Holland Taylor, 83, Proves Her Heartfelt 1999 Message About Finding True Love Was Right
The 'Two and a Half Men' actress spent the last decade with Sarah Paulson, 51—and the way these two talk about each other will stop you cold
Key Takeaways
- Holland Taylor’s 1999 Emmy speech urged society to embrace mature, vibrant women.
- A lasting Hollywood romance: Taylor and Sarah Paulson have thrived together since 2015.
- Redefining age and authenticity: Proving love and success aren't limited by age gaps.
Back in 1999, Holland Taylor stood in the press room at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles clutching a brand-new Emmy, and she used her moment in the spotlight to say something America needed to hear: Women in their 40s, 50s and 60s are vibrant, powerful and very much alive, including in love.
More than two decades later, Holland is living proof of her own words. At 83, she’s deep in a loving partnership with actress Sarah Paulson, 51, and the two have been together for a decade.
If you grew up watching Holland on The Practice—where she won that Emmy for playing the sharp, confident and unapologetically sexual Judge Roberta Kittleson—or chuckling along to her scene-stealing turn on Two and a Half Men, this love story feels like the happy ending she always deserved.
The speech that still hits home
Standing in that press room on September 12, 1999, Holland spoke about her character and her friends with equal fire.
“It says a lot about women of a certain age being viable, alive people who probably do a lot of things better than some young girls,” she said. “And so, I mean, this woman is all my friends. Most of my friends are in their 40s or late 30s or 50s or early 60s, and they’re all doing it. And they’re alive, and they have—they’re professional women, and they’re enormously powerful, and have husbands, and lovers, and children—children at a late age. Come on!”
Then she turned her attention to Europe, where she said older actresses were adored rather than overlooked. “The greatest women actresses in Europe who are loved are all like in their 50s. Look at Sophia, look at Simone Signoret, look at Melina Mercouri, look at any of them. We don’t really have a lot of that here. We’ve got to grow up.”
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A meet-cute decades in the making
Holland’s own love story reads like a wholesome romance novel. She first crossed paths with Sarah in 2005 at a dinner party, according to Us Weekly’s relationship timeline. Both women were in committed relationships at the time, so nothing happened—but the spark was unmistakable.
“The most exquisitely beautiful woman” Sarah had ever met is how she later described Holland to the New York Times in 2016.
It would take a full decade—and a little social-media nudging—for the two to find their way back to each other.
When Twitter did the work
How did they finally connect? Sarah spilled the delicious details on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in January 2019. The two had “sort of breezed by one another, and then started following each other on Twitter,” she said. When fellow guest Billy Eichner asked, “Did Holland Taylor slide into your DMs?” Sarah grinned: “Yeah, she actually did! It’s pretty great!”
In November 2015, Holland confirmed on radio station WNYC that she was dating a younger woman. “There’s a very big age difference between us which I’m sure shocks a lot of people, and it startles me,” she said. “But as they say, ‘If she dies, she dies.’” Later that month, she posted a photo of Sarah in a ballgown on Twitter with the caption, “When captions fail …”
Sarah made it official in March 2016 in a New York Times interview. “I can say absolutely that I am in love, and that person happens to be Holland Taylor,” she said.
The award-show love notes
Six months later, Sarah won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series at the 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards for The People vs. OJ Simpson—and she used her moment to shout out her sweetheart.
“Hi, Holland—Holland Taylor, if you’re watching, I love you.”
Holland fired back on Twitter: “If I’m watching…?? If I’m WATCHING??? YES, I’m watching–!!! good LORD! … I LOVE you!!!”
In January 2017, Holland told SiriusXM’s Sandra Bernhard, “I’m the luckiest person in the world. I can’t talk about my life today and not mention this wonderful love… The whole embrace of this wonderful relationship, which makes everything else makes sense.”
Birthday tributes to melt your heart
Instagram has become the couple’s shared love letter. For Sarah’s 46th birthday in December 2020, Holland posted: “Yes, but listen—y’all have no idea. Happy Birthday to my one and only. I’m grateful you were born, @mssarahcatharinepaulson.”
Sarah returned the favor for Holland’s 78th birthday a few weeks later. “All roads lead me to this face, those eyes, that soul,” she wrote alongside a black-and-white photo. “You are, quite simply—everything to me. Here’s looking at you, kid. Today. Tomorrow. Always.”
In January 2022, for Holland’s next birthday, Sarah wrote: “Love of my life. The one. The only one. January 14th is my favorite day of the year… Happy Birthday, my poetic magical darling.”
When Holland wrapped her off-Broadway run of ANN at the Pasadena Theatre in April 2022, Sarah posted: “I have loved her for 7 years and counting… She is an artist to the marrow… I happen to love a genius. That’s really the truth.”
Red carpet royalty
The couple has become a fixture of Hollywood’s biggest nights. At the September 2022 Emmys, Sarah stunned in a custom deep-purple Louis Vuitton two-piece set with a bejeweled belt, while Holland wore a gold-and-black tweed jacket with a black top and pants.
Two years later, at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2024, Sarah went with a custom blue Prada gown finished with a black train and white bow, while Holland chose a cream suit with matching clutch and pumps.
In December 2025, Sarah brought Holland as her date to her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, where the two beamed holding hands over Sarah’s new star. And at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscars Party this March, Sarah wore a white long-sleeved dress with a full tulle skirt while Holland opted for an all-black ensemble featuring a shimmery coat.
Sarah also took home her first Tony Award on June 19, 2024, for her performance in Appropriate. In her acceptance speech, she said simply: “Holland, thank you for loving me.”
‘On paper, it’s unconventional’
The 32-year age gap has always drawn attention, but Sarah has never flinched. “I didn’t choose to fall in love with the person I fell in love with,” she told Elle in 2018. “But I think why it’s interesting to people is that on paper, it’s unconventional… maybe they could see me living my life in a way that is authentic to me — just trying to be as real as possible. If that inspires anybody else, that can’t be a bad thing.”
Holland, for her part, told Us Weekly in January 2020 that Sarah is “the center of her life”—and that she’s still a little amazed by the whole thing. “That she would make a commitment like this and that she would share her life with me is a constant surprise every day really… I basically am following her lead and I’m blessed.”
More than 25 years after Holland told America to “grow up” about older women and love, she’s showing us exactly what she meant.
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