Sarah Pidgeon Needed to "Rot" After Filming 'Love Story'

two side by side photos of Sarah Pidgeon, one in a yellow belted dress and one in a black sequinned gown

(Image credit: Olivia McCausland)

Sarah Pidgeon was honored to take on the role of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy for the upcoming limited series Love Story. But the experience was an exhausting one, she tells Marie Claire in our February 2026 cover story.

"I didn’t realize how depleted my energy was or how much I just needed to rot," Pidgeon tells senior news editor Halie LeSavage the second time they speak. At the time, Pidgeon is enjoying a solo trip in Australia.

Sarah Pidgeon kneeling on copies of a newspaper in a hotel room

By this point, the actress has enough perspective on Love Story to feel a little pride. "I know I feel incredibly itchy when I watch myself, but it makes me so happy that people are excited and eager to see the episodes," she says.

"I have a certain expectation of myself and my work. I don’t find that my artistry is inspired when I’m thinking about what people might want me to do or trying to meet some expectation."

Playing Bessette-Kennedy was the role of a lifetime for Pidgeon. "She's become so incredibly important to me, and I revere her and everything that I’ve learned about her and her legacy," Pidgeon says.

Sarah Pidgeon leaning over a balcony in new york wearing a gray skirt and white top

Still, the experience of researching and filming Love Story left Pigeon craving a well-deserved break.

"I remember when actors would come to my school and the same question would be asked: 'How do you become a good actor?'" she recalls. "They would always say go travel, have experiences, you’d draw on all of that. I really need to live a little bit."

Love Story, starring Pidgeon, Paul Kelly, and Naomi Watts, premieres Feb. 12 on FX and via Hulu.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.