Career

She was a series regular on the cult television show American Gothic

American Gothic (TV series)

American Gothic is an American horror series created by Shaun Cassidy and executive produced by Sam Raimi. The show first aired on CBS on September 22, 1995, and was cancelled after a single season on July 11, 1996.-Plot:...

 and the WB series Jack & Jill

Jack & Jill (TV series)

Jack & Jill is an American television series comedy-drama starring Ivan Sergei, Amanda Peet, Jaime Pressly, Justin Kirk, Simon Rex and Sarah Paulson which ran from September 1999 to April 2001 on the WB Network. It was created and executive produced by Randi Mayem Singer.The show's theme song was...

 (1999), playing the character "Elisa Cronkite". In addition, she had a minor role in the HBO series Deadwood

Deadwood (TV series)

Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...

, and was a focal character in an episode of the critically acclaimed FX

FX Networks

FX is the name of a number of related pay television channels owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group...

 series Nip/Tuck

Nip/Tuck

Nip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...

.

Paulson briefly appeared on the NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 series Leap of Faith

Leap of Faith (TV series)

Leap of Faith is a half-hour single-camera comedy that aired on NBC during early 2002. It aired right after Friends on NBC's Thursday comedy block, Must See TV...

 (2002) as the main character, but the show was short-lived. In 2004, she had a supporting role in the ABC series The D.A., but that show also ended after a few episodes.

Paulson starred in a revival of The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted...

 on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

, and has appeared Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

 in Killer Joe, Talking Pictures, and Colder Than Here. Paulson's movie credits include Down with Love

Down with Love

Down with Love is a 2003 romantic comedy film directed by Peyton Reed and written by Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake. It stars Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, and is a pastiche of the romantic comedies of the early 1960s starring Doris Day, Rock Hudson and Tony Randall such as Pillow Talk and Lover...

, What Women Want

What Women Want

What Women Want is a 2000 American romantic comedy film, directed by Nancy Meyers and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The movie was a box office success with a domestic gross of $182,811,707 and a worldwide gross of $374,111,707, against a budget of $70 million.-Plot:Nick Marshall, a Chicago...

, The Other Sister

The Other Sister

The Other Sister is a 1999 romantic comedy film starring Juliette Lewis, Giovanni Ribisi, Diane Keaton, and Tom Skerritt. Garry Marshall directed the film...

, Levitation

Levitation (film)

Levitation is Scott D. Goldstein film. The motion picture starred the Golden Globe-nominated American actress Sarah Paulson, Ernie Hudson and Benjamin Heflin.-Plot:...

, and Serenity

Serenity (film)

Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...

.

In the 2006-2007 television season, Paulson co-starred in NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was an American dramedy television series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. It ran for 22 episodes.The series takes place behind the scenes of a live sketch comedy show on the fictional television network NBS , whose format is similar to that of NBC's...

 playing Harriet Hayes

Harriet Hayes

Hannah Harriet Hayes is a fictional character on the US television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, played by Sarah Paulson. The character is loosely based on actress Kristin Chenoweth ;; there is an opinion that she is also at least partially based on former Saturday...

, one of the stars of the show-within-a-show. To date, this is her most notable role, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a TV series. In December 2008, Paulson appeared in the screen adaptation of Will Eisner

Will Eisner

William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...

's comic book The Spirit

The Spirit

The Spirit is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940 in "The Spirit Section", the colloquial name given to a 16-page Sunday supplement, distributed to 20 newspapers by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and reaching five million...

, playing an updated version of the character Ellen Dolan.

On August 25, 2008, ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 ordered her pilot Cupid

Cupid (2009 TV series)

Cupid is a television series that premiered on ABC on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 10:02 PM Eastern/9:02 PM Central. The series is a revival of sorts of the network's 1998 series of the same name, changing its primary setting from Chicago to New York City....

 to series. It was a remake of the 1998 program

Cupid (TV series)

Cupid is a 1998–1999 American comedy-drama series created by Rob Thomas, which featured Paula Marshall as Dr. Claire Allen, a Chicago psychologist who is given charge of a man named Trevor Hale . Hale believes he is Cupid, sent down from Mt...

 which starred Jeremy Piven

Jeremy Piven

Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....

 and Paula Marshall

Paula Marshall

Paula Marshall is an American actress.-Career:In 1992, Marshall had a three-episode guest role on The Wonder Years and later guest-starred on shows such as Seinfeld, Nash Bridges, Grapevine and Diagnosis: Murder. In 1994, she got her first sitcom role on Wild Oats...

