Sarah Paulson Earns Hollywood Walk Of Fame Star And Shares A Powerful Message For Dreamers

Sarah Paulson at the ceremony honoring Sarah Paulson with a Star on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame on December 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)

Variety via Getty Images

On December 2nd, lauded actress Sarah Paulson was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the television category, fitting for the prolific actress who has appeared in numerous projects across film, television, and theater. Today, she solidified her indelible influence in the entertainment industry with a permanent star on Hollywood Boulevard, surrounded by loved ones and colleagues like co-star on Disney and Hulu’s “All’s Fair” Niecy Nash Betts, creator of the series and Paulson’s creative partner, producer Ryan Murphy, and actresses Holland Taylor and Amanda Peet, who presented heartfelt speeches for Paulson during the ceremony.

Paulson won a 2024 Tony Award for ‘Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play’ for her role as Toni Lafayette in Broadway’s critically acclaimed and Tony Award-winning “Appropriate,” a darkly comedic family drama by Pulitzer Prize winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. For her performance, Paulson also won The Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play. Next, Paulson will appear in the fourth season of Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Netflix anthology series Monster, playing serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Paulson will also return to the “American Horror Story” franchise in Season 13. She’s also set to play in Bruce Norris’ film adaptation of his Pulitzer-, Tony- and Olivier award-winning play, “Clybourne Park.”

Today’s ceremony was presented by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s president, Steve Nissen, and emceed by KTLA award-winning journalist Dayna Devon. Devon was excited to honor Paulson at the ceremony and recognized her achievements in various fields, including winning an Emmy for her role as Marcia Clark in “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”

Taylor, Paulson’s partner, described her as a passionate, instinctive performer, likening her to a wild animal for her unpredictability and intensity. She believes her commitment to truth in her roles is unwavering, as she portrays characters with deep vulnerabilities and complexities. Taylor said her performances are honest and transformative, where she stretches herself to fearlessly take on challenging roles, often defending and rescuing discredited or misunderstood characters. “She will fearlessly rush to play people who are discredited, pitied, despondent, horrible, mean, twisted, overlooked, and misjudged. The result is she is their defender, their rescuer, their restitution. It turns out her secret skill as an actor is her own humanity,” Taylor stated.

Murphy agreed with Taylor’s sentiments, citing her exceptional talent. “Sarah leaps over hills, unsure of where the horizon will be. She leaps with a great Galloping energy into projects, and she only plays in sandboxes that scare her, that actually, unless her hands could be full of consuming quicksand. I’ve seen this quality up close and personal for decades now. I never wrote roles for Sarah because I wanted to challenge her. I wrote them as a fan. I just wanted to be entertained by her. I wanted to laugh and be moved by her. I remember so many times in my life happening with delight late in the night as I came up with these roles for her,” Murphy said. “Sarah Paulson is a lot of things to me; the greatest thing she is to me is my teacher. She taught me about the power of empowerment, of getting at my own messy, impassioned way, about the joy and necessity of absolute trust.”

Iconically, Paulson’s star is right next to Murphy’s, a fitting tribute to their symbiotic relationship in the entertainment industry. “She was, in a way, my dream of what a collaborator and a supporter and a fighter in the trenches could look and feel like. From the very first day I met her, I’m thankful I’ve never woken up from the dream that is her,” he concluded.

Awestruck by the kind words from her friends, Paulson shyly and tearfully took the stage to deliver her acceptance speech. “I want to start by thanking the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for this exceedingly special honor, and to my Disney Hulu and FX families. I thank you so much for being here today. To my immediate family, dearest friends, long-time colleagues, every actor, every crew member I’ve ever had the pleasure of working alongside, my gratitude for you all is boundless. To the three perfect people who spoke today, Amanda, my bird, my best friend of over 25 years, Holland, my love and greatest champion and Ryan, the man who changed my life, I will be forever indebted to all of you for taking the time to be here today, and most significantly, for being in my life so robustly for always telling me the truth and loving me when it’s not always easy to do,” she said.

Paulson then recalled a time in her life when she was just a teenage dreamer, looking up to Julia Roberts’ storied career and role in “Pretty Woman.” “I know some folks lucky enough to receive this honor often talk about the first time they stood on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. When thinking about this, I realized my connection was not from real-life experience, but rather from the movies themselves. One particular movie, ‘Pretty Woman’,” she reflected. “It took me too long to understand that Julia Roberts landed in our hearts because she was so unabashedly herself. I was dreaming of a working journey that mimicked Julia Roberts; I couldn’t see the road. I was already traveling a road uniquely mine.”

Paulson credited Murphy for her career expansion and for being a part of her acting journey. “I met the man who saw my potential before anyone else on planet Earth, Mr. Ryan Murphy, the person most responsible for my being here today, the person who not only believed in me, but always gave me the one thing that separates a dreaming actor from a working one, opportunity,” she stated.

She quoted James Baldwin and said, “The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.” But instead of calling herself an artist, she prefers to identify herself as a human being. “I’m a human deeply interested in human motivations and desires, who hopes, by way of character, to find a path towards some truth about being alive. I realize that maybe this isn’t just a narcissistic endeavor to filet yourself in front of others, hoping people clap and cheer, but perhaps it is a noble way to spend your time in aspiration, because in the chaos of our world, the practice of art feels vital to our survival as a society. I can think of nothing more powerful to answer life’s lonelier moments than to try to make one another feel seen,” she said.

To close out her speech, she shared, “This honor signals, not only to me, but to every dreamer out there, that dreams can come true, and that in my work and life, endeavoring to find meaning in human connection has mattered.”