{"id":3063,"date":"2026-06-06T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/2026\/06\/06\/grace-gummer-on-her-emotional-love-story-finale-and-criticism-from-caroline-kennedys-son-jack-schlossberg\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T18:00:00","slug":"grace-gummer-on-her-emotional-love-story-finale-and-criticism-from-caroline-kennedys-son-jack-schlossberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/2026\/06\/06\/grace-gummer-on-her-emotional-love-story-finale-and-criticism-from-caroline-kennedys-son-jack-schlossberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace Gummer on Her Emotional \u2018Love Story\u2019 Finale and Criticism From Caroline Kennedy\u2019s Son Jack Schlossberg"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\t \t \t\t<\/svg>\t\tLogo text<\/span> \t<\/a> <\/p>\n

\tGrace Gummer<\/a> had a competing offer for another show when Ryan Murphy stepped in and persuaded her to join his series chronicling the tragic romance between America\u2019s prince, John F. Kennedy Jr. (Paul Anthony Kelly), and Carolyn Bessette (Sarah Pidgeon).<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHe called me and was like, \u2018What is this other show you\u2019re doing? Why don\u2019t you do our show? I promise, it\u2019s going to be amazing,’\u201d Gummer recalls. \u201cHe\u2019s very, very direct; he knows what he wants, and he\u2019s decisive and smart as hell. So I trust him.\u201d <\/p>\n

\tThe collaboration was hardly new territory, as the 40-year-old actress had worked with Murphy on American Horror Story: Coven<\/em>, American Horror Story: Freak Show<\/em> and, most recently, the first season of All\u2019s Fair, <\/em>opposite Kim Kardashian. Still, Love Story<\/a><\/em>, from creator Connor Hines, presented what Gummer describes as one of her greatest challenges yet. \t<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI think being the age that I am and having lived through what I\u2019ve lived through put me in the best possible position to explore a character like Caroline Kennedy and to give all that I could to honor her with, I only hope, dignity and respect,\u201d says Gummer, who knows a bit about being born into a famous family as the daughter of three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep and sculptor Don Gummer and the sister of fellow actresses Mamie Gummer (We Were Liars<\/em>) and Louisa Jacobson (The Gilded Age<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\tAs the sister of JFK Jr. and the daughter of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy \u2014 played by Naomi Watts in the FX series \u2014 Caroline Kennedy long has occupied a place in American public life. As an adult, she carved out her own legacy through politics and public service, serving as U.S. ambassador to both Japan and Australia, among other leadership roles. \t<\/p>\n

\tThough Caroline remains a relatively minor figure for much of the season, Gummer\u2019s portrayal crescendos in the series finale<\/a>, when she learns of the July 16, 1999, plane crash that claimed the lives of John, Carolyn and her sister Lauren (Sydney Lemmon) and collapses under the weight of grief. \u201cPlease don\u2019t do this to me, I can\u2019t do it again,\u201d she cries, referencing the deaths of her father, mother and uncle, Robert F. Kennedy, as she breaks down in the arms of her husband, Ed Schlossberg (Ben Shenkman).<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>

\t \t\t\t\t\tPaul Anthony Kelly and Grace Gummer as John F. Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Kennedy in Love Story.<\/em><\/span> \t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEric Liebowitz\/FX<\/cite> \t\t\t\t\t \t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\u201cYou have to sort of search within yourself in a very deep way, emotionally,\u201d Gummer says of preparing for the scene<\/a>. \u201cTechnicality is really important to me as an actor. Knowing the lines was, first and foremost, my center and my mark within the scene. I made sure that I knew all the beats because a lot of the words were repeated, but they were all said in different ways. So I really tried to make sure that I knew what I was saying when I was saying it so that I wouldn\u2019t have to think of any of that.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cSecondly, I really let myself go,\u201d she continues. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I left behind, physically or emotionally. I let myself be completely open and vulnerable. And, to be honest, I try to imagine what it\u2019s like to lose someone you love, and it\u2019s unimaginable, but I tried to do my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe scene required roughly 10 takes, and director Anthony Hemingway, who also worked with Gummer on American Horror Story: Freak Show<\/em> and All\u2019s Fair,<\/em> pushed her to keep going, even as the emotional toll mounted. \t<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHe said, \u2018Just go again. Go again. I know you have it in you,’\u201d she recalls. \u201cBy the eighth take, I was like, \u2018I actually don\u2019t know how many more of these I can put myself through,\u2019 but I think we ended up using one of the last takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tGummer\u2019s performance quickly emerged as a standout with critics, early Emmy predictions<\/a> placing her among the frontrunners for best supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI\u2019m very lucky. I think that my work speaks for itself, and the fact that it\u2019s stirred up this emotion and elicited this feeling in people\u2019s hearts around the world \u2014 I mean, that\u2019s my job as an artist. So if I\u2019m doing that, then I feel like I\u2019m doing something right,\u201d says Gummer. \u201cI\u2019m proud of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHer family is, too. \u201cMy whole family called me crying \u2014 each individually,\u201d she says of their reactions to the finale. \u201cThey all had something wonderful to say about my performance, so that was really lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tNot everyone shares that same enthusiasm, however. Jack Schlossberg<\/a>, Caroline Kennedy\u2019s son, publicly criticized Love Story<\/em> during an appearance on Next Question With Katie Couric <\/em>in April, saying he showed his mother a clip of Gummer\u2019s portrayal that elicited a rather peculiar response.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe person [she depicted] was freaking out, and we\u2019re just laughing so hard, as if that\u2019s how my mom acts,\u201d he said, adding of the series, \u201cKeep in mind, it might be entertaining, but it\u2019s fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tGummer understands the reaction to a degree but remains unfazed. \t<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAll I can say is, I really can\u2019t imagine what it\u2019s like to see your life portrayed onscreen. My goal was to play her with honesty and compassion and delicacy,\u201d she says. \u201cI have an immense amount of respect for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tGummer adds that no one in the Kennedy family has reached out directly, but if she ever had the chance to speak with Caroline, she knows exactly how she\u2019d approach it: \u201cI would let her speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThis story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Logo text Grace Gummer had a competing offer for another show when Ryan Murphy stepped in and persuaded her to join his series chronicling the tragic romance between America\u2019s prince, John F. Kennedy Jr. (Paul Anthony Kelly), and Carolyn Bessette (Sarah Pidgeon). \u201cHe called me and was like, \u2018What is this other show you\u2019re doing? Why don\u2019t you do our show? I promise, it\u2019s going to be amazing,’\u201d Gummer recalls. \u201cHe\u2019s very, very direct; he knows what he wants, and he\u2019s decisive and smart as hell. So I trust him.\u201d The collaboration was hardly new territory, as the 40-year-old actress had worked with Murphy on American Horror Story: Coven, American […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[190,1589,1590,1821,2,1822,1599,85,335],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awards","category-emmy-awards","category-emmys-2026","category-grace-gummer","category-hollywood","category-jack-schlossberg","category-love-story","category-tv","category-tv-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}