The Untold Truth Of Lily Rabe

Lily Rabe studied acting at Northwestern University, made her name on the stage in plays by Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw, and picked up a Tony Award nomination for her role as Shakespeare's greatest heroine, Portia, in "The Merchant of Venice." But she's now best known for scaring the living daylights out of viewers, or having the living daylights scared out of her, in Ryan Murphy's ever-expanding anthology series "American Horror Story."

But despite consistently rivaling fellow regular Sarah Paulson as the show's MVP — standout performances include possessed nun Sister Mary Eunice in "Asylum" and free-spirited hippie Misty Day in "Coven" — not much is known about the actor herself.

Indeed, although she's not averse to the odd high-profile interview, she very much prefers to let her considerable talents do most of the talking. From her famous parents to fashion interests to fitness routines, here's a look at Lily Rabe's untold truth.

With her tendency to choose hard-hitting roles, Lily Rabe hasn't been given many opportunities on screen to prove she can bust a move. But you could say that the star literally pirouetted into the world of acting.

It all started when, as the "Miss Stevens" star recounted to TDF, an acting instructor at the summer arts program where she taught ballet "gave me this pile of monologues." This sparked something of an epiphany. "It was that moment, performing that monologue, that made me think, 'Maybe this is what I wanna do,'" she told the outlet.

Rabe had previously spent ten years studying dance, with ballet being her particular forte. The Tony Award nominee told Harper's Bazaar in 2021 that her parents were always hugely supportive of her first love, often taking her to ballet productions in Manhattan as a youngster: "If anything, they were pushing me against doing what they did, not funneling me into the family business. That was not the way they felt about it. But certainly, I grew up watching two people loving what they were doing. That gets in there in a cellular way."

Lily Rabe was all set to take on the most high-profile gig of her career when she landed the role of Commander Lyme in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2." But if you've seen the dystopian drama you'll know that "Game of Thrones" favorite Gwendoline Christie played the rebel leader instead. So was there some major behind-the-scenes drama that prompted this sudden casting change?

Well, not really. Six years later, Rabe explained to Collider that it was a simple scheduling conflict which forced her to pull out of the young adult franchise. The actor had planned to star alongside her husband Hamish Linklater in a production of "Much Ado About Nothing" once filming had rolled. However, when "The Hunger Games" shoot got delayed, the two projects ended up clashing and Rabe was forced to choose between them.

The Tony Award nominee explained that the decision was a no-brainer: "It wasn't even really a battle. It was just, 'Oh, this no longer works out and I have made this commitment to do "Much Ado."' And "The Hunger Games" side ... they were all completely aware of it and they so understood my choice and were so supportive. So there was really no drama." Indeed, Rabe still expresses regret that she never got the chance to show up in the post-apocalyptic world of Panem.

Lily Rabe is only following one other user on Instagram — fellow actor, husband and father of her kids Hamish Linklater. Now that may be a deliberate curatorial choice. On the other hand, maybe the star simply hasn't figured out how to follow anyone else.

In a 2021 chat with Schön, Rabe admitted that her social media skills leave a little to be desired: "I'm limited in that department — it took me a while to even figure out how to get to the comments or the direct messages or whatever. My stepdaughter still helps me."

The Northwestern University graduate might not be completely au fait with likes, shares, and retweets. But she still appreciates how they help to connect viewers with her work, particularly when it comes to speculation about upcoming plots. Referring to her stint in HBO's twisty crime thriller "The Undoing," Rabe said, "I was already so blown away by the series, and I loved that I got to watch the show unfold on social media platforms as people watched it. I had a lot of people screenshotting things and sending me links to all of these theories, and then I was apologized to by a lot of social media when we found out who was guilty."

Lily Rabe might have an Instagram account — albeit one largely handled by her stepdaughter. But unlike many of her fellow "American Horror Story" regulars, she prefers to stay out of the limelight when not working.

