Daryl Hannah slams ‘Love Story’ portrayal despite letter from actress who played her

Daryl Hannah has been one of the most controversial parts of “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.” The actress was one of JFK Jr.’s most notorious partners, with the two dating before his marriage to Bessette. Hannah plays a key part in the series, and is portrayed by Dree Hemingway, who reportedly sent her a letter before her portrayal.

“I really just fell in love with her as a human being,” said Hemingway in an interview with Nylon. She said the note was more of a thank-you note instead of an opportunity to meet her and learn how to play her.

“That was really the note, and just not like ‘Hey, I want to meet you or talk to you,’” she said. “Just, like, ‘It was really an honor of my lifetime to be able to portray you and research you.’”

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Hemingway revealed that Hannah never responded to her, something that she completely understands. “I also think [she needs] her own time,” she said. “The show’s just come out; I’m sure there’s a lot to digest there and stuff like that.”

She also said that her depiction of Hannah is fictionalized. “We are not exactly portraying her or how something went down. There’s a fiction involved in all of this,” she said.

Daryl Hannah’s reaction to the show

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Earlier this week, Hannah published an op-ed in the New York Times criticizing “Love Story” and the way in which she was portrayed. 

“I have long believed that engaging with distortion often amplifies it. But a recent tragedy-exploiting television series about John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette features a character using my name and presents her as me. The choice to present her as irritating, self-absorbed, whiny, and inappropriate was no accident,” she wrote.

Hannah has rarely addressed her relationship with Kennedy with the public, but the two were involved on-and-off for five years after meeting in the early 80’s while vacationing in St. Martin. The pair reconnected at the wedding of a mutual friend in 1988, beginning their long relationship. 

Two years after their breakup, Kennedy married Bessette. 

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