For years, whenever we heard the name Ryan Murphy, our minds went to gore, jump scares, mystery and everything that makes American Horror Story what it is. So, when the legendary television writer and director announced the spin-off anthology series American Love Story, based on the real-life tale of John F. Kennedy Jr.’s romance with publicist Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, fans were shocked to say the least. As we get closer to the release of the series starring Paul Kelly as JFK Jr. and Sarah Pidgeon as Bessette-Kennedy, it seems even more confusion is arising. An exclusive Vogue interview with Carolyn’s longtime colorist revealed some immediate discrepancies between real life and the show, namely in the way of Pidgeon’s “totally wrong” hair color.
What’s Wrong With Sarah Pidgeon’s ‘American Love Story’ Blond, According to Bessette-Kennedy’s Colorist
If you’ve ever seen Pidgeon on-screen in shows like The Wilds or on Broadway in Tony award-winning play “Stereophonic,” you know Pidgeon to be a multi-talented brunette, so when the first photos from the filming of American Love Story were released, fans were aghast at the actress’s white-blond hair. Bessette-Kennedy’s real-life colorist, Brad Johns, was shocked too, for different reasons.
When the editors at Vogue reached out to Johns for his thoughts on Pidgeon’s transformation, he wasn’t aware the series was even in production, but after taking a quick glance as Pidgeon as Bessette-Kennedy, he was immediately displeased. “No one would believe that Carolyn in the ’90s would ever have that color from me,” he told the outlet. “It’s too 2024.” Johns went on to explain that he worked hard to take Bessette-Kennedy’s naturally “toffee” colored brown hair to a beachy blond with his signature chunking technique.
“I went in and put the highlight chunks in three foils around the front of her face, and then two underneath for when she wore her hair up,” he said, explaining that the main issue with Pidgeon’s blonde is the lack of dimension. “My goal was child-of-the-beach color,” Johns explained. “Carolyn had beautiful hair. She was breathtaking and so hysterical. When she sees that color, she’s going to be swirling in heaven,” he jokes, before solidifying that the color was “Totally wrong, the opposite of what we were going for. If you show that on TV and fashion people see it, they are going to think, why the f*** is she all ashed out with her hair only one color?”
