Sarah Paulson is an actress.
Sarah Catharine Paulson ( born December 17 , 1974 ) is an American actress . She later starred in the independent drama Martha Marcy May Marlene ( 2011 ) , and received Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for her performance as Nicolle Wallace in the HBO film Game Change ( 2012 ) . Paulson starred as Mary Epps in the 2013 historical drama film 12 Years a Slave and as Abby Gerhard in the 2015 drama film Carol .