How She Followed Her Parents’ Footsteps in Acting

 

Who is Lily Rabe?

Lily Rabe is an American stage, television, and film actress, perhaps best recognized for her multiple roles in the anthology horror series “American Horror Story” (2011-2021), among numerous other popular roles that she has had in her career.

Lily Rabe Wiki: Age, Childhood, and Education

Lily Rabe was born on 29 June 1982, in New York City, US the daughter of playwright David Rabe, and actress Jill Clayburghctress. She’s the older of two children, and has a younger brother Michael, who is now an actor and playwright. Moreover, she has an older half-brother on her father’s side, Jason, a musician.

She grew up in Bedford, New York State, then moved with the family to Lakeville, Connecticut in seventh grade, and attended Hotchkiss School.

Lily attended dance lessons for a decade, and taught ballet at a summer arts program in Connecticut; the program’s acting instructor asked her if she would join in and perform a monologue in the final production of the play “Crimes of the Hearth”. After saying yes and performing, Lily realized that acting was her calling, and enrolled at Northwestern University from which she graduated in 2004.

Career Beginnings

Lily Rabe made her acting debut as Tess in the romantic comedy-drama film “Never Again”, directed by Eric Schaeffer, and starring Jeffrey Tambor, Jill Clayburgh and Caroline Aaron, among others.

Two years later, she had a minor role in the film “Mona Lisa Smile”, with Julia Roberts in the lead role and directed by Mike Newell.

She continued her career with a few one-time appearances in such TV series as “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (2005), and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” in 2006.

In 2007, she played the role of Bernadette in the romantic comedy-drama film “No Reservations”, which follows the story of a successful chef played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is forced to take care of her niece, played by Abigail Breslin, after her sister dies in a car accident.

The following year, Lily played Dawn in the comedy-drama film “What Just Happened”, which takes a satirical look at the inner workings of the Hollywood film industry. Robert De Niro plays a struggling movie producer who’s trying to navigate the ups and downs of his personal and professional life, co-starring Sean Penn and Catherine Keener.

Rise to Prominence

In 2010, Rabe starred as Deborah Lehrman in the mystery-drama film “All Good Things”, based on the real-life story of a wealthy young man named Robert Durst, who is suspected of being involved in the disappearance of his wife. Rabe’s character, Deborah Lehrman, is a close friend of the missing wife who becomes involved in the investigation of her disappearance, starring Ryan Gosling.

‘American Horror Story Success’

In 2011, Lily Rabe was cast as Nora Montgomery in “American Horror Story: Murder House” through her connection to the show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, with whom she’d previously worked on the Broadway production of “The Merchant of Venice”, and had been impressed by her acting skills. Nora Montgomery is a significant character in the first season of “American Horror Story” and appears in seven episodes, as the ghost of a woman who died in the house in 1926, along with her husband and child, and is trapped in the house as a result of her past actions. Rabe’s portrayal of Nora received critical acclaim, and the character became popular with fans of the show.

The success of her performance led to her returning in later seasons of the show, playing different characters in each one. In the 2012-2013 season of “American Horror Story: Asylum” Lily Rabe portrayed the role of Sister Mary Eunice McKee, starring in ten episodes of the season, which was set in 1964 and revolved around the story of the staff and patients of Briarcliff Mental Institution, a Catholic-run asylum in Massachusetts. Rabe’s portrayal of Sister Mary Eunice received widespread critical acclaim and was considered one of the standout performances of the season. Her co-stars included Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Zachary Quinto, and others.

In the 2013-2014 season of “American Horror Story: Coven”, Lily Rabe portrayed the role of Misty Day, a witch who has the power of resurgence, and was about a coven of witches in New Orleans fighting for survival and supremacy. Her co-stars included Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Emma Roberts and Kathy Bates.

In the 2014 season of “American Horror Story: Freak Show” Lily Rabe returned to reprise her role as Sister Mary Eunice McKee in one episode, “Orphans” which was a crossover episode featuring characters from “Asylum” and “Freak Show”. The season was set in 1952 and focused on the last freak show in Jupiter, Florida, and starred Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Kathy Bates.

