'Love Story' cast photos compared to real-life people including JFK Jr., Carolyn Bessette
Feb. 12, 2026, 11:00 a.m. ET
FX's "Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette" (Thursdays, 9 ET/PT on FX and streaming on Hulu) depicts the romance of the pair, who tragically died in a plane crash in 1999. Let's take a closer look at the actors and the real-life people they're portraying.
FX And MANNY CENETA/AFP Via Getty Images
Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr.
Model turned actor Paul Anthony Kelly told USA TODAY that some days it took three hours to get into character. "It would be an extra two hours for coverup (of his tattoos) and then an hour for hair and makeup,” Kelly said. That perfectly coiffed Kennedy hairdo was achieved with "a little bit of water and a hairdryer and a lot of brush work.”
Kurt Iswarienko/FX And Anne Sherwood/Getty ImagesModel turned actor Paul Anthony Kelly told USA TODAY that some days it took three hours to get into character. "It would be an extra two hours for coverup (of his tattoos) and then an hour for hair and makeup,” Kelly said. That perfectly coiffed Kennedy hairdo was achieved with "a little bit of water and a hairdryer and a lot of brush work.”
Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette
Sarah Pidgeon, a natural brunette, estimates she spent 22 hours in the hair salon over two days to lighten her locks within the realm of Bessette-blond. The stories written about the couple and Bessette in particular were “so misogynistic,” Pidgeon tells USA TODAY. “There was this narrative that they wanted to stick to, generally, and this characterization of her that I've just found couldn't be further from the woman that I came to know."
Kurt Iswarienko/FX And Diane Freed, Getty ImagesSarah Pidgeon, a natural brunette, estimates she spent 22 hours in the hair salon over two days to lighten her locks within the realm of Bessette-blond. The stories written about the couple and Bessette in particular were “so misogynistic,” Pidgeon tells USA TODAY. “There was this narrative that they wanted to stick to, generally, and this characterization of her that I've just found couldn't be further from the woman that I came to know."
Naomi Watts as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Naomi Watts told "Entertainment Tonight" the production "did a bunch of tests" to find the right look, "because I really look nothing like her," the actress admitted. "The coloring is all wrong, and she has a different nose, and we certainly played around with prosthetics. And then we weren't improving. We were just making me look more different. So we sort of scrapped it." Watts donned a wig for the role, brown contact lenses and makeup to close the age gap.
Kurt Iswarienko/FX AndNaomi Watts told "Entertainment Tonight" the production "did a bunch of tests" to find the right look, "because I really look nothing like her," the actress admitted. "The coloring is all wrong, and she has a different nose, and we certainly played around with prosthetics. And then we weren't improving. We were just making me look more different. So we sort of scrapped it." Watts donned a wig for the role, brown contact lenses and makeup to close the age gap.
Dree Hemingway as Daryl Hannah
Dree Hemingway, the great-granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, portrays "Splash" star Daryl Hannah in the limited series. In real life, JFK Jr. and Hannah had an on and off relationship for years, but broke up for good in 1994, according to reports.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images And LUCY NICHOLSON/AFP Via Getty ImagesDree Hemingway, the great-granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, portrays "Splash" star Daryl Hannah in the limited series. In real life, JFK Jr. and Hannah had an on and off relationship for years, but broke up for good in 1994, according to reports.
Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy
Grace Gummer, daughter of Meryl Streep and sculptor Don Gummer, plays Caroline Kennedy, John Jr.'s older sister, born three years before his arrival. After Caroline's father's assassination in 1963, her mother's death following a cancer diagnosis in 1994, and John Jr.'s death in 1999, Caroline is the only surviving member of their immediate family.
Eric Liebowitz And Jim Bourg, REUTERSGrace Gummer, daughter of Meryl Streep and sculptor Don Gummer, plays Caroline Kennedy, John Jr.'s older sister, born three years before his arrival. After Caroline's father's assassination in 1963, her mother's death following a cancer diagnosis in 1994, and John Jr.'s death in 1999, Caroline is the only surviving member of their immediate family.
Ben Shenkman as Edwin Schlossberg
Ben Shenkman ("Royal Pains," "Billions") plays Caroline Kennedy's husband Edwin Schlossberg. The couple wed in 1986 and had three children, Rose (1988), Tatiana (1990), and Jack (1993). Tatiana died of acute myeloid leukemia in December 2025.
Jamie McCarthy, Getty Images And Diane Freed, Getty ImagesBen Shenkman ("Royal Pains," "Billions") plays Caroline Kennedy's husband Edwin Schlossberg. The couple wed in 1986 and had three children, Rose (1988), Tatiana (1990), and Jack (1993). Tatiana died of acute myeloid leukemia in December 2025.
Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein
Alessandro Nivola portrays American fashion designer Calvin Klein, whose eponymous label was where Carolyn Bessette worked and where she met John F. Kennedy Jr.
Eric Liebowitz/FX And THOMAS COEX, AFP Via Getty ImagesAlessandro Nivola portrays American fashion designer Calvin Klein, whose eponymous label was where Carolyn Bessette worked and where she met John F. Kennedy Jr.
Noah Fearnley as Michael Bergin
Michael Bergin, a Calvin Klein model who acted on "Baywatch," engaged in "a casual romance" with Carolyn Bessette in 1992, Elizabeth Beller writes in "Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy," upon which FX's limited series is based. "A former hotel doorman at the Paramount, Bergin would later, in a tell-all book, 'The Other Man,' claim he was sexually involved with Carolyn from the fall of '92 until her death.
"There's no doubt Carolyn befriended Bergin, and, true to form, helped him with his career," Beller continues. "Carolyn and Michael had an on-off relationship, much more off than on. His later account of it is considered questionable by many of Carolyn's friends."
Theo Wargo/Getty Images And David Klein/Getty ImagesMichael Bergin, a Calvin Klein model who acted on "Baywatch," engaged in "a casual romance" with Carolyn Bessette in 1992, Elizabeth Beller writes in "Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy," upon which FX's limited series is based. "A former hotel doorman at the Paramount, Bergin would later, in a tell-all book, 'The Other Man,' claim he was sexually involved with Carolyn from the fall of '92 until her death.
"There's no doubt Carolyn befriended Bergin, and, true to form, helped him with his career," Beller continues. "Carolyn and Michael had an on-off relationship, much more off than on. His later account of it is considered questionable by many of Carolyn's friends."
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