You Can’t Ignore Sarah Paulson…
You Can’t Ignore Sarah Paulson…

Paulson by photographer Peter Hapak, Toronto Film Festival 2019

In honor of Sarah Paulson’s birthday today, I wanted to take some time to write about her for my very first piece for the world to see (kinda getting carried away here already aren’t I?). A piece at least for my friends to see is more like it.

Sarah Catharine Paulson. An actor. An innovator. An artist. What is there not to love about her?

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have been keeping up with Paulson; she is a force that demands to be seen. But it is not only her artistry as an actor that has people tuned in. She has been a main player in breaking down ageist and social barriers within Hollywood and beyond.

Sarah and partner Holland Taylor have been together since 2015 and, as a queer person myself who is into older women, Paulson and Taylor have been a duo that I wholeheartedly look up to. In conversation with famed feminist and writer Roxane Gay in Harper’s Bazaar’s October 2020 issue, Paulson opened up a bit about her life with Taylor. Despite their 31-year age gap, Paulson and Taylor should be treated like everyone else. Sarah chalks up the outward obsession with her romantic relationship as a product of the societal connection between older age and lack of desirability. When I first read the interview, I was blown away: first and foremost by the iconic duo that is Sarah Paulson and Roxane Gay, then also by Sarah’s commitment to being simply…honest.

I would like to think that our society has evolved in ways that qualify obsession over of-age age gaps as outdated. And, in some cases, this rings true. I mean, when older heterosexual men in Hollywood date women twice as young as them or even younger, no one really seems to ask questions (Leo DiCaprio and Mel Gibson…I’m looking at you); at least not in the same way they interrogate Sarah. The scrutiny that Paulson and Taylor are under seems to be intensified due to their both being queer women. Common sense would tell you that a 46-year old woman loving a 77-year old woman is perfectly normal. A quick Google search could also tell you this. In 2013, Allure magazine released its first ever “Aging Survey” and out of this questionnaire, some interesting findings were discovered. Of all correspondents that participated, LGBT ones were more likely to have a thing for people 10+ years older than them. Additionally, 91% of all women and 84% of all men surveyed said that women, in general, face more social pressure to look young. While this is a stand-alone survey with flaws, it offers a unique perspective on the intersection between age and desire across communities. With this evidence, we are back to square one: what Paulson and Taylor have is not weird. Rather, their relationship is just as valid as any other and reflects how a lot of members of the LGBTQ+ community feel. It breaks the barriers present in a heteronormative world that tends to constantly call into question actions of those in the queer community. So Sarah has actually made me feel seen. I am a 20-year old, queer she/they person who is into women my age AND women not at all in my societally-approved age range…and for a long time I felt really weird about it. Only recently have I been able to be open about it with friends. Love is all encompassing and Sarah and Holland have shown that love is also about being unapologetic and feeling out loud.

Another way Paulson has been living out loud is through her work as a phenomenal actor. Paulson has created some of the most memorable characters this decade’s viewers and this generation of media watchers have ever seen. Let’s start with the obvious, American Horror Story: gifted medium Billie Dean Howard; Hard-hitting journalist turned asylum patient Lana Winters; conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler; human drug addict turned ghost drug addict Sally McKenna; a portrayal based on a real person played by actor Audrey Tindall (played by Sarah — a very meta season); a queer, fear-ridden mom turned murderer turned politician Ally Mayfair-Richards; a dominating authority in post-world times Wilhemina Venable; and most famously THE SUPREME Cordelia Goode. All of these characters span across one sphere of Paulson’s career — the Ryan Murphy universe; and they have kept us glued to our televisions since 2011. Rounding out Paulson’s current résumé within the Ryan Murphy universe are titular character Mildred Ratched (Ratched) and Marcia Clark (American Crime Story), both women fantastically portrayed by Paulson with the latter earning her a Primetime Emmy award, Golden Globe award, Critics Choice award, SAG award and TCA award all in the same season (legendary behavior!). Outside of Ryan Murphy though, we have seen Paulson play equally as compelling characters like Abby Gerhard in Carol, Amanda Stone in Blue Jay, Antoinette “Tony” Pinchot Bradlee in The Post, Tammy in Ocean’s 8, Alice Macray in Mrs. America and Diane Sherman in Run. They are all brilliant portrayals of characters that might make you do a double-take, considering the fact that they are striking counterparts, for the most part, to the screaming and crying Paulson that we are used to in AHS. No matter what the character demands from Sarah, she is not shy in her delivery. With every word, Paulson packs a punch that drives you crazy and keeps you hooked. And those are only some of the characters that Paulson has graced us with. So iconic that I dedicated an entire paragraph to creating a list and it’s not even complete.

With each one of these performances, Sarah has made the characters relatable in some way. In some cases, she has even made us develop empathy for the bad guy (think Ratched). And I believe the validity of these performances should not be based on whether or not they have earned awards (though Paulson has racked up several awards from these roles). Paulson’s attention to detail, concern for authentic storytelling and commitment to transparency shines and creates a space that viewers want to escape to. And that’s all that matters. That’s all that should matter.

So really one question comes to mind: how does she do it? She seems to be constantly on our screens in some way, shape or form and she does a damn good job with every role. I think the answer is that Paulson is more than an actor; she has become a staple in the folds of Hollywood. I honestly feel that she is one of the greatest actors of her generation (and I know that sounds biased coming from me but it’s not…simply because it’s true). I will admit, this question has a bit of history behind it: the ageism issue in our society and more specifically in Hollywood is one that needs handling. Years ago in Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, Paulson had an upfront and candid talk about ageism with fellow acting connoisseur Tracee Ellis Ross. For women over the age of 40 in Hollywood, time seems to be oh-so harsh…the greatest enemy. Roles start to disappear and the ones that stick around seem to solely involve being a mother with no backstory or true character arc. The really amazing thing about Paulson, though, is that she seems to have played almost every character under the sun. Even when she is playing a mother, the character has so many different facets that it’s hard to keep that character in the “mom” box (think Run and American Horror Story: Cult). Bottom line is this: Sarah Paulson is a beast when it comes to putting her all into a character. She simply won’t remain boxed in, for at 46, she seems to just be getting started. A huge “screw you!” to Hollywood and its standards. We can and should move on from the limited spheres that ageism seems to keep us in.

All of this to say that Sarah Paulson is more than just a presence: she is a figurehead at the forefront of a movement that works to move away from how things used to be and into a realm of new possibility. She has touched the lives of so many, including me. I have interacted with so many awesome people on Twitter because of Sarah and have been able to fangirl with folks that feel just as strongly as I do about her talent. Through the power of fearlessness, Paulson has helped to create a world off-screen that is just as intriguing and exciting to be a part of as the ones she inhabits on-screen.

So here’s to Sarah Paulson. An actor. An innovator. An artist. And more notably, a legend in the making.
['Cait Ballard']
['Queer', 'First Post', 'Freewrite', 'College', 'Sarah Paulson']