Indeed, the former dance prodigy appears to have taken cues from her famous parents — David Rabe and Jill Clayburgh — both of whom let their creative output do the talking. In 2021, she told IndieWire, "I love being alone. Staying home for a long period of time [for me] is not [difficult]. My work has always been my way to be social. With everything I do, whether it's theater, or film, or television, playing a role is a wonderful way for me to feel less private. That's what I want to share, the roles that I'm playing, rather than myself."

The "Love and Death" star also believes that it's much easier for audiences to invest in a character if they know as little as possible about the actor playing them. She added, "We project our hopes and our desires on to what we're watching on the screen. The less context I have for that person — I always personally enjoy that."

For many actors, having to conduct all promotional activities during the pandemic on Zoom was something of a godsend. Not only could they answer every generic question about their latest project from the comfort of their own home, they could also throw on their favorite pair of sweatpants while doing so.

But as a keen follower of fashion, Lily Rabe still prepared for all the buffering, sudden disconnects and grainy video quality in the way she would a red carpet premiere. "The First Lady" star explained to Vogue, "I scrapped the idea of thinking about [virtual press] as limiting, or that it's only waist-up, and just chose pieces I would wear if I were doing press in person. Fashion lights me up and is such an integral part of doing press — why short shrift any of it just because we are in front of screens for the time being?"

Rabe even roped in Jessica Paster, her regular stylist, to help pull looks from the likes of Maison Mayle, The Vampire's Wife and Khaite. And their efforts sure were appreciated. "The end result was one of the fiercest press tour wardrobes of 2020, proving a digital experience can still be entirely fabulous," the same style bible gushed about her commitment to fashion.

When French director Houda Benyamina revealed that she wanted the character of Emma in "Tell Me Your Secrets" to be ripped, as Lily Rabe said in Shape, "like Brad Pitt in 'Fight Club,'" the actor understandably went into a bit of a panic. But only for a second. Proving how committed she is to her craft, Rabe then declared she'd "work out every single day" until shooting began.

Rabe subsequently began training with celebrity fitness guru Johnny Fontana and in the space of just six months developed the kind of physique that Tyler Durden would be proud of. "She looked like somebody who could beat you up," Fontana told Shape in a piece about her torturous-sounding routines, a no-nonsense regimen that included things like deadlifts and battle ropes.

It doesn't sound like much fun, but Rabe insists that she found the process of getting ripped enjoyable, telling the same site, "I had such newfound respect for my body and what it was capable of doing." And "The Wizard of Lies" actor has continued to persevere with all the grueling exercises since the Amazon drama wrapped, although she's finding it a little tougher without Fontana offering motivation: "I haven't quite mastered the workout from home thing, but I'm trying. I'm such a loner by nature, but I'm used to that gym energy, that's what I thrive on."

One of Lily Rabe's most memorable "American Horror Story" characters is Misty Day, the swamp-dwelling witch in third season "Coven" who has an obsession with Stevie Nicks. And it turns out that the actor herself has a similar love of the Fleetwood Mac veteran.

When asked about the prospect of ever meeting her musical hero by Entertainment Weekly in 2013, Rabe admitted, "I actually think I might die on the spot. I know Ryan [Murphy] has been in touch with her and there are emails going around. I think I actually might just black out and die. I don't get that crazy about a lot of people. I'm usually pretty cool, calm, and collected. But I don't know if I could behave properly. I love her so much. She's just a beautiful creature."

Rabe did end up coming face to face with Nicks when the "Edge of Seventeen" singer wandered into Miss Robichaux's Academy for a sing-song as the incredibly convoluted storyline wrapped up. Luckily, the "AHS" veteran didn't perish on the spot during filming, although Nicks told the same site a year later that there was still a lot of fangirling going on: "She did faint about 700 times when we were doing that one scene! I was afraid she was going to have to go to the hospital. She's really a lovely girl, and she does love my music. Every time I'd play a specific song, she would start to cry." Watch out for the landslide of tears.