Netflix’s 'The Lizzie Borden' Story Cast and Character Guide

The latest edition of Netflix’s crime thriller drama presentation, Monster, follows the story of the woman from Fall River, Massachusetts, Lizzie Borden, who was accused of the brutal murder of her father and stepmother. Although the series seemingly makes a lot of changes from the actual events from 1892, it still makes for a thrilling watch. This is mainly due to the convincing performances, as well as the narrative arrangement that the makers have decided on. If you’re interested in The Lizzie Borden Story, here’s a quick look at the central characters and the actors who have played the roles.

Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden

American actress Ella Beatty stars as the lead character, Lizzie Borden, a young woman who is stuck in an unfortunate household with an abusive stepmother and a disinterested father. The time is 1892, and Lizzie is dependent on her parents, financially and otherwise, as she has not pursued education and is also socially awkward to a certain degree. There are even more woes in her life, as she suffers from serious issues with regards to her menstruation, and her looks are not considered desirable as per the beauty standards of the times. Her stepmother keeps abusing and belittling her on a daily basis, and all of this has led to Lizzie feeling much more connected to nature than with humans. She is fond of watching birds and trees, and her favorite place in the house is the small birdhouse in the backyard, where she keeps numerous pigeons as pets. 

But with the introduction of certain influences in her life, Lizzie also turns out to have a real affinity towards violence and gore, to the point that she starts to see parallels between her own life and that of a Hungarian noblewoman who was accused of torturing and murdering girls and women. Although the real Lizzie Borden was 31 when the gruesome murder of her parents took place, a much younger Ella Beatty has been cast in the role. Beatty, who is known for her appearances in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and Act One, has done a great job as the protagonist. 

Vicky Krieps as Bridget Sullivan and Elizabeth Bathory

Luxembourgish-German actress Vicky Krieps, who also regularly works in American and French productions, appears as Bridget Sullivan, the new maid at the Borden house. After numerous maids fail to impress the mistress of the house, Abby Borden, Bridget shows up to interview for the job and almost immediately impresses with her talents, as well as the tools at her disposal. Bridget is able to remove the blood stains from Abby’s favorite sofa, and therefore secures the job. She is impeccable as a maid, leaving no room for criticism for the finicky mistress, and she is equally brilliant in her culinary skills. But there’s evidently something in Bridget Sullivan that makes her feel like an odd character. Not only is she willing to do just about anything for money, but more importantly, Bridget yearns to be self-reliant and independent, which most women of the time couldn’t dream of. Soon after her appointment, Bridget befriends Lizzie and introduces her to the story of Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian noblewoman from 300 years ago who was accused of torturing and killing women. As we get to watch scenes from this timeline as well, it is once again Vicky Krieps who plays the role of Bathory. The actress is best known for her role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, and she has also gained recognition through Corsage and Hold Me Tight. 

Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden

English actor Charlie Hunnam appears as Andrew Borden, the father of Lizzie, who simply does not care about his two daughters much. By his own admission, Andrew loves his set of axes more than his children, and therefore keeps himself busy at his casket store. The man has clearly still not been able to move on from the death of his beloved first wife, even after so many years. He no longer feels any sense of romance or responsibility for his present wife, Abby, and feels stifled in his own home. Andrew states that he finds it difficult to survive in a house full of women, as he finds their conversations and matters of concern to be baseless and unrelatable. Along with being a terrible father, he is a horrible husband as well, making arrangements with each of the maids of the house to get intimate with them, either with or without them wanting it. Charlie Hunnam appeared in the lead role in the last season of Monsters, where he played the American killer, Ed Gein. He is also known for her performances in Sons of Anarchy and Pacific Rim.

Rebecca Hall as Abby Borden

English actress and filmmaker Rebecca Hall stars as Abby Borden, the abusive and cruel stepmother of Lizzie, who hates the protagonist with all her will. After marrying Andrew in order to save herself from destitution following the death of her family members, Abby had to instantly step into the role of a mother to the 2-year-old Lizzie. Since Lizzie obviously missed her mother, she refused to accept Abby as a guardian, and this led to the deep feeling of contempt in the stepmother. At present, all Abby wants is to get Lizzie out of the house, for which she keeps searching for prospective suitors. There are other complications in her life as well, including the fact that she is actually aware of how her husband cheats on her on an almost daily basis, but Abby dumps all her frustrations and anger out only on Lizzie, turning their relationship as bitter as possible. While she might be helpless due to the social norms at the time, Abby Borden is painted as the most hateful character in the series, which is quite a drastic change from the actual accounts of how the woman was.

Jessica Barden as Nance O’Neill

British actress Jessica Barden appears as Nance O’Neill, an actress who befriends Lizzie while on a theatrical tour to Fall River. As Nance walks out of the theatre after her performance, she meets Lizzie and Bridget among the crowd as her eyes are drawn to them for a particular reason. Firstly, Bridget is carrying an axe on her shoulders, which Nance finds quite impressive, and also because the maid currently has her hair dyed purple, which the actress absolutely hates. When Lizzie casually asks the celebrity actress to join her and her family for dinner, Nance is even more impressed by the women, and wants to know more about them. Nance O’Neill was indeed a real stage actress who was extremely popular at the time, and was also known to have been friends with the notorious Lizzie Borden. The actress playing her in the series, Jessica Barden, is best known for her performances in The End of the F***ing World, Scarborough, and Pieces of Her.

Joey Pollari as John Morse

American actor, musician, and director, Joey Pollari, plays the role of John Morse, who is a side character but with some genuine significance to the plot. John Morse happens to be the maternal uncle of Lizzie Borden, and he appears in town just a few days before the shocking murder, to meet his brother-in-law. Soon after the pleasantries, John reveals the real reason for his visit—he wants to start his own butcher shop business, and wants to borrow the capital required from Andrew. However, things get tough when Andrew vehemently refuses, stating that it is against his religious ideals and principles to lend money to anyone, even to relatives. Thus, John Morse also eventually becomes a possible suspect in the double-murder, especially since he had even threatened to kill Andrew if he didn’t loan him the amount. Joey Pollari has appeared in numerous films and shows, including American Crime, American Horror Story and Love, Simon.

Billie Lourd as Emma Borden

American actress Billie Lourd appears as Emma Borden, the elder sister of Lizzie, who is mostly absent throughout the series. In reality, Emma was supposedly very close to Lizzie, and almost played the role of the mother figure to her, as she was 10 years older. But in the Netflix series, Emma is mostly away from the family, as she is busy looking for a suitor for herself. She is terribly shocked after the murder of her father and stepmother, and does not hesitate to question whether her sister herself is the perpetrator of the gruesome crimes. Billie Lourd is best known for her roles in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, as well as in Scream Queens and American Horror Story.

Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos

American actress Sarah Paulson stars as Aileen Wuornos, a woman whose life we partly follow in Florida in the 1980s. Although there is no direct connection between Aileen and the events that took place more than 90 years back, she happens to be a dedicated fan of Lizzie Borden. Unable to read and use her imagination to visualize the scenes at the same time, Aileen takes the help of her girlfriend to hear the story of Lizzie Borden, whom she looks up to. Soon, Aileen and her girlfriend take a trip down to the Borden house in Fall River, Massachusetts. But there is a more sinister side to Aileen as well, which becomes evident quite quickly after her introduction. Sarah Paulson, known for her numerous performances, including in 12 Years a Slave, Run and American Horror Story, plays the role in her usual confident style. 

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