Sarah Pidgeon was honored to take on the role of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy for the upcoming limited series Love Story. But the experience was an exhausting one, she tells Marie Claire in our February 2026 cover story.
“I didn’t realize how depleted my energy was or how much I just needed to rot,” Pidgeon tells senior news editor Halie LeSavage the second time they speak. At the time, Pidgeon is enjoying a solo trip in Australia.
(Image credit: Olivia McCausland)
By this point, the actress has enough perspective on Love Story to feel a little pride. “I know I feel incredibly itchy when I watch myself, but it makes me so happy that people are excited and eager to see the episodes,” she says.
“I have a certain expectation of myself and my work. I don’t find that my artistry is inspired when I’m thinking about what people might want me to do or trying to meet some expectation.”
Playing Bessette-Kennedy was the role of a lifetime for Pidgeon. “She’s become so incredibly important to me, and I revere her and everything that I’ve learned about her and her legacy,” Pidgeon says.
(Image credit: Olivia McCausland)
Still, the experience of researching and filming Love Story left Pigeon craving a well-deserved break.
“I remember when actors would come to my school and the same question would be asked: ‘How do you become a good actor?'” she recalls. “They would always say go travel, have experiences, you’d draw on all of that. I really need to live a little bit.”
Love Story, starring Pidgeon, Paul Kelly, and Naomi Watts, premieres Feb. 12 on FX and via Hulu.
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