5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘American Horror Story’ Star Jessica Lange

Even though Jessica Lange has had a massively successful career — earning Oscars for 1983’s Tootsie and 1995’s Blue Sky — that doesn’t mean she thinks the Hollywood system is fair. In fact, the 70-year-old has been open about why it’s her belief that showbiz is unjust.

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The King Kong actress had spoken out about how “ageism is pervasive in this industry — it’s not a level playing field for women” once in an interview with AARP. It’s this realization that has made her career renaissance all the more satisfying, thanks to roles in Ryan Murphy shows like American Horror Story, Feud and The Politician. It’s because of the former anthology series, in fact, that Jessica has earned Emmys in 2012 and 2014 — in addition to one for Grey Gardens in 2009.

All that said, there’s a lot more to Jessica than what you see on the screen, big and small alike.

Scroll down to find out five facts about Jessica you probably didn’t know.

I’M AN ACCOMPLISHED PHOTOGRAPHER

Although she studied photography in college, Jessica didn’t get serious about taking pictures until the 1990s. Since then, she’s published four books of photos, including her most recent, Highway 61. “I just love it,” she told The New York Times. “That’s the only reason I do it.”

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I’M GOING TO PLAY MARLENE DIETRICH

“I love playing real characters” like Joan Crawford (in FX’s 2017 limited series Feud), Patsy Cline (in 1985’s Sweet Dreams) and Frances Farmer (in 1982’s Frances) “because you have this wealth of research and information to draw on,” Jessica, who is set to portray Marlene in Ryan’s upcoming Netflix project, told Deadline.

I’VE BATTLED DEPRESSION IN THE PAST

“In recent years, I’ve tried to come to grips with the idea that you can actually choose to be happy,” she told AARP. “You can choose not to let things affect you negatively. You can actually choose to let things roll off you.”

I DEDICATED MY NEW BOOK TO MY EX

They split in 2009, but Jessica spent 27 years with the late playwright Sam Shepard, the father of two of her children, Hannah, 33, and Samuel, 32. “I miss him every day,” she has confided. (The father of her oldest daughter, Shura, 38, is ballet great Mikhail Baryshnikov.)

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I PRACTICE BUDDHISM

“It teaches you some good rules, like being compassionate and paying attention,” she told Rolling Stone. “Because if you don’t pay attention, it all just goes by so fast. You think, “OK, where was I that decade? How did I miss the ’80s?!”

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