Sarah Paulson Transforms Into Aileen Wuornos for Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story

Sarah Paulson stands in a room, holding a cigarette, wearing a blue jacket.

Sarah Paulson is almost unrecognisable in her latest collaboration with Ryan Murphy, taking on the role of notorious serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Netflix’s upcoming Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.

The 51-year-old actress makes her first appearance as Wuornos in the newly released trailer for the eight-part crime drama, which arrives on Netflix on September 17.

Paulson has a long history of working with Murphy, appearing in productions including American Horror Story, Ratched and All’s Fair. This time, however, she steps into one of the darkest real-life roles of her career.

Although Wuornos lived nearly a century after the crimes at the centre of the series, her character appears in scenes set decades later and is portrayed as someone influenced by the legacy surrounding Lizzie Borden.

The trailer offers a brief but striking glimpse of that connection. As a voice says, “No one really knows what happened that day,” Wuornos responds bluntly: “Oh, I [expletive] know what happened.”

Who Was Aileen Wuornos?

A woman in a blue dress with blood stains and feathers stands in a dark room.

Wuornos became one of America’s most infamous female serial killers after killing seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990 while working as a sex worker.

She was eventually convicted of six of the killings and was executed by the state of Florida in 2002.

Paulson is far from the first actress to portray Wuornos. Charlize Theron famously underwent a dramatic transformation to play her in Patty Jenkins’ 2003 film Monster, a performance that earned Theron the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Now Paulson is bringing her own interpretation of Wuornos to Ryan Murphy’s anthology series.

Monster Turns Its Attention to Lizzie Borden

Rebecca Hall holds a wine glass, wearing a black dress and necklace, by candlelight.

The central figure in the new season is Lizzie Borden, played by Ella Beatty, known for Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.

Borden was tried and acquitted over the axe murders of her father, Andrew Borden, and stepmother, Abby Borden, in Fall River, Massachusetts.

The series explores Lizzie’s life inside a wealthy New England household marked by repression, humiliation and cruelty, while examining the events surrounding the gruesome killings that transformed her into one of America’s most enduring true-crime figures.

Netflix’s synopsis describes Lizzie and the family’s rebellious maid as women trapped inside a deeply oppressive household who retreat into fantasies involving “sex, power and revenge”.

The murders that follow, according to the synopsis, not only shock the world but help create an icon determined to escape the confines placed around her.

Familiar Ryan Murphy Faces Join the Cast

Ella Beatty leads the ensemble as Lizzie, but the series also reunites Murphy with several performers from his previous productions.

Vicky Krieps plays Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan, the Borden family’s live-in maid. Krieps previously appeared in Monster: The Ed Gein Story and is also known for Phantom Thread.

Charlie Hunnam, another Ed Gein Story cast member, takes on the role of Lizzie’s father, Andrew Borden. Hunnam is also widely known for Sons of Anarchy.

Billie Lourd, who has appeared across multiple seasons of American Horror Story, plays Lizzie’s older sister Emma.

Rebecca Hall stars as Abby Borden, Lizzie’s stepmother, while Jessica Barden portrays Nance O’Neil, a friend of Lizzie’s.

Paulson completes the principal cast as Wuornos, giving the season an unexpected connection between two notorious figures separated by generations.

When Is Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Released?

The new instalment consists of eight episodes and continues Ryan Murphy’s Monster anthology on Netflix.

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story will be available to stream on Netflix from September 17.