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Personal Info

Gender

Female

Birthday

1974-12-17 (50 years old)

Place of Birth

Tampa, Florida, USA

Sarah Paulson

Biography:

Sarah Catharine Paulson (born December 17, 1974) is an American actress. She began her acting career in New York City stage productions before starring in the short-lived television series American Gothic (1995–1996) and Jack & Jill (1999–2001). She later appeared in comedy films such as What Women Want (2000) and Down with Love (2003), and drama films such as Path to War (2002) and The Notorious Bettie Page (2005). From 2006 to 2007, she starred as Harriet Hayes in the NBC comedy-drama series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, for which she received her first Golden Globe Award nomination. In 2008, she starred as Ellen Dolan in the superhero noir film The Spirit.

Paulson has appeared on Broadway in the plays The Glass Menagerie in 2005 and Collected Stories in 2010. She also starred in a number of independent films and had a leading role in the ABC comedy series Cupid (2009). She later starred in the independent drama film Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) and received Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for her portrayal of Nicolle Wallace in the HBO film Game Change (2012). She was featured as Mary Epps in the 2013 historical drama film 12 Years a Slave, as Abby Gerhard in the 2015 romantic drama film Carol, and as Toni Bradlee in the 2017 political drama film The Post, all of which were nominated for multiple Academy Awards. Her other films include Serenity (2005), New Year's Eve (2011), Mud (2012), Blue Jay (2016), Ocean's 8 (2018), Bird Box (2018), Glass (2019), and Run (2020).

In 2011, Paulson began starring in the FX anthology series American Horror Story, playing different characters in many of the show's 10 seasons. For her performances in the series, she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won two Critics' Choice Television Awards. In 2016, she portrayed real-life prosecutor Marcia Clark in the first season of the anthology series American Crime Story, subtitled The People v. O. J. Simpson, for which she garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including the Primetime Emmy Award and the Golden Globe Award. In 2020, Paulson appeared in the FX limited series Mrs. America, and began starring as Nurse Mildred Ratched in the Netflix psychological thriller series Ratched. In 2021, she returned to American Crime Story to portray Linda Tripp in the third season of the show, subtitled Impeachment.

Known For

Acting

2025

2024

Hold Your Breath as Margaret Bellum
Mr. & Mrs. Smith as Therapist

2022

2021

2020

Run as Mother / Diane
Coastal Elites as Clarissa Montgomery
Ratched as Mildred Ratched
Mrs. America as Alice

2019

Glass as Dr. Ellie Staple
The Goldfinch as Xandra
Abominable as Dr. Zara (voice)

2018

2017

Rebel in the Rye as Dorothy Olding
The Post as Tony Bradlee
FEUD as Geraldine Page

2016

Blue Jay as Amanda
American Crime Story as Marcia Clark
Chelsea as Self
American Crime Story as Linda Tripp

2015

2014

2013

12 Years a Slave as Mary Epps
Mud as Mary Lee
Fairhaven as Kate

2012

Game Change as Nicolle Wallace
Blue as Lavinia

2011

November Christmas as Beth Marks
New Year's Eve as Grace Schwab
American Horror Story as Lana Winters
American Horror Story as Cordelia Goode / Wilhemina Venable / Billie Dean Howard
American Horror Story as Billie Dean Howard
American Horror Story as Bette Tattler / Dot Tattler
American Horror Story as Sally McKenna / Billie Dean Howard
American Horror Story as Audrey Tindall / Lana Winters
American Horror Story as Ally Mayfair-Richards / Susan Atkins
American Horror Story as Tuberculosis Karen / Mamie Eisenhower

2009

Cupid as Dr. Claire McCrae

2008

The Spirit as Ellen Dolan

2007

2006

2005

Serenity as Dr. Caron
Swimmers as Merrill
Grey's Anatomy as Young Ellis Grey

2004

Deadwood as Alice Isringhausen
The D.A. as Lisa Patterson
Desperate Housewives as Lydia Lindquist

2003

Down with Love as Vikki Hiller
Path to War as Luci Baines Johnson
Nip/Tuck as Agatha Ripp
The Ellen DeGeneres Show as Self - Guest

2002

Bug as Eilleen
Leap of Faith as Faith Wardwell

2000

1999

The Other Sister as Heather Tate
Held Up as Mary
Jack & Jill as Elisa Cronkite
Family Guy as Sarah Paulson / Marcia Clark / Costumed Woman (voice)

1998

The Long Way Home as Leanne Bossert

1997

Levitation as Acey

1996

1995

Friends at Last as Diana - Age 21
American Gothic as Merlyn Temple

1994

1990

Law & Order as Maggie Conner

1988

1981

1975

Saturday Night Live as Self - Cameo (uncredited)

-

I Am Sybil as Connie Wilbur
Talley's Folly as Sally Talley
Pretty/Handsome as Corky Fromme
All's Fair as Carrington Lane

Production

2024

Hold Your Breath as Executive Producer

2020

Ratched as Producer

2016

American Crime Story as Executive Producer

2011

American Horror Story as Executive Producer

-

All's Fair as Executive Producer

Directing

2011