American actress Sarah Paulson was BOTD in 1974. Born in Tampa, Florida, she moved with her mother to New York City as a child, and studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She began her career in theatre, appearing in supporting roles in independent films, before finding a wider audience in Ryan Murphy‘s TV anthology series American Horror Story. Known for playing frosty, difficult characters, she turned heads in Netflix series Ratched, an origin story of the evil nurse in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; broadcaster Nicolle Wallace in Game Change, a biopic about the rise and fall of Governor Sarah Palin; and reunited with Murphy to play prosecutor Marcia Clark in The People vs OJ Simpson and Monica Lewinsky’s betrayer Linda Tripp in Impeachment. She also appeared in Mrs America as a conservative housewife fighting to defeat the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment. Her filmography includes vivid supporting performances as a slaveowner’s vengeful wife in Steve McQueen‘s Oscar-winning slavery drama 12 Years a Slave; a plaid suit-wearing lesbian in Todd Haynes‘ love story Carol, based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel; and the co-leader of an all-female heist operation in Hollywood crime caper Ocean’s 8. Describing her sexuality as “a fluid situation”, she has had relationships with men and women, including playwright Tracy Letts and actress Cherry Jones. She has been in a relationship with actress Holland Taylor since 2015, who is 31 years her senior.