Why Carolyn BessetteKennedy's Style Was &x27;Transformative&x27; for Sarah Pidgeon in "Love Story" (Exclusive) Julia MooreSat, February 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC 0 Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette in "Love Story" (left); Carolyn BessetteKennedy arrives at The Whitney Museum (right) Eric Liebowitz/FX; Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News Archive via Getty FX's Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr.
Why Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's Style Was 'Transformative' for Sarah Pidgeon in "Love Story" (Exclusive)
Julia MooreSat, February 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC
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Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette in "Love Story" (left); Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy arrives at The Whitney Museum (right)
Eric Liebowitz/FX; Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News Archive via Getty
FX's Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette tells the story of one of America's most beloved couples, with Sarah Pidgeon portraying Carolyn
Pidgeon, 29, tells PEOPLE how Carolyn's signature fashion sense helped her step into the beloved figure's shoes for the series
"It makes you stand in a different way. And it sort of holds you in and protects you," Pidgeon says of Carolyn's style
Fashion was an immediate way in for Sarah Pidgeon as she stepped into Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's shoes.
In FX's Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, the Tony-winner, 29, plays the beloved wife of John F. Kennedy Jr., which was a daunting task — and one she fully understood the weight of.
For Pidgeon, Carolyn's signature style became a vessel for her to channel the late Calvin Klein publicist. As the actress explains, "She was a private citizen until she got into this relationship with John [and was thrust into] the center of the public eye. So I think her clothing, it really helped inform the character."
"My favorite pieces were the [Yohji] Yamamoto pieces she wore," Pidgeon says. "And I'm not sure if she was aware of this, but Yamamoto describes designing clothing as armor for women."
"I think understanding — or at least my interpretation of her relation to the press — she was fiercely private, so I think it made so much sense, and you could feel it when you put the clothes on," she continues. "It makes you stand in a different way, and it sort of holds you in and protects you."
Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette in "Love Story"
Those high-fashion pieces "felt very transformative," Pidgeon says. "Especially from her messier, more wild mid-twenties, where we start the series. She was a 26-year-old in New York, smoking cigs, walking down Fifth Avenue."
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Carolyn's unique look became so signature to her that when the show's first test shots were shared, Pidgeon faced immense criticism for her resemblance — or lack thereof — to Carolyn.
"I don't think it changed how I approached the role. It didn't change my impression of who Carolyn was. It reminded me of the weight of this responsibility and wanting to do these people justice," she says of the criticism. "It reinforced and reminded me of just how beloved these people are, and people are protective of their story."
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She also gives kudos to her scene partner, Paul Anthony Kelly, who played John F. Kennedy Jr., as she says the show overall was "a lesson in really trying to trust my instincts and myself and my scene partner."
"I suppose the learning curve was steep, but we did it," Pidgeon says.
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette is inspired by Elizabeth Beller's book, Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and "explores the undeniable chemistry, whirlwind courtship and high-profile marriage of one of the most iconic couples of the 20th century," per FX.
"John and Carolyn's connection was immediate, electric and undeniable. As their love story unfolded on a national stage, the intense fame and media attention that came along with it threatened to rip them apart," the synopsis continues. "Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette charts the complex and heartbreaking journey of a couple whose private love became a national obsession."
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JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy in 1999 (left); Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon film "Love Story" in New York City on June 19, 2025 (right)
WILLIAM REGAN/ZUMA Wire; Steve Sands/BACKGRID
JFK Jr. met Carolyn in 1992, and they got married in a top-secret ceremony in 1996. Three years later, they died tragically in a plane crash.
John, who was 38 at the time, was flying the plane — with both Carolyn, 33, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, 34, as his passengers — when it plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on July 16, 1999. They were on their way to Rory Kennedy's wedding in Cape Cod when they hit a thick fog off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.
Along with Pidgeon and Kelly, Love Story also stars Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy, Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein, Leila George as Kelly Klein, Sydney Lemmon as Lauren Bessette and Constance Zimmer as Ann Marie Messina.
New episodes of Love Story drop Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on FX and Hulu.
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Source: Entertainment
Published: February 21, 2026 at 08:45AM on Source: PRIME TIME
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