15 Things You Didn't Know About AHS Star Lily Rabe
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When it comes to the stars of American Horror Story no list would be complete without the beautiful Lily Rabe. But she’s not in the news as much as some of her co-stars like Evan Peters so fans have been left wondering about her. Until now, that is.
Lily wasn’t new to acting when she landed her first regular TV role in American Horror Story, in fact, she had already been acting for 10 years before she was cast as Nora Montgomery in the first instalment of the anthology horror series: Murder House. From the very season she was a hit and by the time season two was over Lily had become a household name. Cut to 2017 and Lily has appeared in every season of the highly successful series.
In numerous interviews, Lily has expressed her love for American Horror Story. She says working with Ryan Murphy has been a wonderful experience and that it’s really exciting and challenging to play a different character in each season. She appeared at PaleyFest 2013 along with many of her co-stars to talk about AHS and said she can’t imagine a dreamier job than the one she has on AHS. We couldn’t agree more, Lily.
15. She Did Her First Film With Her Mom
Long before Rabe shot to fame in American Horror Story she was just a fledgling actor, looking for experience. Her film debut came in 2001 when she played the part of Tess, along with her mom, Jill Clayburgh, in the comedy Never Again. Unfortunately, the film didn’t do well and received mainly negative reviews. But nevertheless, it was a jumping off point for Lily. Next she did a number of plays and as a result was able to get an Equity Card.
Her break-out performance came when she starred in a Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino in 2011. For this performance, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in Play. Later that year she was cast in the first season of American Horror Story.
14. She’s A Ballet Dancer And Teacher
Lily Rabe didn’t always know that she wanted to be an actress. In fact, she studied dance for ten years first. While she was teaching ballet in an arts program in Connecticut, she was asked by an acting instructor to perform a monologue for the final show. She accepted and performed the monologue from the play Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley. Lily says that while she was performing her speech she realized that she wanted to act. She went on to study acting at Northwestern University and the rest is history.
Watching Rabe perform it’s actually quite obvious from the way that she moves that she is a dancer. There’s a certain controlled grace to the way she walks – check it out next time!
13. She’s A Huge Breaking Bad Fan
Lily says that she loves to unwind with a good show and she recently discovered Breaking Bad. In an interview, she said, “I'm starting to watch Breaking Bad (2008) and my mind is being blown. It's just beyond, beyond, beyond. Bryan Cranston is one of those actors who doesn't shy away from ugliness, the truth, honesty. He's never making a choice where you feel, 'Oh, he's trying to be liked in some way.' And that is always the thing I want to watch."
She’s not alone in her passion, Guinness World Records named Breaking Bad as the highest-rated TV series of all time in 2013. The fifth season of the show scored a Metacritic rating of 99 out of 100 and the show reflects an impressive 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.
12. She Kind Of Sympathized With Aileen Wuornos
In season five of American Horror Story Rabe had quite the assignment. Although she didn’t have a leading part in Hotel she did make a guest appearance in the Halloween episode as none other than the infamous female serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Seeing as how Wuornos had already been portrayed brilliantly by Charlize Theron in Monster it must have been quite an intimidating task.
When asked about this role in an interview Rabe said that she felt her take on Aileen was completely different as she was playing her in the world of AHS. She also expressed a degree of heartbreak for the serial killer because of the difficulties she faced in life but quickly added that she didn’t feel compassion for the actions she took.
11. She Was Cast In The Hunger Games
Fans who can’t get enough of Lily will be sad to know that she almost had a part in one of our favorite movie series – The Hunger Games. Yes that’s right Rabe auditioned and landed the part of Commander Lyme in the last two instalments: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, but due to a scheduling conflict with a previous commitment to Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare in the Park, she had to drop out of the films. She was later replaced by English actress Gwendoline Christie, who made a name for herself playing Lady Brienne in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones.
While Gwendoline was good as Commander Lyme it would have been interesting to see what Rabe could have done with the role. Guess we’ll never know.
10. She Excels At Playing Tortured Characters
Despite her angelic looks Lily excels at playing “tortured” characters and American Horror Story has really helped her showcase her talent. In Murder House she grabbed our attention as Nora Montgomery, the overbearing and harsh wife that drives her doctor husband to commit gruesome acts. She stole the show as Sister Mary Eunice in Asylum as the innocent nun who turns evil when she becomes possessed by the devil. In Coven, she plays the kooky witch Misty Day and in Hotel she appeared as serial killer Aileen Wuornos. In the sixth season, she plays the role of Shelby Miller, a woman haunted by the paranormal. When it comes to haunting characters you can’t go wrong with Lily and we’re sure that her next roles on AHS will be just as interesting!
9. Her Birth Was Announced In Time Magazine
You have to know that life is going to be good when your birth is announced in Time Magazine. Thanks to her well-known parents, Lily enjoyed this honor. Her birth was announced in the Milestone column of Time in the issue dated July 12, 1982. Lily was born on the Upper West Side in New York City on June 29th, 1982 and weighed a healthy 7 pounds and 14 ounces on the day.
The actress grew up in Bedford, New York, which has also been the home of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Blake Lively, Bruce Willis, Ryan Reynolds and even Donald Trump. When she was in the seventh grade, she moved with her family to Lakeville, Connecticut where she attended the prestigious Hotchkiss School.