. In the new version of the series, Paulson starred opposite Bobby Cannavale

Bobby Cannavale

Robert M. "Bobby" Cannavale is an American actor known for his leading role as Bobby Caffey in the first two seasons of the television series Third Watch. He also had a recurring role as Officer Vince D'Angelo on the comedy series Will & Grace.-Early life:Cannavale grew up in Union City, New...

. The series debuted in late March 2009 on ABC, but was quickly canceled on May 19, 2009 after only 6 episodes aired.

Paulson portrayed a circa 1982 Ellis Grey, the mother of main character Meredith Grey

Meredith Grey

Meredith Grey is a fictional surgeon and the series protagonist on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by actress Ellen Pompeo. In 2007, Pompeo was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Meredith...

, on the hit ABC primetime drama Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...

 in February 2010. She will play Nicolle Wallace in the upcoming political film Game Change

Game Change (film)

Game Change is an upcoming Jay Roach film based on the book of the same name by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. The film will primarily track the actions of the Republican Party during the 2008 Presidential Election.-Cast:...

.

Personal life

Paulson was born in Tampa

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, but was raised in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, and Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

.

Paulson dated the actress Cherry Jones

Cherry Jones

Cherry Jones is an American actress and recipient of the 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series and the 2005 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.-Career:...

. Jones has been accused of indirectly outing Paulson in her acceptance speech after winning a Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 in 2005; Jones thanked her by the name of the character that she was currently playing, The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted...

