Ryan Murphy's horror anthology show, American Horror Story, frequently casts the same actors from season to season, giving each the opportunity to show their range through varied roles; Frances Conroy is one such actor who has been part of the series since season 1, playing six roles in total.
American Horror Story first aired on FX in 2011, and is set to have its landmark tenth season sometime in 2020. However, with many television shows and movies being delayed due to social distancing requirements and theater closures during the coronavirus pandemic, it's possible season 10 will be delayed. Murphy announced his cast for season 10 in March 2020, and while Conroy isn't slated to return based on the names on the trailer, she has been a long-standing part of the series since its inception. Conroy is a talented actress who has a varied filmography outside of American Horror Story as well, and has lent her talents to some well-known movies and television series including Six Feet Under, How I Met Your Mother, and 2019's Joker.
Conroy has been nominated for Emmys twice for roles on American Horror Story, for her roles in Murder House and Coven respectively. While she didn't win either time, the series on the whole has received ample praise from critics, and has accumulated many major award wins, particularly for the first three seasons of the show. Conroy is a talented actress of both stage and screen, and shows her range through both major and supporting roles in American Horror Story.
Murder House: Moira O'Hara
Moira O'Hara was a main character in season 1, Murder House, who served as housekeeper for the titular location. She has been attached to the house for a long while, and comes to serve the Harmon family when they purchase the home and move in. Moira is sometimes seen as a younger woman (Alexandra Breckenridge) depending on who sees her; Vivien Harmon sees her as an older woman where Ben Harmon sees her as an hyper-sexualized version of a maid. This is because Moira was murdered by previous owner, Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange) when she was caught having an affair with her husband, Hugo. Due to Murder House keeping anyone who dies on the premises there forever in purgatory, she is a permanent resident.
Asylum: Shachatch (Angel Of Death)
Shachath, the Angel of Death, is a supporting character in season 2, Asylum. She appears periodically to various residents of Briarcliff when they are in their time of need, serving the purpose to help them pass to the other side by embracing them with a kiss, ending their life and taking them with her like a Grim Reaper would. She is a powerful, supernatural being who appears as a woman in mourning, though her massive wings appear when she embraces someone for the final time, bringing them peace and comfort in death. She is a solemn, tragic character whose benevolence is often seen as merciful to the many people who are suffering.
Coven & Apocalypse: Myrtle Snow
Myrtle Snow is the Head of the Witches' Council in season 3, Coven. She serves as another antagonistic foil to Jessica Lange's character, Fiona Goode, with whom she was a classmate during their younger days at Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies. Snow is witty, fashionable, and serves faithfully to Fiona's daughter, Cordelia, who currently serves as the Headmistress at Miss Robichaux's Academy in the beginning of season 3, but ends up becoming the Supreme by the end. Despite season 3 seeing Snow burned at the stake at the end, she makes another appearance in season 8, Apocalypse, with Cordelia and some of the other witches. Conroy also reprises her role as Moira O'Hara in season 8, as it serves as the crossover season (Murder House and Coven), which was long teased by Murphy.
Freak Show: Gloria Mott
Gloria Mott is the doting, overly protective mother to Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock), one of the primary antagonists of season 4, Freak Show. Though this role sees Conroy utilized in a lesser capacity, she makes an impression due to her interactions with her infantile son; in a way, she has contributed greatly to his selfish ways, over-inflated ego, and serves to get him anything his heart desires, no matter how outlandish or impossible it may seem. The Mott family comes from old money, and actually connects to another season of American Horror Story through their family property, which is explored in season 6, Roanoke. Mott's tendency to spoil her son leads to disastrous results for her when she is murdered by his own hand.
Roanoke: Mama Polk
One of Conroy's smaller roles in American Horror Story, she lends her talents as the actress who plays cannibalistic matriarch Mama Polk during the re-enactment sequences in season 6, Roanoke. Mama Polk is a character who seems almost directly ripped out of classic cannibal horror movies such as The Hills Have Eyes, Wrong Turn, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. She is, first and foremost, a mother who lacks little humanity, except where her children are concerned. The Polk family have been associated with The Butcher and her colonists for centuries, and have survived through generations of inbreeding. She is one of the darker, more unmistakably villainous characters played by Conroy through her tenure on American Horror Story.
Cult: Bebe Babbitt
Bebe Babbitt plays into season 7 of American Horror Story, Cult, as one of the minor antagonists. She is part of the SCUM cult that was originally started by Valerie Solanas (Lena Dunham), who gained notoriety as the woman who shot Andy Warhol. Babbitt ended up becoming Solanas' lover before the SCUM cult disbanded. Ryan Murphy plays with history's timeline a little bit in Cult by going as far as to suggest that Solanas' SCUM members were behind the murders that later became associated with the real life Zodiac Killer. Babbitt plays into the current timeline of Cult's story, too, as a therapist to Kai Anderson (Evan Peters), who instructs him to embrace his rage and darkness; she states that Donald Trump and misogyny inspire her, and seeks to assist him in his victory so he can bring about "feminine rage".
Babbitt is partially to blame for Kai's grandiose sense of self, as she makes him out to seem like a martyr or chosen one for a much greater cause. While Babbitt is another of Conroy's minor roles in American Horror Story, even the less integral characters in her time on the series have made a major impression through how they connect with other characters, like Kai and Ally, who are the major focus of the central plot.