Sarah Paulson

Sarah Paulson built a once-in-a-generation television résumé by becoming Ryan Murphy's muse across multiple genres. She began her acting career in American Gothic (1995–1996) and Jack & Jill (1999–2001), then played Harriet Hayes in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007). Her collaboration with Murphy escalated when she joined American Horror Story for nine seasons from 2011 to 2021, earning five Primetime Emmy Award nominations across the anthology's various storylines. She earned the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her portrayal of Marcia Clark in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story in 2016. Paulson extended her range across prestige television: she was Emmy-nominated for playing Nicolle Wallace in Game Change (2012), starred as a conservative activist in Mrs. America (2020), and portrayed Nurse Ratched in the Netflix thriller Ratched (2020). She also earned an Emmy nomination for her role as Linda Tripp in Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021). On film, she anchored Blue Jay (2016), Glass (2019), Run (2020), and Hold Your Breath (2024), while appearing in ensemble and supporting roles in What Women Want (2000), Down with Love (2003), Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), Mud (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Carol (2015), The Post (2017), Ocean's 8 (2018), and Bird Box (2018). On Broadway, she starred in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie (2005), Donald Margulies' Collected Stories (2010), and won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Appropriate (2023). Born December 17, 1974 in the US, Paulson is a Sagittarius—a sign associated with restless exploration and boundary-crossing ambition. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2017. She is an actor who works across film, television, and theater, building a career grounded in character depth and genre range.