Inside Jessica Lange's Love Life
Actor Jessica Lange has had a long and successful career throughout her decades spent in Hollywood. Although Lange saw a resurgence with a younger fanbase after starring in various roles during different seasons of "American Horror Story," she was already established well before the show's creator Ryan Murphy cast her. Lange made her acting debut in 1976's "King Kong," before going on to win several awards for parts in "Tootsie" and "Blue Sky."
Still, the Murphy-created anthology has been a big part of her career in recent years and she's spoken about how much she's enjoyed the various characters she's played. "Well, probably my favorite character of the four seasons was Elsa in 'Freak Show.' I just loved her. Again, I didn't watch it, so I can't compare the finished product with the other seasons. But the doing of it—there was something magical for me in that season," Lange told Deadline about her "AHS" role.
Outside of the silver screen, Lange's love life was filled with twists and turns. Between several children and various affairs, the details are just as dramatic as a film would be. Here's a look inside Lange's relationships throughout the decades.
Jessica Lange was a longtime partner to Sam Shepard
"American Horror Story" actor Jessica Lange was in a romantic relationship with playwright Sam Shepard long before she was cast in the series. The couple began dating in 1982, according to People. They never officially tied the knot, but would go on to have two children together: Hannah and Samuel. However, they permanently separated in 2009.
A year after their relationship ended, Shepard spoke kindly about Lange in a profile with The Guardian. "I'd never met anybody like her. She was astounding. One of the great things about her, aside from her natural beauty, which was remarkable, was her humbleness," he said. "Yeah, well, we're definitely an incredible match. But, you know, not without fireworks ... although at this point, you know, she's the only woman I could live with. Who could live with me! What other woman would put up with me?"
During a 2017 interview with AARP, Lange briefly reflected on her relationship with Shepard after his death had been announced. "I wouldn't call Sammy easygoing and funny, but everybody has their dark side, and he always does it with a sense of humor," she said.
Jessica Lange and Mikhail Baryshnikov both had affairs
During the 1970s, actor Jessica Lange and choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov had a free-flowing relationship. Although the two had a daughter, Shura, both were engaged in affairs with other people — Lange with writer Sam Shepard and Baryshnikov with ballerina Lisa Rinehart, according to a 1991 Vanity Fair profile.
"All the stuff Misha and I had done before, having affairs — he'd had his share, much more so than I — was very European. You're with somebody, want to sleep with somebody else or have some kind of minor dalliance or whatever ... that's acceptable as long as you know where home is, who your partner is," she told the publication. "The fact that he or I was having an affair didn't alter our relationship. We were still together."
However, while their respective affairs initially didn't lead to Splitsville, Lange and Baryshnikov eventually called it quits. So, what led to that breakup? "When I called Misha and said I was living with somebody else, that was the ultimate betrayal," Lange explained to VF. "He just hung up the phone and we didn't speak again for two years. It was a painful situation for all of us. I would never want to go through that again." That definitely sounds like a rocky situation for all involved.