There are many things to love about the new FX series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette; the performances by Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon as the doomed couple, the carefully curated early ’90s soundtrack, and the respectful exploration of celebrity, love, and societal expectations. Also worthy of adulation is the series’ devotion to recreating 1990s glamour, from the sleek New York offices of Calvin Klein — where Bessette worked before marrying Kennedy — to the chic models and movie stars with whom both Kennedy and Bessette interact.
Show creator Connor Hines (and, ok, executive producer Ryan Murphy, too) deserves credit for his accuracy to the time period, employing spot-on references to ’90s phenomenons like Heather Locklear and Brad Pitt. Other celebrities featured on Love Story are full-fledged characters who drive the narrative forward, including Daryl Hannah, Kate Moss, and Annette Bening. We’ve compiled the most notable celebrity characters and mentions below, leaving out others mentioned only briefly, like Jason Priestley, Keanu Reeves, Michael Jackson, and Saddam Hussein (!). We’re also not including members of the Kennedy and Bouvier families who appear on the show, like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Caroline Kennedy, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Edwin Schlossberg, and Lee Radziwill, since they operate in the family and political spheres rather than Hollywood or fashion.
Mickey Rourke
The 9½ Weeks actor has the honor of being the first celebrity name-dropped in Love Story, when, in 1992, Carolyn Bessette’s co-worker at Calvin Klein humblebrags that she ended up in a ball pit with the actor at legendary ’90s nightclub Tunnel. The Rourke reference informs the audience that Carolyn and her coterie of friends operate on the fringes of America’s elite.
Calvin Klein
Next up is the fashion designer himself (played by Alessandro Nivola), who is first seen getting into an elevator with Bessette. Klein is a major character in the series and a big supporter of Bessette.
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