on either side, that's going to make me feel really straitjacketed, and I don't want to feel that."[9] She dated actressCherry Jones from 2004 to 2009.[92] She had dated only men before this relationship, including her former fiancé, playwrightTracy Letts.[9] Since early 2015, she has been in a relationship with actressHolland Taylor.[93][94]
Erickson, Hal (2010).Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtroom, 1948–2008. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.ISBN978-0-786-45452-5.
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