Jessica Lange Looks Unrecognizable With Shorter Hair and Curls

Rachel BurchfieldThu, August 13, 2026 at 4:45 PM UTC

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Jessica Lange at the 2024 ‘Vanity Fair’ Oscar Party on March 10, 2024.Credit: GettyThe Gist -

On August 13, the teaser trailer for American Horror Story: 13 dropped.

In it—albeit briefly—is the AHS icon Jessica Lange, whose shorter and curlier hair renders her nearly unrecognizable.

After previously saying she’d never return to the franchise, she said yes to creator Ryan Murphy on one condition.

The new teaser trailer for American Horror Story: 13 is here, and Jessica Lange is back.

The return of Lange is upon us, but the actress is nearly unrecognizable in her brief appearance in the clip—and it’s thanks to her hair. In the teaser trailer released on August 13, her hair is still blonde, though it’s far shorter and curlier than the public is used to.

Lange returns as Constance Langdon (who you might know from Murder House), alongside a slew of other A-listers like Angela Bassett, Sarah Paulson, Paul Anthony Kelly, and Emma Roberts. Lange—who has said before that she would never return to AHS—hasn’t been seen in the series since 2018’s Apocalypse. Season 13 will see cast members reprising old roles, as well as taking on new ones, too. Series creator Ryan Murphy previously said that Lange “is playing all four of her iconic characters” this season.

Back in 2019, Lange told Entertainment Weekly that she was done with AHS, explaining, “I feel like I got the best of it in those first four seasons. Great characters. It was exciting to do. I worked with some of my favorite actors, but I can’t see that we would ever get back to that.”

Jessica Lange in New York City on March 11, 2026.Credit: Getty

Additionally, she said at PaleyFest about her time on the series, “We’ve had a great run. I have absolutely loved doing these four characters, and in all the madness, I loved the writers, actors, Ryan, the whole insanity of it.” Then, she added, “To cut to the chase, yes, I’m done.”

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Jessica Lange at the 2024 Tony Awards on June 16, 2024.Credit: Getty

How did Murphy pull the ultimate coup and ensure Lange’s return? Well, it boiled down to a simple request from the legendary actress, it turns out. “I knew I could only do it with Jessica,” Murphy told Vogue, explaining that they had dinner together and Lange said that fans approached her about her AHS roles more than any other iconic project.

“That was the first time I had heard her talk about it in a very nostalgic, sentimental way,” he said. “So I told her, ‘That’s funny. That’s why I wanted to meet you.’ And I pitched her, and she said, ‘Great. I’m in as long as I have a musical number.’”

Jessica Lange and Ryan Murphy at the Emmys on November 19, 2012.Credit: Getty

During filming, Murphy released set photos of Lange from AHS: 13 in which she peers out of an old window wearing a blue dress and heels, only visible from the back—only getting fans more excited. He dubbed it, “The return of Jessica Lange!”

For season 13, Murphy explained, “I think when you have a show like American Horror Story that has become so long-running and popular, you go back to the origin story of it. And Jessica, that first season, won every award on Earth.”

AHS: 13 will premiere on September 24 and will feature, appropriately, 13 episodes.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”