Women in Horror: Frances Conroy

Because Frances Conroy’s name and look have become synonymous with American Horror Story (2011), it would be easy to mistake her as a newcomer.  Truth be told, Conroy’s career started in the late 1970s, but her stardom began during what can be described as the renaissance of horror television.

Frances Conroy studied drama at Dickinson College and Julliard.  While at Julliard, she studied under theater greats John Houseman and Marian Selders.  She quickly found success on stage and off-Broadway.  Her film debut was in Woody Allen’s Manhattan (1979) in which she fittingly played a Shakespearean actress.

During the 1980’s and 1990’s, she played mostly forgetful small roles in several television shows and movies including Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993).  Although she portrayed aristocratic, snobbish women with great ease, the highlights of this portion of her career were flirtations with the horror genre such as a role in The Twilight Zone (1986) and The Crucible (1996).

In the 1980’s revival of The Twilight Zone (1959), Conroy plays Ellie Pendleton, a new employee at a mysterious library where books containing the records of each person’s life is being transcribed onto holograms.  An aspiring writer herself, Ellie gives in to temptation and rewrites a few lines in her neighbors’ books.  Just like in The Butterfly Effect (2004), each change Ellie makes, has disastrous effects.  This segment allows Conroy to show off her acting ability and talent in a role that could have become laughably cheesy. This segment is one of the better written and acted entries of the series.  It is also fun to see a young Lori Petty sporting giant 80’s hair as she portrays Ellie’s younger sister!

Conroy’s portrayal of Ann Putnam in The Crucible (1996) would foreshadow her role of Myrtle Snow in American Horror Story: Coven (2013), only as Ann Putnam, she was playing a woman fearful and condemning of witches.  Conroy was perfect choice to depict a “twisted soul […], a death-ridden woman, haunted by dreams.”

It was in Six Feet Under (2001) on HBO that allowed Conroy a steady way into America’s homes and to showcase her range on the small screen.  She portrayed Ruth Fisher, the recently widowed wife of a funeral director whose sons have taken over the family business.  After the death of her husband, Ruth and the entire Fisher clan struggle to figure out who they are and how to live instead of simply existing.  This drama would pair Conroy with Michael C. Hall in his first television role before he starred in Dexter (2006) and her future American Horror Story (2011) costars James Cromwell and Kathy Bates.

Six Feet Under (2001) may have given Conroy her first leading episodic role on television, but American Horror Story (2011) is what made her an icon.  What makes her so iconic in her multiple roles throughout the anthology began with a car accident.  Corneal damage to her eye causes it to appear and act differently than her other eye and also causes sensitivity to light.  Conroy typically wears a colored contact to conceal the damage to her eye, but American Horror Story (2011) creator Ryan Murphy asked her to appear in the first season without the contact which became a major plot point for her character, Moira O’Hara.

Conroy has continued to portray other characters in the different seasons of American Horror Story (2011), including The Angel of Death [American Horror Story: Aslyum (2012)], councilor witch Myrtle Snow [American Horror Story: Coven (2013)], socialite Gloria Mott [American Horror Story: Freak Show (2014)], an actress reenacting cannibalistic Mama Polk for the in-universe show My Roanoke Nightmare [American Horror Story: Roanoke (2016)], and radical feminist Bebe Babbitt [American Horror Story: Cult (2017)].

Conroy was MIA for the fifth season, American Horror Story: Hotel (2015), the weakest entry in the series so far in my opinion…but that’s for another article. Sorry, Lady Gaga.  Conroy also reprised her roles of both Moira O’Hara and Myrtle Snow in the most recent season American Horror Story: Apocalypse (2018).

I am not saying that Conroy was lucky to be in the car accident, but by utilizing the difference in eyes, she adds a depth to her characters that may not have been achieved otherwise.  There is just something a little more creepy, knowing, and unsettling by adding this physical element.  Of course, the same effect could have been done with the simple addition of a contact lens for someone who did not have the damage to their eye, but it probably would not have been something considered when developing the character of Moira O’Hara and subsequently Conroy’s other American Horror Story (2011) characters.

It is similar to how Billy Bob Thorton holds his mouth when depicting Carl in Sling Blade (1996). In another universe, Conroy would play these characters with symmetrical eyes and no one would know that this is the missing element transforming her from the same supportive roles she has played throughout her career to a more memorable actress.  I think there is also transformation that occurs for Conroy by showing her true eyes.  It takes courage for her to reveal what can be seen as a flaw in an industry that can be incredibly shallow.  By exposing herself and making herself raw, she can feel freer and deliver a more commanding performance.  I cannot wait to see what she and Murphy have in store for us in the next season!

Proving herself as a mainstay of the horror resurgence of the small screen, Conroy also starred as Nathalie Raven in The Mist (2017) and as Martha Lacy in Castle Rock (2018).  I am hoping that these connections to the works of Stephen King may lead to larger and spookier roles in the future!

Speaking of the future, it is rumored that Frances Conroy will play Penny, mother of Arthur who becomes the Joker in the much-anticipated Joker (2019) starring Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role!  I have no clue the capacity or size of her role, but I think she is a wonderful and interesting pick as the mother to the Clown Prince of Crime!