Actors look back on their portrayals of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette
Actors Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon share how they brought John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette to life beyond their portrayals in the media.
- The March 12 episode of “Love Story” will revisit John F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to put Drew Barrymore as Marilyn Monroe on the cover of George magazine.
- This episode also explores the impact the constant media frenzy has had on Carolyn Bessette.
- Amid criticism of the series’ liberties, USA TODAY is fact-checking episodes to help viewers decipher fact from fiction.
It’s been a week since actress Daryl Hannah wondered, “How can Love Story avoid this problem?” In an op-ed in the New York Times, the seventh episode of FX’s “Love Story” is released (streaming Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Hulu).
Hannah, who along with John F. Kennedy Jr.’s nephew Jack Schlossberg condemned the limited series’ inaccuracies, said the small-screen version of Hannah, played by Ernest Hemingway’s great-grandson Dree Hemingway, “is not an even remotely accurate representation of my life, my actions, or my relationship with John.”
Although the series is based on Elizabeth Beller’s book Once Upon a Time: The Fascinating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Love Story took some liberties in adapting the work. We’re here to analyze the latest episodes to help you decipher fact from fiction.
Did John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette have matching tattoos?
The episode begins with John (Paul Anthony Kelly) and Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon) returning from their honeymoon in Turkey, where the bride enjoyed her honeymoon to the fullest.
“Aren’t you tired of those two weeks?” John asks.
“Yes,” Carolyn replies sarcastically. “The matching tattoos we got were just to let me know that I need some space.”
According to Beller’s book, the real-life newlyweds mentioned the ink to Emile Gavron, an acquaintance they met on their honeymoon.
“Gavron found them both witty and ‘very sweet,'” Beller wrote. “The two exchanged contact information, and when Gavron brought his wife to New York later that year, Carolyn and John invited them to their loft. “They confessed that before leaving Istanbul, they each went to a tattoo artist who had a shamrock placed on their back.”
What did Caroline Kennedy think of Drew Barrymore’s Marilyn Monroe cover?
John argues with his sister, Caroline Kennedy (Grace Gummer), and her husband, Edwin Schlossberg (Ben Shenkman), accusing them of wanting to capitalize on President Kennedy’s legacy. Caroline asked, holding up a copy of the September 1996 issue of John’s George magazine, which featured Drew Barrymore dressed as Marilyn Monroe and singing “Happy Birthday” to John F. Kennedy. (Monroe and Kennedy are widely believed to have had an affair.) The cover commemorated Bill Clinton’s 50th birthday with the words “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.”
“That’s a joke,” John fires back at Caroline in “Love Story.” “Everyone else can make fun of their family lore, so why shouldn’t we make jokes?”
“It’s not funny, John,” Caroline explains. “I’m actually tone-deaf and incredibly embarrassed.”
Kennedy Jr.’s former executive assistant, Rosemary Terenzio, says in her co-authored book, “JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography,” that Caroline Kennedy did not approve of the reenactment.
“Caroline didn’t like that he did that cover, and not only that, but she was mad that he never paid any attention to her,” Terenzio said in the oral history. “John said, ‘Caroline is upset…’ I said I think she was right to be upset, because it affected her directly. I said, ‘It’s her family too.’ And he just looked at me like, You get the point.”
Kennedy Jr. appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in September 1996 and mentioned the cover.
“Two days after we were sold, Bill Clinton turned 50,” Kennedy Jr. explained of the then-president’s milestone. “As an editor, that’s a huge opportunity I can’t afford to miss.”
“I think my family is used to all kinds of controversy,” he added. “So I think in the grand scheme of things, this probably wasn’t that high on the Richter scale.”
Barrymore shared on “JFK Jr.” The entrepreneur said, “I approached it playfully, and he thought I was being playful. I understood that he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, and that’s why I really wanted to do it.”
Did John F. Kennedy Jr. get into a physical fight with George co-founder Michael J. Berman?
In the series, Michael J. Berman (Michael Nathanson) becomes increasingly frustrated with Carolyn’s presence and John’s antics as he tries to use his popularity to save his failing magazine.
In the heat of the argument, John tears up the contract for the television show “George” and throws it in Michael’s face.
“Do you know what it’s like to have someone supporting you 24/7?” asks Michael. “I mean, you can’t do anything by yourself. I had to be your mom and dad.”
John tells Michael to shut up and shoves him away.
“You’re nothing without a name. You’re an object of sympathy with a nice smile,” Michael said, pushing John back.
John decks Michael and the two briefly spar before John kicks Michael out of the office.
According to Once Upon a Time, the pair had their “final breakup” in 1997.
“John barged into Michael’s office, yelled, ‘We’re not doing anything,’ and tried to snatch documents related to a television deal that was on the horizon and had the potential to generate much-needed income,” Beller wrote. “‘I’ll be the editor, but you can be the publisher. That’s what happens.'”
“The two fought over the folder, and in the process, John tore the cuff of Michael’s shirt,” Beller continues. “One Hachette graduate recalled that at one point in the fight, John picked up a pair of scissors and raised them above Michael’s head and had to be restrained by staff.”
Beller said Berman complained that Kennedy Jr.’s personal life affected his work performance. Kennedy Jr. accused Berman of being jealous of how well-liked Bessette was in the office. At one point, “John stormed out of Michael’s office into his own and locked the door.”
“Michael went crazy and ran after John, screaming, ‘Open the door! Open this door!'”
“He tried to pick the lock with a letter opener he had grabbed from a nearby desk, but to no avail… A few days later, John sent an apology along with a new shirt, but Michael never spoke to John again.”
How has the constant media attention affected Carolyn Bessette?
Through several instances in Episode 7, viewers learn how the ever-present paparazzi have shrunk Carolyn’s world. After Carolyn’s job interview, photographers flocked to Ralph Lauren’s offices, people shouted her name on the street, and tabloids were flooded with stories about her mental health.
In “Love Story,” a lost Carolyn confides to her sister Lauren Bessette (Sidney Lemmon), “I impose a circus on anyone who comes within 15 feet of me.” “Where do I go? For as long as I can remember, I feel like I’ve known exactly who I am and what I want. And now I feel like I’m paralyzed. I’m afraid of doing the wrong thing or drawing any more attention to myself.”
In her book, Beller acknowledges that the “content of the press” had descended on Carolyn. After a year of intense media scrutiny, she found it impossible to continue in her former profession and to contribute in any meaningful and explicit way to her husband’s magazine. She found it impossible to contribute meaningfully and openly to her husband’s magazine, and unable to leave the house without being physically chased. Feeling cornered, Carolyn fell into a spiral of worry and anguish.
“‘She felt like a caged animal,’ said (friend) MJ Bettenhausen. ‘The situation got so bad that she was afraid to leave the house.'”
