Actress Sarah Pidgeon has shared her experience of adjusting to sudden fame following her role in the Disney drama "Love Story," noting that the intense public attention mirrored her character's own difficulties. Pidgeon, 30, starred as Carolyn Bessette Kennedy opposite Paul Anthony Kelly's John F. Kennedy Jr. in the series, which chronicled the couple's high-profile relationship and Bessette Kennedy's challenges with the spotlight.
Pidgeon revealed in an interview with Elle UK that she experienced physical symptoms of anxiety, including breaking out in hives, when the show premiered. "Had I understood what the show would become while we were filming it, I would have been crippled with anxiety," she stated. "When I heard that the first cuts were coming together, I broke out in hives. It suddenly became a reality that people were going to see it."
The actress described her current life as a significant departure from previous years, marked by extensive travel, work commitments, attending fashion events, participating in photoshoots, and appearing on late-night television. She acknowledged that friends have noted the ubiquity of her image in media and social feeds, a phenomenon she also finds overwhelming. "I told them, 'I'm sorry, I'm bored of it too'," Pidgeon remarked.
Despite the overwhelming nature of her newfound fame, Pidgeon expressed a desire to maintain her personal life and protect private moments and relationships. "No one wants a private moment captured. I don't want to change how I'm living, I like my life. But I'm making small adjustments. I want to protect the things that feel like they're just for me, or the people in my life."
Before her prominent role in "Love Story," Pidgeon appeared in the Hulu series "Tiny Beautiful Things" and made her Broadway debut in "Stereophonic." She is set to receive the Modern Muse award at the ELLE Style Awards 2026.
The nine-part drama "Love Story" detailed the relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, from their meeting to their tragic deaths in a plane crash on July 16, 1999, along with Bessette Kennedy's sister, Lauren. The series synopsis highlighted their "immediate, electric and undeniable" connection, noting how the intense fame and media attention that accompanied their public lives threatened to strain their relationship.
The October issue of ELLE UK, featuring Pidgeon, is scheduled to go on sale on September 3.