How the Love Story Cast Compares to Real Kennedy Family: JFK Jr, More

FX’s Love Story brings John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette‘s tragic romance to life — but how does the cast compare to their real-life counterparts?

Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, which premiered Thursday, February 12, is a limited series that explores the “undeniable chemistry, whirlwind courtship and high-profile marriage of one of the most iconic couples of the 20th century,” according to the synopsis.

The FX series is the first installment in Ryan Murphy’s Love Story anthology and is inspired by Elizabeth Beller’s book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. Sarah Pidgeon plays Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, while Paul Kelly portrays John F. Kennedy Jr.

“It was a love story that captured the attention of the nation: John F. Kennedy Jr. was the closest thing to American royalty. The country watched him grow from a boy to a beloved bachelor and media sensation. Bessette was a star in her own right,” the synopsis continues.

In real life, JFK Jr. and Bessette met in the early 1990s and got married in 1996. They died three years later in 1999 in a plane crash off the coast of Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

While speaking with Variety in September 2024, executive producer Brad Simpson said, “It is a story that really resonates right now. It’s amazing. A lot of younger women are looking to her as sort of a representational icon of a certain period of time that’s really fascinating, and hopefully, we’ll be able to bring that to the screen soon.”

Keep scrolling to see the difference between the Kennedy family and the Love Story cast: