Daryl HannahActress Dree Hemingway

Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for the first three episodes of “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette,” now streaming on FX and Hulu.

Born in Sun Valley, Idaho, Dree Hemingway spent most of the ’90s between her home state and her mother’s movie sets. Her memories of the past decade consist of piles of Old Navy clothing, long, unbrushed hair, and sitting in the backyard with her family listening to the Beatles.

“The ’90s era, everything about it is so iconic to me,” Hemingway said in an interview earlier this week. The 38-year-old made her first major TV role co-starring in Ryan Murphy’s anthology series Love Story, set in a decade that Hemingway considered “in some ways perfect.”

Chronicling the romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. (Paul Anthony Kelly) and Carolyn Bessette (Sarah Pidgeon), “Love Story” spotlights the couple’s whirlwind courtship and ultimately tragic end. While the focus is on the central couple, Bessette has her own relationship sideplots with a doorman-turned-Calvin Klein model (Noah Fearnley) and Kennedy with Hemingway’s movie star Daryl Hannah.

Kennedy and Hannah made headlines as they dated on and off for more than five years before breaking up for good in 1994, just before he began dating his future wife, Bessette. Hemingway makes it clear that “Love Story” is not meant to be a biography, but rather an imaginative interpretation of what happened behind closed doors in the life of America’s most famous family at the time. And her version of Darryl is a tribute to the actress she considers an “icon.”

Hemingway was no stranger to show business. Her mother, Mariel Hemingway, began acting at the age of 14 and received a Golden Globe nomination for her breakout role in Lipstick (1976), followed by an Oscar nomination for Woody Allen’s 1979 film Manhattan. (Mariel Hemingway and Hanna have never worked together, but they are connected through the First Daughter series of television movies, in which Hanna replaced Hemingway in the 2000 sequel First Target due to scheduling conflicts.) There is also the most famous Hemingway, Pulitzer Prize- and Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest, whose life is the subject of Dree Hemingway’s upcoming project, The Hemingway Files. There, she will executive produce her great-grandfather’s story.

Before entering the entertainment industry, Hemingway worked as a model for several years, walking runway shows for prominent fashion brands such as Gucci, Valentino, and Chanel, among others. She made her film debut in 2011 in Sean Baker’s Starlet, and has since appeared primarily in independent films such as While We Are Young and It Happened in LA.

Her “Love Story” character is a somewhat meta role for Hemingway, playing a beautiful blonde actress who sees those close to her heavily scrutinized and criticized in the media. Here, Hemingway speaks to Variety about John and Darryl’s relationship, how she transformed into a beloved actress, and pays homage to their real lives.

When did you first hear about this show? What attracted you to it?

I read that Ryan Murphy has signed on to be part of a JFK Jr. project with Carolyn Bessette. And I thought, “This is something I want to be a part of.” The 90’s era, everything about it is very symbolic to me.

What was the audition process like for the role of Darryl?

When I auditioned for Darryl, the process was, “How can I transform into her in just four days before I have to submit to this audition?” I have a great dialect coach named Alessandro Nivola (Calvin Klein). He is a genius and very kind. Her voice is quite deep, almost a whisper, and she’s from Chicago. I watched interviews and studied her mannerisms, the way she carried herself, and the way she spoke. And they said, “Okay,” and I thought, “Okay, let’s dig into this.”

Daryl Hannah was a big movie star in the ’80s and ’90s. Did you see any of her movies when you were a kid?

I have many fond memories of Daryl Hannah. This is also interesting. When I was a kid, people would stop my mom at the airport and say, “Darryl!” So it’s intertwined. “Splash” is highly iconic, along with “Steel Magnolias” and “Wall Street” to name a few. “Summer Lovers!” She is an icon.

Was there any hesitation or fear on your part to step into the role of someone so famous?

I wouldn’t say I was intimidated, but I really know how delicate it is to play someone so famous and still alive. More than that, I wanted to show what I love most about her: how much heart she has and how kind she is as a person.

Have you heard anything from the real Darryl? Have you contacted her?

I sent her a letter telling her how much I loved her and what an honor it was to play her, but I haven’t heard from her. That’s totally fine and I have no expectations for it. I just hope that if she wants to watch it someday, she’ll be happy. This whole project is so lovingly made, it’s a love story that couldn’t be truer. The really difficult thing that we all want to run into is that this is a dramatization because it’s based on a real person and we don’t know exactly what happened behind closed doors.

