There is a lot to envy about Sarah Paulson, from her decades-long friendship with Amanda Peet to the fact that she and her longtime partner, Holland Taylor, don’t actually live together. (Much like Whoopi Goldberg, I “don’t want somebody in my house,” either.)
To honor Paulson on her 51st birthday, however, we’re not just wistfully sighing over her personal life, but also rounding up seven of her very best film and television roles, in a career of many. Read on for the list:
Harriet Hayes on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007)
Was this show…good? Not necessarily. Still, I devoured it all over the course of three days, as I tend to with all things Sorkin (even if I’m clutching my head in agony while I do so), and Paulson was a true bright spot as a proto-Christian-influencer type on a Saturday Night Live-esque sketch show who was partially based on Sorkin’s ex Kristen Chenoweth.
Lucy in Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
This psychological thriller is a subtle yet genuinely terrifying study of the effects of abuse and cult mentality on the psyche, and Paulson is wonderfully grounded as the sister of a former captive trying to reintroduce her to so-called “normal” life without sacrificing the well-being of her own family.
Lana Winters on American Horror Story: Asylum (2012–2013)
The most striking appearances from Paulson’s intrepid, closeted journalist in Asylum tended to involve her frightening relationship with Jessica Lange’s Sister Jude. Let’s just say I’ll never hear “The Name Game” without mentally subbing in “Lana-Lana-bo-bana” again.
Abby Gerhard in Carol (2015)
Paulson may not play one of the central star-crossed lovers in this scintillatingly sapphic drama, but she makes an absolute meal out of her too-short scenes as the titular Carol’s friend and former lover. I could listen to Abby talk about her passion for “this redhead who owns a steakhouse outside of Paramus” all day long.
Marcia Clark on The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016)
Paulson did deft work playing O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark—a complex and culturally misunderstood figure—and happily, she was richly rewarded for it, winning an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG Award, Critics Choice Award, and TCA Award (phew!) for her performance.
Tammy in Ocean’s Eight (2018)
I was always going to love a movie about a gang of women getting together to steal priceless jewels during the Met Gala, but Paulson is particularly good and believable as a short-term Vogue employee (ever heard of it?) who moonlights as a fence for stolen goods and may or may not have sexual tension with Sandra Bullock’s Debbie Ocean.
Carrington Lane on All’s Fair (2025–)
This foul-mouthed, not-so-secretly wounded lawyer could not possibly be more over the top, and is a major part of what makes All’s Fair so incredibly bad that it’s…kind of the best? I will never, ever forget Paulson as Carr referring to her rivals as “fat, treacherous lawn chairs,” and that’s basically the tamest thing she says over the course of the Hulu legal drama.