s "Laura Wingfield". However, the pair had attended the awards together and kissed right after Jones won, thus making it clear that Paulson was not secretive about the relationship. In 2007, Paulson and Jones declared their love for each other in an interview with VelvetPark at Women's Event 10 for the LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 Center of NYC. They have since broken up.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...	Maggie Conner	Episode: "Family Values"
1995	Friends at Last	Diana - age 21	TV movie
1995-1996	American Gothic American Gothic (TV series) American Gothic is an American horror series created by Shaun Cassidy and executive produced by Sam Raimi. The show first aired on CBS on September 22, 1995, and was cancelled after a single season on July 11, 1996.-Plot:...	Merlyn Temple	18 episodes
1996	Shaughnessy		TV movie
1997	Levitation Levitation (film) Levitation is Scott D. Goldstein film. The motion picture starred the Golden Globe-nominated American actress Sarah Paulson, Ernie Hudson and Benjamin Heflin.-Plot:...	Acey
1997	Cracker: Mind Over Murder	Janice	Episode: "True Romance: Part 1" Episode: "True Romance: Part 2"
1998	Real Life	Lucy	Episode: "Unaired Pilot"
1998		Leanne Bossert
1999		Heather Tate
1999	Held Up Held Up Held Up is a 1999 American comedy film starring Jamie Foxx and Nia Long.-Plot:While on a road trip in the Southwest, Rae discovers that her man, Michael , spent the $15,000 they set aside for a home on a vintage muscle car. Rae promptly dumps Michael at a convenience store and hops a ride to the...	Mary
1999-2001	Jack & Jill Jack & Jill (TV series) Jack & Jill is an American television series comedy-drama starring Ivan Sergei, Amanda Peet, Jaime Pressly, Justin Kirk, Simon Rex and Sarah Paulson which ran from September 1999 to April 2001 on the WB Network. It was created and executive produced by Randi Mayem Singer.The show's theme song was...	Elisa Cronkite	31 episodes
2000	Metropolis	Audrey	TV movie
2000	What Women Want What Women Want What Women Want is a 2000 American romantic comedy film, directed by Nancy Meyers and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The movie was a box office success with a domestic gross of $182,811,707 and a worldwide gross of $374,111,707, against a budget of $70 million.-Plot:Nick Marshall, a Chicago...	Annie
2001	Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...	Zoe	Episode: "Manhunt"
2002	Bug Bug (2002 film) Bug is a 2002 American comedy film, directed by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. It was released on February 28, 2002.-Plot:An eclectic group of individuals in Silverlake, LA, are propelled by a series of cause-and-effect chain reactions to a common destiny....	Eilleen
2002	Leap of Faith Leap of Faith (TV series) Leap of Faith is a half-hour single-camera comedy that aired on NBC during early 2002. It aired right after Friends on NBC's Thursday comedy block, Must See TV...	Faith Wardwell	6 episodes
2002	Path to War Path to War Path to War is a 2002 American biographical television film, produced by HBO and directed by John Frankenheimer that deals directly with the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of United States President Lyndon B...	Luci Baines Johnson
2003	Down with Love Down with Love Down with Love is a 2003 romantic comedy film directed by Peyton Reed and written by Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake. It stars Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, and is a pastiche of the romantic comedies of the early 1960s starring Doris Day, Rock Hudson and Tony Randall such as Pillow Talk and Lover...	Vikki Hiller
2004		Chief. Dep. Dist. Atty. Lisa Patterson	Episode: "The People vs. Sergius Kovinsky" Episode: "The People vs. Achmed Abbas"
2004	Nip/Tuck Nip/Tuck Nip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...	Agatha Ripp	Episode: "Agatha Ripp"
2005	Swimmers	Merrill
2005	Deadwood Deadwood (TV series) Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...	Miss Isringhausen	9 episodes
2005	Serenity Serenity (film) Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...	Dr. Caron
2005		Bunny Yeager
2006	Piccadilly Jim Piccadilly Jim Piccadilly Jim is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on February 24, 1917 by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, and in the United Kingdom in May 1918 by Herbert Jenkins, London...	Ann Chester
2006	Diggers Diggers (film) Diggers is a coming-of-age film directed by Katherine Dieckmann. It portrays four working-class friends who grow up in The Hamptons, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, as clam diggers in 1976. Their fathers were clam diggers as well as their grandfathers before them...	Julie
2006	Griffin and Phoenix Griffin and Phoenix Griffin & Phoenix is a 2006 romance film produced by Gold Circle Films, starring Dermot Mulroney and Amanda Peet. It was a remake of the 1976 television film Griffin and Phoenix: A Love Story, starring Peter Falk and Jill Clayburgh...	Peri
2006	A Christmas Wedding A Christmas Wedding A Christmas Wedding is a 2006 Lifetime Television film directed by Michael Zinberg and starring Dean Cain, Sarah Paulson, and Eric Mabius....	Emily	TV movie
2006-2007	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was an American dramedy television series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. It ran for 22 episodes.The series takes place behind the scenes of a live sketch comedy show on the fictional television network NBS , whose format is similar to that of NBC's...	Harriet Hayes	22 episodes
2007	Desperate Housewives Desperate Housewives Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...	Lydia	Episode: "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover (Desperate Housewives) “You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover" is the 77th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the seventh episode of the show’s fourth season and originally aired on November 11, 2007 in the United States.-Plot:... "
2008	Pretty/Handsome Pretty/Handsome Pretty/Handsome is a 2008 television production by Nip/Tuck director–writer Ryan Murphy that was not picked up by FX, the television network which broadcasts Nip/Tuck.- Cast :* Joseph Fiennes as Bob Fitzpayne...	Corky Fromme	TV movie
2008	Puppy Love	Emma	TV series short
2008		Ellen
2009	Whose Dog Is It Anyway?	Emma	Short film
2009	Cupid Cupid (2009 TV series) Cupid is a television series that premiered on ABC on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 10:02 PM Eastern/9:02 PM Central. The series is a revival of sorts of the network's 1998 series of the same name, changing its primary setting from Chicago to New York City....	Claire McCrae	7 episodes
2010	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...	Anne Gillette	Episode: "Shadow"
2010	Grey's Anatomy Grey's Anatomy Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...	Young Ellis Grey	Episode: "The Time Warp"
2010	November Christmas November Christmas November Christmas is a 2010 American film that premiered on CBS on November 28, 2010. It was presented through Hallmark Hall of Fame.-Plot:...	Beth Marks	TV movie
2010	After-School Special	Woman	Short film
2011	American Horror Story American Horror Story American Horror Story is a horror-drama television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The series centers on the Harmon family: Ben, Vivien and their daughter Violet, who move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien has a miscarriage and Ben has an affair...	Billie Dean	FX Original Series
2011	Martha Marcy May Marlene Martha Marcy May Marlene Martha Marcy May Marlene is a 2011 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Sean Durkin, and starring Elizabeth Olsen , John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, and Hugh Dancy...	Lucy
2011	Desperate Housewives	Lydia	Episode: "Watch While I Revise the World Watch While I Revise the World "Watch While I Revise the World" is the 160th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It was the third episode of the show's eighth season and was broadcast on October 9, 2011.-Plot:... "
2011	Game Change Game Change (film) Game Change is an upcoming Jay Roach film based on the book of the same name by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. The film will primarily track the actions of the Republican Party during the 2008 Presidential Election.-Cast:...	Nicolle Wallace Nicolle Wallace Nicolle Wallace is a best-selling author and political commentator. She previously served as communications chief during the presidency of George W. Bush and in his 2004 re-election campaign...	Filming; TV movie
2011	Untitled Kari Lizer Project	Mary Leahy	Pre-production; TV movie
2012	Fairhaven	Kate	Post-production

Award nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Series
2007	Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...	Nominated	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was an American dramedy television series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. It ran for 22 episodes.The series takes place behind the scenes of a live sketch comedy show on the fictional television network NBS , whose format is similar to that of NBC's...
2006	Satellite Award	Nominated	Best Actress in a Series, Drama	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

External links