8. She's One Of Only 3 To Be In Every Season Of AHS
While we can’t confirm whether or not Lily Rabe will return for the next instalment of American Horror Story we can confirm that FX has renewed the horror anthology series for a 7th, 8th and 9th season. But what will the storyline be? Well, if AHS: Roanoke is anything to go by, creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk will keep us guessing until the very last moment. Ryan has teased that the 7th season will continue with the theme of interlinking seasons and that the show will be bringing back some past fan favorites.
Lily is one of only three actors who has appeared in every season of the show, along with Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson. However she has not had starring roles in every season – for example, she only appears in one episode of Freak Show and two episodes of Hotel. All in all, she's appeared in 40 episodes of AHS.
7. Her Role In Coven Was Written Just For Her
Rabe’s performance in the second season of American Horror Story blew people away. In fact, she was even nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries for her portrayal of the demon possessed Sister Mary Eunice. That’s why when it came to the third instalment of the horror series, co-creator Ryan Murphy wrote a part especially for her. That role was Misty Day, the witch with the power of resurgence.
The role of the ethereal, soft spoken, but deadly witch, Misty Day, was perfect for Rabe and gave her a platform to really show off her acting range. Many fans agree that she was the underrated star of AHS: Coven and were disappointed when she disintegrated into ash and was not able to regenerate and become the next Supreme.
6. Her Dating History (Or Lack Thereof…)
So here’s a weird thing – before she revealed that she was dating Hamish Linklater in 2014, Lily had not been linked romantically to anyone. Of course, this isn’t possible unless you believe that she had her first boyfriend at the age of 31. Perhaps she’s been dating Hamish for even longer than 3 years, but no one knows for sure. While this may be the work of an exceptional publicist, it’s probably not true. Lily must have dated in the past, but the information about this is nowhere to be found, which is pretty unusual for an actress of her status. Whatever the reason she’s doing a pretty good job of keeping us focused on the incredible work she’s doing and not what she’s getting up to in her personal life.
5. Her Other Movie And TV Roles
While most of us immediately think of American Horror Story when we think of Lily, she actually has an impressive list of credits for her work in TV, film, and stage.
Before she landed her first regular TV role in AHS Lily appeared as a guest star on numerous episodes of Law and Order, Medium, The Good Wife and Nip/Tuck. She’s appeared in movies such as Mona Lisa Smile, What Just Happened and more recently Pawn Sacrifice and The Veil. The Veil is a supernatural horror film, which stars Lily alongside Jessica Alba and Thomas Jane. Check it out if you haven’t done so already!
And between all this, she’s still found time for her first love: stage acting. Impressive Lily – tell us how you do it all?
4. She’s Expecting Her First Child
Did you know that Rabe is pregnant? The 34-year-old actress showed off her baby bump while walking the red carpet at the 2016 Kennedy Center Honors with her long-term boyfriend Hamish Linklater in late 2016. This will be Lily’s first child, but Hamish’s second. Hamish, an American actor, was previously married to playwright Jessica Goldberg and they have a nine-year-old daughter.
Lily and Hamish (40) have been dating for several years and have starred together on stage and in films. You can watch them together in the 2013 drama Redemption Trail. He’s also had roles in Battleship and Fantastic Four.
As Lily comes from a family of artists, actors and playwrights it’s almost certain that her future son or daughter will follow in her footsteps. And with all those talented genes, well... they couldn’t go wrong.
3. Her Star Mom
Lily is the daughter of playwright David Rabe and actress Jill Clayburgh so it’s safe to say that she was born with acting in her blood. But Lily says that although she was exposed to acting and performing from a young age, she never felt that her parents pushed her in a certain direction. Rather they just allowed her to see all the possibilities available to her. If only we were all so lucky!
Her mom was a well-respected actress in her own right. Although she never enjoyed the mainstream success that Lily has, she racked up an impressive filmography during her career including performances in movies like Bridesmaids, Running With Scissors, and Fools Rush In. Jill suffered from chronic lymphocytic leukemia for more than 20 years and died in 2010.
2. She Freaked Out Over Stevie Nicks For Real
In AHS: Coven Lily plays Misty Day, a witch obsessed with the music of Stevie Nicks. Luckily, there wasn’t much need for acting on that front because Lily is a huge fan of the songstress in real life too. Nicks made a cameo appearance on the series in the 10th episode of AHS: Coven.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Lily was asked what it felt like to meet and get to work with Stevie. This is what she said, “Leading up to it, I did all these interviews. I was in such a white hot panic that I wasn't going to be able to keep my head together. But talking about it and having to answer questions made me amazingly relaxed. Stevie has the most incredible energy and she's just so warm, so within five minutes I felt like I'd known her for a really long time. There was an enormous amount of ease. And another thing – I got to have such a freak-out as Misty Day that, as Lily, I was able to keep it together.”
1. Her Latest Movie
There’s still a long wait before AHS Season 7 hits our screens, but you’ll be able to see Lily in a new movie soon. The film's name is Golden Exits and it’s an American-Greek film written and directed by Alex Ross Perry. You may remember Alex as the writer and director behind the 2015 thriller Queen of Earth.
Golden Exits – which has just recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival – is a drama which tells the story of two families from Brooklyn whose lives become unbalanced when a young foreign girl comes to spend time with them. So far the movie is enjoying good reviews with Vanity Fair calling it a “compelling portrait of privileged misery”. As well as Lily the cast also includes Beastie Boys' Adam Horowitz, Emily Browning, Mary Louise Parker, and another former AHS cast member Chloë Sevigny.
Sources: imdb.com, popsugar.com, youtube.com, rollingstone.com, vanityfair.com