Next, In the 2015-2016 season of “American Horror Story: Hotel”, Lily portrayed the real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in two episodes, and in the 2016 season of “American Horror Story: Roanoke”, she played the role of Shelby Miller in all ten episodes, which was a found-footage-style season about a couple who moved into a haunted house in North Carolina, and starred Sarah Paulson, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Kathy Bates.

Then, in the 2018 season of “American Horror Story: Apocalypse”, Rabe reprised her role as Misty Day in two episodes, which was a crossover season featuring characters from previous seasons of the show.

She continued with her work on “American Horror Story” with the 2019 season of “American Horror Story: 1984”, playing the role of Lavinia Richter in three episodes, which was a slasher-themed season set in a summer camp in 1984, and starred Emma Roberts, Cody Fern and Billie Lourd.

She concluded her appearance on the series in 2021, with the “American Horror Story: Double Feature” season. Lily played the role of Doris Gardner in four episodes of the first part, “Red Tide”, which is set in a coastal town and focuses on a writer’s obsession with a mysterious woman, and in two episodes of the second part, “Death Valley”, she portrayed Amelia Earhart, the famous aviator who disappeared in 1937. The season starred Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Finn Wittrock, and Macaulay Culkin.

Other Projects and Further Success

Through working on “American Horror Story”, Rabe became a Hollywood star, which opened many doors for her.

In 2011, she starred as Sarah in the film “Letters from the Big Man”, directed by Christopher Munch, while in the 2012 movie “Redemption Trail”, Lily portrayed the role of Anna Cole, a woman who seeks refuge in the wilderness after a tragic event, and befriends a Native American woman, played by LisaGay Hamilton, on her journey of self-discovery.

Three years later, she starred in the biographical drama film “Pawn Sacrifice” as Joan Fischer the sister of chess prodigy Bobby Fischer. The film depicted his rise to fame and eventual mental breakdown during the 1972 World Chess Championship, and also starred Tobey Maguire, Liev Schreiber, and Peter Sarsgaard.

Rabe played the role of Rachel Stevens, a high school teacher who chaperones a group of students to a drama competition in the 2016 movie “Miss Stevens”, which explored the relationships and struggles of the students, and also starred Timothée Chalamet and Lili Reinhart.

Before he became ubiquitous, Timothée Chalamet starred in a lovely little film, Julia Hart’s MISS STEVENS with Lily Rabe. A sincere, character-driven story about an English teacher and her students on a trip. pic.twitter.com/frD0ODHWN9

— Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film) October 25, 2021

The following year, Lily played the role of Helena in the film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, directed by Casey Wilder Mott.

Two years later, Rabe portrayed the role of Joanne Monroe, the wife of a man who becomes convinced that the hospital where his injured wife and daughter are being treated is hiding something, in the film “Fractured”, directed by Brad Anderson and also starring Sam Worthington and Stephen Tobolowsky.

Lily is currently working on several projects, including the TV mini-series “Love and Death”, scheduled to premiere late in 2023, and will star in the film “Downtown Owl”.

On-Stage Career

In addition to her successful on-screen career, Lily has had a few notable on-stage appearances. She made her debut as Jenna Bradley in 2005, in the play “Colder Than Here”, and the same year she was Annelle Dupuy-Desoto in the play “Steel Magnolias”.

From 2010 to 2011, she was Portia in the play “The Merchant of Venice” and since then, has also starred as Miss Julie in the play of the same name, while in 2014, she was Beatrice in the play “Much Ado About Nothing”. Her latest theater role was as Imogen in the play “Cymbeline” in 2015

Net Worth

According to sources, Lily Rabe’s net worth is estimated at $2 million as of early 2023.

Personal Life, Dating, Married, Husband, Children

Lily isn’t married, but has been in a romantic relationship with actor and playwright Hamish Linklater since 2013. The couple has three children together.

Appearance and Body Measurements

Lily Rabe has blonde hair and brown eyes. She stands at a height of 5ft 8ins (1.73m), while she weighs approximately 135lbs (61kgs). Her vital statistics are 36-26-35, and her bra size is 34B.