Lizzie Borden’s real-life sister Emma has been misrepresented in Netflix’s latest Ryan Murphy drama, with the series inventing a rift that never existed during the most critical years of their lives.
Emma Borden, born in 1851, was the eldest of three sisters. Alice arrived in 1856 and Lizzie followed in 1860, but Alice died at age two, leaving Emma as Lizzie’s only surviving sibling. Their mother died suddenly in 1863, and Emma made a promise to care for her younger sister.
Their father Andrew Borden remarried in 1866, wedding Abby Durfee Gray. Both Emma and Lizzie remained unmarried and financially dependent on their wealthy father, living together in Fall River, Massachusetts.
In “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story,” Emma, portrayed by Billie Lourd, does not appear until the second episode. The series suggests she did not live in the family home, yet historical records confirm she resided there alongside Lizzie, Andrew, and Abby. On August 4, 1892, the day of the murders, Emma happened to be visiting friends in Fairhaven, giving her a solid alibi that removed her from suspicion entirely.
Lizzie was arrested on August 11, 1892, just days after Andrew and Abby were brutally killed. While the Netflix drama shows Emma accusing Lizzie of the murders and calling her “a monster,” the historical record tells a starkly different story about Emma’s actual response.
During Lizzie’s trial, Emma stayed by her side and actively supported her defense. This loyalty continued after Lizzie’s acquittal, when the two sisters moved in together and maintained their close bond.
The series depicts Emma visiting Lizzie behind bars and remaining unconvinced of her innocence. In reality, their relationship only fractured in 1905, more than a decade after the trial, when Emma moved out following a disagreement with her younger sister. The two never spoke again.
Emma addressed the split publicly years later, speaking to the Boston Sunday Herald in 1913. “The happenings at the French Street house that caused me to leave I must refuse to talk about,” she stated. “I did not go until conditions became absolutely unbearable.”
The 1905 rupture stands in sharp contrast to the Netflix portrayal, which compresses and invents hostility between the sisters during the murder and trial period when Emma was actually Lizzie’s most steadfast ally.
The Borden murders remain one of America’s most infamous unsolved cases. Andrew and Abby Borden were found hacked to death in their Fall River home, with Lizzie emerging as the prime suspect due to her presence in the house and inconsistent statements to police. Her trial captivated the nation and ended with a not-guilty verdict, though public suspicion followed her until her death in 1927. Emma died in 1927 as well, just days after her estranged sister.
“Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” is currently streaming on Netflix.