Sarah Paulson’s full transformation into serial killer Aileen Wuornos has been revealed in the first trailer for Netflix’s “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.”
The 51-year-old actress, Paulson, appears nearly unrecognizable as the “Damsel of Death” in the teaser that dropped Thursday, sporting shaved eyebrows, straggly dirty blond hair, pale skin and rotted teeth to match Wuornos’ weathered appearance. The footage offers the first extended look at how the Emmy winner embodies the convicted murderer in the anthology series’ fourth installment.
“No one really knows what happened that day,” a voice intones at the trailer’s conclusion, before Paulson’s character cuts in with a snarl: “Oh, I f–ing know what happened.”
Series co-creator Ian Brennan praised Paulson’s limited but pivotal appearance, calling it “an unexpected breath of fresh air when Aileen shows up” in the new chapter. “Sarah Paulson’s good in a production of reading the phone book,” he continued. “But she really is something else in this show.”
The season primarily centers on Lizzie Borden, played by Ella Beatty, the notorious accused ax murderer suspected of killing her parents in 1892 Massachusetts but never convicted. Paulson’s Wuornos appears in scenes set decades later, depicted as being inspired by Borden’s story, according to Netflix. The streamer states that Paulson’s character plays a “crucial part in the thematic focus” of the latest “Monster” chapter.
Paulson was first photographed in character on Dec. 18 in Los Angeles, where she was spotted wearing a maroon robe and grey sweatpants while carrying a to-go bag from a local bakery chain. The images showed her with reddish hair and bleached brows, a stark departure from her polished public image.
The “American Horror Story” veteran said in a Dec. 2 interview that she accepted Murphy’s invitation to join the series without having seen a script. “I’m coming on to do a particular thing that I can’t talk about. But I’m always going to be interested in the why of human behavior,” she explained. “If there’s any opportunity for me to get inside something that has been predetermined by society and have a little look at it through my own particular lens, I’m always going to want to do that. Ryan knows that.”
She added that the role allowed her to explore a specific acting approach she favors. “I like having a blueprint and undeniable facts about a character that are not open for my interpretation, because I can sort of have more freedom inside of it,” Paulson said. “You would think it would be the opposite, but it sort of taught me that I like to immerse myself in another person’s experience, in the reality of it.”
Wuornos was convicted of six murders committed between 1989 and 1990 along a central Florida highway and suspected of a seventh killing. The homeless sex worker, dubbed the “Damsel of Death,” died by lethal injection on Oct. 9, 2002, at age 46. Her case has been examined in numerous films and documentaries, most notably the 2003 Oscar-winning film “Monster,” in which Charlize Theron underwent a drastic physical transformation including a 30-pound weight gain and dentures to play the killer.
In the viral moment that launched this casting, Paulson’s involvement was first reported in November 2025, with sources indicating she was nearing a deal for the role. The announcement came just a week after Murphy revealed Paulson would also return for “American Horror Story” Season 13, reuniting her with Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett and Evan Peters. Production on “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” was already underway in Los Angeles at that time.
The season’s main cast includes Beatty as Lizzie, Charlie Hunnam as her father Andrew Borden, Rebecca Hall as stepmother Abby Borden, Billie Lourd as sister Emma Borden, Jessica Barden as actress Nance O’Neill, and Vicky Krieps as maid Bridget Sullivan. Max Winkler directs the first episode.
“Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” will be available to stream on Netflix on Sept. 17.