The body horror keeps getting more personal on Ryan Murphy’s FX series The Beauty. Episode 7, titled “Beautiful Living Rooms,” aired on February 18, 2026, and it delivered one of the most emotionally charged stories yet. This episode focused on a family facing an impossible choice, and it brought in two major names to play the parents at the center of the drama. If you were wondering who played Meyer and Juliana, and who the young actress battling progeria was, here is the full breakdown of the cast and characters for this week’s installment.
The episode puts FBI Supervisor Meyer (John Carroll Lynch) and his wife Juliana (Kelli O’Hara) in a nightmare scenario. Their daughter Joey (Kaylee Halko) is suffering from late-stage progeria and is running out of time. Enter Byron Forst (Ashton Kutcher), who offers them a deal: he will save Joey with “The Beauty” drug and set them up with millions, but only if Meyer uses his position to call the FBI agents off the case. The emotional weight of this episode rested heavily on the shoulders of its guest stars.
Tony Winner Kelli O’Hara Joins The Cast as Juliana
Kelli O’Hara makes her debut in The Beauty during Episode 7, and her arrival was a big deal for fans of stage and screen. She is a massive name in the theater world, having won a Tony Award for her performance as Anna in the 2015 revival of The King and I . For those who follow Broadway, seeing her name in the credits immediately signals that the episode will have serious dramatic heft.
In “Beautiful Living Rooms,” O’Hara plays Juliana, the mother of a dying girl. She appears alongside John Carroll Lynch in scenes that show a couple completely broken by their daughter’s illness. Her character is given a chance to save her child, and O’Hara brings the quiet desperation of a mother who has run out of options. While her character is not an FBI agent or a billionaire, she represents the everyday people caught in the chaos of the “Beauty” epidemic. O’Hara is best known for her work in The Gilded Age, Masters of Sex, and stage productions like Days of Wine and Roses .
John Carroll Lynch Returns as Meyer, The FBI Supervisor
John Carroll Lynch is no stranger to Ryan Murphy’s universe. He has appeared in American Horror Story in multiple seasons, playing characters like Twisty the Clown in Freak Show and Mr. Jingles in 1984 . In The Beauty, he plays Meyer, the FBI supervisor who oversees Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall).
Episode 7 puts Lynch’s character in a terrible position. He is a good man with a badge, but he is also a father. When the devil—in the form of Byron Forst—shows up at his door and offers to save his daughter, he takes the deal. Lynch explained the character’s motivation simply to TV Insider.
“Anybody who has children will tell you, they’ll sell every stick of furniture, they’ll cash in everything they own, and they’ll trade their own well-being for the safety of their child. That’s the decision these two people make.”
Lynch also talked about the physical side of working on a Ryan Murphy show. In this episode, both he and O’Hara had to go through the goopy, physical transformation sequence that comes with taking “The Beauty.” He admitted it felt silly at the time but trusted the effects team to make it look cool .
Kaylee Halko Delivers a Powerful Performance as Joey
One of the most talked-about aspects of Episode 7 is the casting of Kaylee Halko as Joey, the dying daughter. Halko, who lives with progeria in real life, took on her first acting role for this episode. Progeria is a rare genetic condition that causes children to age rapidly.
John Carroll Lynch spoke very highly of working with her. He explained that acting opposite someone facing real-life challenges forced him to raise his own game. He called her bravery “incredible” and noted that Ryan Murphy has a history of working with people who have real-life conditions, dating back to American Horror Story: Freak Show . Her presence in the episode grounds the wild sci-fi premise in a very real and human story.
The Main Cast Also Appears in Episode 7
While the guest stars take center stage, the regular cast also plays a big role in “Beautiful Living Rooms.” Because Meyer accepts the deal, the consequences are immediate. The Assassin (Anthony Ramos) and Jeremy (Jeremy Pope) attack and capture the two leads, Cooper (Evan Peters) and the transformed Jordan (Jessica Alexander) , at gunpoint .
This sets up the conflict for the remaining episodes. Ashton Kutcher, who plays the villainous Byron Forst (the true identity of “The Corporation”), is the one making the offer. He continues to play the smarmy tech billionaire willing to destroy lives to protect his empire.
Where to Watch The Beauty Episode 7
If you missed it, Episode 7 is currently available to stream. New episodes air on FX every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT. They are also available to stream on Hulu at the exact same time . For viewers outside the US, the series streams on Disney+ .
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What Happens Next?
With the FBI agents now in the hands of The Corporation, the stakes are higher than ever. Episode 8 and 9 are scheduled to air on February 25, 2026 . The show will then wrap up its 11-episode first season with a two-episode finale on March 4, 2026 . The season is titled “Beautiful Betrayal” for the finale, so fans can expect the situation to get even worse before it’s over.
The Beauty continues to prove that it is not just a gory horror show, but one willing to explore the heartbreaking choices people make when offered the thing they want most.
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