Sarah Paulson’s plus-one to the Emmys? Marcia Clark, her ‘People v. O.J.’ inspiration

Sarah Paulson, who’s nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Marcia Clark, is bringing the onetime O.J. Simpson prosecutor herself to the awards as her plus-one.

“I was incredibly honored that Sarah asked me to go with her to the Emmys, and it will be my privilege to be there to cheer her on,” Clark told “Access Hollywood” on Thursday.

So ends the mystery the actress introduced when she said in August that girlfriend Holland Taylor would not be her date to the show Sept. 18. “I’m not telling you,” Paulson teased at the time, smiling and refusing to tell “Entertainment Tonight” who would get the invite.

Paulson is actually up for two Emmy Awards, one for “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” (lead actress in a limited series or movie) and the other for “American Horror Story” (supporting actress in a limited series or movie).

The actress, 41, wasn’t immediately confident she’d be able to do Clark justice in the FX miniseries.

“I was terrified not so much of what was going to be required of me, energetically. I was just terrified I wasn’t going to be able to pull off the Marcia thing,” Paulson told The Times in June.

“I think when you sit down and you imagine taking on a real person that many people have an immediate, iconic image of in their mind, an assessment that has been made — and I was guilty of that myself — I thought, ‘God, this seems like a terrifying opportunity to fail in a way that wouldn’t be a quiet fail. This is going to be the thud heard around the world,’” she said.

“It’s weird,” Clark, 63, told The Times in April, describing what it was like at the time watching the miniseries. “It’s a little out of body. I always make sure I have friends around, because it’s a little more grounding.

“And it’s also very painful, to be honest with you. I’m reliving something that was a very horrible time in my life.”

Maybe a night of gowns, bubbly and shiny gold statues will help take the edge off.

Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ.

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