10 Best American Horror Story Characters

Denis O’Hare was always an integral if under appreciated part of the show. Hotel gave him a starring role and he delivered. The show has often explored queer themes (with O’Hare just one of many queer actors in the cast), but with Liz Taylor they went on a deep dive.

Although her story was more of a B-plot, John Lowe was such a bore in the main narrative that many fans preferred the exploration of the Hotel’s lesser lights, and Liz Taylor’s shone the brightest.

Being moved to tears by the Countess’ remarks that her blood ‘smells like a woman’, Liz is quickly transformed from a closeted, occasional crossdresser into a fully fledged transwoman. This occurs when she witnesses the Countess murder two of her co-workers and she gives up her former life to go work as a bartender at the Cortez. While it’s not the most traditional transition storyline, it was strangely uplifting to watch, despite the murder and bloodshed involved.

At the Cortez itself, Liz is no longer the repressed and withdrawn creature she was as Nick Pryor, but instead is vibrant, insightful, eccentrically stylish and wise. In her own way, she is the catalyst that keeps pushing Hotel forward.