Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in 'Love Story.' Kurt Iswarienko/FX Sarah Pidgeon is opening up about how playing Carolyn Bessette Kennedy wasn’t always as glamorous as it looked.
During a recent Beauty Secrets video for Vogue, Pidgeon revealed she developed a skin condition while filming the record-breaking Disney+ and Hulu show Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette last summer. Filming in Hyannis, Massachusetts — where the Kennedy Compound is located — Pidgeon said she wore heavy clothing despite it being hot weather.
“When we were shooting Love Story, we were out in Hyannis and I was wearing a cashmere turtleneck and jeans,” Pidgeon said. “I got a heat rash because it was like 90 degrees outside, and then that turned into psoriasis all over my body.”
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She then showed a patch on her arm. “I get it on my chest, get it on my tummy. It’s really everywhere,” Pidgeon said. “It comes in waves, it’ll go away, and you can always cover it up.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, Psoriasis is a long-term disease that causes itchy, scaly patches on the skin. It has no cure.
In the series, created by Connor Hines and executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Pidgeon stars opposite Paul Anthony Kelly, who plays JFK Jr. Following last month’s heartbreaking finale, The Hollywood Reporter’s executive awards editor Scott Feinberg has predicted Pidgeon as a frontrunner for the 2026 Emmy Awards for best actress in a limited or anthology series or movie category.
Ahead of the series premiere, Pidgeon spoke with THR about recreating her favorite looks of the former Calvin Klein publicist.
“I’m a huge fan of all her Yohji Yamamoto outfits. There’s one in particular, which is a cream pencil skirt, and it has these buttons. There’s boning, so it’s very structured, and these long sleeves with beige Manolo heels. That image of Carolyn wearing that, I think of her immediately. She’s holding John’s hand and she’s smiling,” she said. “It was just, in particular, wearing these clothes that are so iconic of her later in life, because that was when she was really heavily photographed, you understand just how much they change how you hold yourself.”
The show’s costumes were later refined after initial backlash to early images shared by Murphy. Executive producer, Brad Simpson said the response ultimately helped improve the final look. “What it showed us was how deeply people cared about Carolyn Bessette and how much she meant to generations,” Simpson said. “But it was a good flex point for us to adjust. We made some more dramatic changes. We brought in Rudy Mance, the brilliant costume designer who sourced a lot of original pieces that CBK wore. We went to the actual collectors, to people who’d written books about her fashion and style and we formed a brain trust. We went from using a wig to using Sarah’s real hair and figuring out how to create the different buttery versions.”
He added: “But we took all that feedback in, and I think we got it right. I really am proud of how it looks. I think she looks beautiful.”
All episodes of Love Story are now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Check out all of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Love Story coverage here.
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