Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr & Carolyn Bessette gets a lot of things right—those effortless ’90s costumes, Sarah Pidgeon’s note-perfect portrayal of the eternal style icon, the show’s glorious reimagining of the New York City of decades past… But, one thing it unquestionably doesn’t do justice to is Daryl Hannah.
The star of Blade Runner, Splash, and Steel Magnolias, the Hollywood mainstay dated JFK Jr. for several years before the eligible bachelor met his wife-to-be. But, instead of depicting this earlier relationship as formative and complicated, the show flattens Hannah—played by the stunning (and underserved) Dree Hemingway—into a whiny and clueless “other woman.” In reality, she was, by all accounts, nothing of the sort—a determined young actor who made her screen debut aged just 17, in Brian De Palma’s 1978 horror The Fury; graduated to leading lady status in her 20s; and became the toast of the town, continuing to act, write, direct, and produce.
In her honor, we present the best throwback photos from the first phase of her career, which show the wild-haired, razor-sharp, and strikingly beautiful Hannah as she actually was.
Photo: Getty Images1/151982
A promotional shot for the fashion industry-focused TV movie Paper Dolls, in which a 21-year-old Hannah, in the part of a teen model, appears beside co-star Joan Hackett, as her mother.
Photo: Getty Images2/151982
Another promotional photo for the project, featuring wispy ringlets and angelic make-up.
Photo: Getty Images3/151982
Another side of the actor—the perfect ’80s vamp—in another Paper Dolls still.
Photo: Getty Images4/151982
A sun-kissed Hannah with her Paper Dolls co-star, newcomer Alexandra Paul.
Photo: Getty Images5/151983
At 22, with sleeker hair and smoky eye make-up, on the set of James Foley’s Reckless.
Photo: Getty Images6/151986
Aged 25, with co-star Robert Redford on the set of Ivan Reitman’s Legal Eagles.
Photo: Getty Images7/151988
A 27-year-old Hannah playing the classically Hollywood blonde bombshell at the 60th Academy Awards, where she presented the Oscar for best costume design.
Photo: Getty Images8/151990
Hannah at 29, with artfully ruffled hair, at a Vanity Fair party.
Photo: Getty Images9/151990
In an embellished blazer and denim for the LA premiere of Love Letters.
Photo: Getty Images10/151992
A 31-year-old Hannah with her co-star Chevy Chase in a still from John Carpenter’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man.
Photo: Getty Images11/151992
Wearing blue jeans, a long necklace, and a boho knit for the LA premiere of Memoirs of an Invisible Man.
Photo: Getty Images12/151992
In a louche oversized suit for an LA benefit.
Photo: Getty Images13/151993
A 32-year-old Hannah arriving in Rhode Island with her boyfriend, John F. Kennedy Jr, for the wedding of his cousin, Edward Kennedy Jr.
Photo: Getty Images14/151993
In a silver slip dress for an LA party.
Photo: Getty Images15/151994
Radiant at the Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival.
More Love Story Coverage from Vogue
