Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
December 17, 1974
Place of Birth:
Tampa, Florida, USA
Social Media
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
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Garden State - The 20th Anniversary Concert | Self - Presenter |
| 2024 | Hold Your Breath | Margaret Bellum |
| 2022 | Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration | |
| 2021 | Adele One Night Only | Self |
| 2021 | Madame X Presents: Madame Xtra Q&A | Self |
| 2020 | Run | Mother / Diane |
| 2020 | Coastal Elites | Clarissa Montgomery |
| 2019 | Glass | Dr. Ellie Staple |
| 2019 | The Goldfinch | Xandra |
| 2019 | Abominable | Dr. Zara (voice) |
| 2018 | Reimagining The Met Gala | Self |
| 2018 | Ocean's Team 3.0 | Self |
| 2018 | Ocean's Eight | Tammy |
| 2018 | Bird Box | Jessica |
| 2017 | Rebel in the Rye | Dorothy Olding |
| 2017 | The Post | Tony Bradlee |
| 2016 | Blue Jay | Amanda |
| 2015 | Carol | Abby Gerhard |
| 2015 | The Runner | Kate Haber |
| 2014 | #twitterkills | Sarah Pendersen |
| 2013 | 12 Years a Slave | Mary Epps |
| 2013 | Mud | Mary Lee |
| 2013 | Fairhaven | Kate |
| 2012 | Stars In Shorts | Woman |
| 2012 | Game Change | Nicolle Wallace |
| 2012 | The Time Being | Sarah |
| 2011 | Martha Marcy May Marlene | Lucy |
| 2011 | November Christmas | Beth Marks |
| 2011 | After-School Special | Woman |
| 2011 | New Year's Eve | Grace Schwab |
| 2009 | Whose Dog Is It Anyway? | Emma |
| 2008 | The Spirit | Ellen Dolan |
| 2006 | A Christmas Wedding | Emily |
| 2006 | Diggers | Julie |
| 2006 | Griffin & Phoenix | Peri |
| 2005 | The Notorious Bettie Page | Bunny Yeager |
| 2005 | Serenity | Dr. Caron |
| 2005 | Swimmers | Merrill |
| 2003 | Down with Love | Vikki Hiller |
| 2003 | Path to War | Luci Baines Johnson |
| 2002 | Bug | Eilleen |
| 2000 | What Women Want | Annie |
| 1999 | The Other Sister | Heather Tate |
| 1999 | Held Up | Mary |
| 1998 | The Long Way Home | Leanne Bossert |
| 1997 | Levitation | Acey |
| 1996 | Shaughnessy: The Iron Marshal | |
| 1995 | Friends at Last | Diana - Age 21 |
| I Am Sybil | Connie Wilbur | |
| Clybourne Park | ||
| Talley's Folly | Sally Talley | |
| Ethel | ||
| Mother Courage | Sandra Bloom |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith | Therapist |
| 2022 | The Bear | Cousin Michelle |
| 2020 | Ratched | Mildred Ratched |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Alice |
| 2019 | The Kelly Clarkson Show | |
| 2018 | Lie Detector | Self |
| 2017 | FEUD | Geraldine Page |
| 2016 | American Crime Story | Marcia Clark |
| 2016 | Chelsea | Self |
| 2016 | American Crime Story | Linda Tripp |
| 2015 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Self |
| 2015 | Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter | Self |
| 2014 | Late Night with Seth Meyers | Self |
| 2014 | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Self |
| 2014 | Off Camera with Sam Jones | Self |
| 2014 | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | |
| 2014 | Variety Studio: Actors on Actors | Self |
| 2012 | Blue | Lavinia |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Lana Winters |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Cordelia Goode / Wilhemina Venable / Billie Dean Howard |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Billie Dean Howard |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Bette Tattler / Dot Tattler |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Sally McKenna / Billie Dean Howard |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Audrey Tindall / Lana Winters |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Ally Mayfair-Richards / Susan Atkins |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Tuberculosis Karen / Mamie Eisenhower |
| 2009 | Cupid | Dr. Claire McCrae |
| 2009 | Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Self - Guest |
| 2007 | The Graham Norton Show | Self |
| 2006 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Harriet Hayes |
| 2005 | The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | Self |
| 2005 | Grey's Anatomy | Young Ellis Grey |
| 2004 | Deadwood | Alice Isringhausen |
| 2004 | The D.A. | Lisa Patterson |
| 2004 | Desperate Housewives | Lydia Lindquist |
| 2003 | Nip/Tuck | Agatha Ripp |
| 2003 | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Self - Guest |
| 2003 | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Self |
| 2002 | Leap of Faith | Faith Wardwell |
| 1999 | Jack & Jill | Elisa Cronkite |
| 1999 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Anne Gillette |
| 1999 | Family Guy | Sarah Paulson / Marcia Clark / Costumed Woman (voice) |
| 1995 | American Gothic | Merlyn Temple |
| 1994 | Touched by an Angel | Zoe |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Maggie Conner |
| 1988 | LIVE with Kelly and Mark | |
| 1981 | Entertainment Tonight | Self |
| 1975 | Saturday Night Live | Self - Cameo (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Presenter |
| Pretty/Handsome | Corky Fromme | |
| All's Fair | Carrington Lane |