Early years In 2001, Rabe made her screen debut opposite her mother
Jill Clayburgh in the film
Never Again. She made her professional stage debut, again opposite her mother, at the Gloucester Stage Company in Massachusetts. She starred in two
one-act plays,
Speaking Well of the Dead by
Israel Horovitz and
The Crazy Girl by
Frank Pugliese, roles that enabled her to get an
Equity Card. In July 2003, she returned to the Gloucester Stage Company to appear in
Proof by
David Auburn. That year, she also appeared in the film
Mona Lisa Smile. After graduating, she moved back to New York. From September 29 through October 2, 2004, she appeared in
White Jesus by Deirdre O'Connor, one of a series of one-act plays presented as
The Democracy Project from the
Naked Angels Theater Company. On January 21, 2005, she took part in a
workshop production of
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas at the
Roundabout Theatre Company, directed by
Joe Mantello. She made her
Broadway debut as Annelle Dupuy-Desoto in the 2005 revival of
Steel Magnolias by
Robert Harling, directed by
Jason Moore for which she was nominated for a
Drama Desk Award. She had been cast in the play
Sisters of the Garden, but had to drop out after being cast in
Steel Magnolias. From September through to October 2005, she appeared in the American premiere of
Colder Than Here by English playwright
Laura Wade at the
MCC Theater, prompting
New York Magazine's Jeremy McCarter to call her performance "one of the best breakthroughs" of 2005. From September to December 2006, she played Ellie Dunn in Roundabout Theatre Company's production of
Heartbreak House by
George Bernard Shaw. In 2007, she appeared in the film
No Reservations. In August 2007, Rabe appeared in
Crimes of the Heart at the
Williamstown Theatre Festival, the directorial debut of actress
Kathleen Turner. In 2008, the production moved
Off-Broadway to the Laura Pels Theatre, where it was staged by the Roundabout Theatre Company and ran from February 14 to April 13. During a rehearsal, a piece of the set fell on Rabe, leaving her with a fractured rib and causing her to miss a week of
preview performances; the opening night was changed from February 7 to February 14. written by
David Milch and directed by
Carl Franklin. In December 2008, it was reported that HBO had decided not to pick it up as a series. That year, Rabe appeared in the films
What Just Happened and
The Toe Tactic, as well as two episodes of
Medium. From January to March 2009, she appeared in the Broadway premiere of
Richard Greenberg's 1990 play
The American Plan at the
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. In 2010, she made her debut appearance at
Shakespeare in the Park in a production of
The Merchant of Venice, directed by
Daniel J. Sullivan, that ran from June 30 to August 1. Rabe was cast as
Portia, which she described as "one of the great female roles." She also co-starred in the 2010 film
All Good Things.
2011–present '' in 2011 Rabe next starred in
The Merchant of Venice, opposite
Al Pacino as
Shylock, in a performance described as a "smashing break-out". The production transferred to Broadway at the
Broadhurst Theater, where it ran from October 19, 2010, to February 20, 2011. For her performance, she was nominated for the
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. In March 2011, she was cast in the
FOX drama pilot
Exit Strategy. In July, it was confirmed that FOX had passed on the pilot. Rabe appeared again at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in a production of ''
A Doll's House'' by
Henrik Ibsen, where she played
Nora Helmer. In August 2011, Rabe got her first regular role on a television series, as Nora Montgomery on the
FX horror series
American Horror Story. She was later cast in the second season as the nun Sister Mary Eunice McKee (which she reprised in the fourth season). For the second season, she was nominated for a
Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries. She was also cast in the third season as a resurgent witch, Misty Day, a role written for her by co-creator
Ryan Murphy. In the fifth season, she was a special guest star in the "Devil's Night" episode, playing
Aileen Wuornos. In the sixth season, she had a main role as Shelby Miller. Rabe is one of only three actors to appear in the show's first six seasons. In 2019, for the ninth installment of the show, titled
1984, Rabe returned in the recurring role of
Lavinia Richter, a distraught mother who haunts Camp Redwood, an idyllic summer retreat with a history of massacre. Rabe appeared at the
Golden Theatre in the Broadway play
Seminar by
Theresa Rebeck. Directed by
Sam Gold, the cast included
Alan Rickman,
Jerry O'Connell,
Hamish Linklater and
Hettienne Park. It opened on November 20, 2011 and closed May 6, 2012. In May 2012, it was announced that Rabe would play actress
Mary Pickford in
The First, a film based on the book
Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood by Eileen Whitfield. She finished work in
the Public Theater's production of
As You Like It, part of the 50th Season of
Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theatre. She played
Rosalind in the production that opened on June 11, 2012, and closed on June 30, 2012. In October 2012, it was announced that Rabe would appear in ''We're Just Married
, a film written by her father and directed by Rodrigo Garcia. Rabe was also a producer on the film. In May 2013, she made her Los Angeles stage debut in Miss Julie by August Strindberg, adapted and directed by Neil LaBute. In September 2013, she was cast as Commander Lyme in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, the final two installments of The Hunger Games film series'', based on the novels by
Suzanne Collins. She was later replaced in the films by
Gwendoline Christie due to a scheduling conflict. On February 14, it was announced that Rabe would appear in
Much Ado About Nothing as part of the 2014 Shakespeare in the Park season. The production began on June 3 and ran to July 6. In 2014, she appeared in
Pawn Sacrifice, a film biopic about chess player
Bobby Fischer, playing Fischer's sister
Joan Targ. On February 24, it was announced that Rabe would appear with
Thomas Jane and
Jessica Alba in horror film
The Veil. It was released on January 19, 2016, through
video on demand, prior to home-media release on February 2, 2016. That day, it was announced that Rabe would star in
The Visitors, a drama pilot for
ABC. The pilot was later changed to
The Whispers and was officially picked up by ABC in May 2014. The series premiered on June 1, 2015 and was subsequently cancelled on October 19, 2015 after one season. In May 2016, Rabe was cast in
Golden Exits directed by
Alex Ross Perry. In August 2021, Rabe starred in the
tenth season of
American Horror Story, as Doris Gardner in the first half of the season, and as Amelia Earhart in the second. It was her first time as part of the main cast since
Roanoke. ==Personal life==