Lily Rabe is an American actress best known for the multiple characters she has portrayed on the FX series “American Horror Story.” Her talents have landed her roles in television, film, and on stage. In particular, her performance as Portia in the Broadway production of “The Merchant of Venice” earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Rabe was born on New York City's Upper West Side to an influential family in the entertainment industry. Her father is playwright David Rabe and her mother is actress Jill Clayburgh. Initially, Rabe had a passion for dance, having studied for ten years, and taught ballet at a summer arts program in Connecticut. The arts program’s acting instructor asked her to perform a monologue in the final production and Rabe found her true calling. She then attended Northwestern University to study acting, graduating in 2004.
Rabe’s big screen debut was opposite her mother in the film “Never Again.” Her professional stage debut came a year later, again opposite her mother, at the Gloucester Stage Company with appearances in “Speaking Well of the Dead” by Israel Horovitz and “The Crazy Girl” by Frank Pugliese. Other stage appearances include “Proof” by David Auburn, “White Jesus” by Deirdre O'Connor, “Steel Magnolias” by Robert Harling (for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award), and “Heartbreak House” by George Bernard Shaw.
August 2011 would see Rabe land her first regular role in the first six seasons of “American Horror Story,” where would portray the characters of Nora Montgomery, Sister Mary Eunice McKee, Misty Day, Aileen Wuornos, and Shelby Miller. She was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Television Award for the Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries for her performance in the second season. In 2019, for the ninth season of the show, Rabe returned in the recurring role of Lavinia Richter. In the tenth season of American Horror Story, she stars as Doris Gardner in the first half of the season, and as Amelia Earhart in the second.
Rabe has also had roles in more than 20 films, including “Mona Lisa Smile,” “No Reservations,” “All Good Things,” “Fractured,” and “The Tender Bar.”