Expectations are high for Daryl’s first appearance at the end of episode one. Jackie Kennedy makes it clear that she doesn’t approve of Daryl, and John has multiple conversations about him throughout the episode. How do you think viewers will react to her reappearance in John’s life and her overall personality?

There are moments throughout where you’re like, “Oh, John and Carolyn fell in love with each other,” and then you’re like, “Oh my god.” Darryl is introduced, which in a way is an insertion into the love story (John and Carolyn). But I think you need to end the relationship in order to get into another one.

John and Daryl have a pretty tumultuous romance on the show. Did you consult anyone about their movements or draw from real-world examples?

Even though I’m playing Daryl, I’m playing a character. A lot of it is imaginary, so for me it was very important to show how much I think they really loved each other, and I just don’t think[she]did. I can only draw from heartbreaks in my own life, relationships that didn’t work out, and truly loving someone and wanting to connect.

In the second episode, which is probably Daryl’s most notable episode, there is a lot of tension between her and John. There was some friction at his PBS shoot, and then a huge fight broke out at his home. How do you think she reads John’s actions throughout this series of events?

I think there is a desire for more. As women, we are not stupid and I think we can tell when there is a disconnect. (She) wants to feel what’s going on without actually saying, “What exactly is going on?” — until she finally does. At the end of a relationship, there’s a lot of turmoil, there’s a lot of push and pull, and there’s a lot of resentment that built up within the relationship because of the long history they had together.

At one point during the argument, Daryl tells John that his “heart was elsewhere.” Do you think she could feel his love for Carolyn?

I don’t know if she felt there was anything else going on. I think she felt like he was disconnected from her. I wanted Daryl’s character to be like, “Where have you been? What’s going on?” Could it be that his family hated her and that was the reason he left her? Maybe John thought, “Oh, I’ve met this person. Oh, shit, I’ve met that person.” And my personality is like, “Why doesn’t your family like me?” I think that’s why he doesn’t feel comfortable staying away from her.

The episode features an incredibly awkward family dinner where Daryl becomes convinced that John’s family hates him.

“How can I please everyone here? If I were just quiet and dressed appropriately, would you accept me? What a disaster when Jackie doesn’t show up, I just don’t feel good enough.[The reference to Marilyn Monroe]is written from the perspective of me being like another ‘blonde menace.’ She is seriously trying to understand why they don’t like her and why she is not accepted.

Did you wish there had been a happier scene instead of just Daryl and John fighting and getting along?

I would be happy if there were happy scenes! But[the fight]shows John’s struggle to be a good person to Daryl, his mother, his family, and Carolyn. Did you want a scene like this? Of course, I think it’s perfect as is. After all, this is (John and Carolyn’s) story and we know this is going to happen.

She leaves and returns to California, but then her dog Hank dies on the streets of New York. Did that put a nail in the coffin of their relationship?

I think she loved Hank. One of the things I really love about the real Daryl Hannah is her love of animals. I think Hank was her first child. For the characters, it was like, “How could something like this happen?” If you loved me, this wouldn’t happen.

Daryl’s final appearance on the show is in episode 3, at Jackie’s wake. She joins John as he addresses the public from the balcony and tries to take his hand. Could it be that she wanted to get back together?

I think it was my last attempt. Can you let me in? Can I stay here?

We know what happened to the real Daryl Hannah after she broke up with JFK Jr., but what do you want for your character from her off-screen life?

I can only hope she finds someone who will love her as much as I love her. It doesn’t take away from John loving her, but I just want her to find her own love story.

You also come from a pretty famous family. Did you relate to this story at all in terms of attracting public attention?

The only way I can relate is that people are making up their own versions of things. At the end of the day, we’re all really normal and have our own insecurities. We all have our own things, more than just a charming shot of a smile, and we are all human. Daryl is a very unique character, but I’m playing a real person, so this is a very sensitive issue. It’s a very fine line, but how can I play this person, this character, with all my heart?

You’ve emphasized several times that this is a fictional retelling based on real events. What do you think about the criticism that the show is based on a real person?

We don’t know what happened behind closed doors. We don’t know anything other than what everyone else has seen in photos and books. Their lives are very highly researched and there’s a delicate balance between being very respectful of these real people.

This interview has been edited and condensed.