Who was Bridget Sullivan? Lizzie Borden's family maid shown as her lover in Netflix's Monster series

Bridget Sullivan was the family maid and the only other person in the house the day Lizzie Borden's parents were axed to death.

Bridget Sullivan was the Borden family maid and was reportedly the only other person in the house the day Lizzie Borden's parents were axed to death. Abby and Andrew Borden, Lizzie's stepmother and father were killed in Fall River, Massachusetts, on August 4,1892.

While Lizzie was tried for the killings, she was acquitted. A murderer has not been found in the slayings that had shocked the country at the time. Now, the gruesome incident is back in focus with Ryan Murphy's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.

Vicky Krieps plays the role of Sullivan in the new series. Not only was the maid a key witness but she also possibly was an accomplice, as per an article on her life. Here's all you need to know about Bridget Sullivan.

Who was Bridget Sullivan?

Sullivan lived in Anaconda for 45 years after the Borden family murders. During her testimony on June 7, 1893, Sullivan revealed that she came into the country seven years back. Her parents were Eugene and Margaret (Leary) Sullivan, and she was born in Cork County Ireland.

“Was born in Ireland; came first to Newport, Rhode Island. After a year there, went to South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I came to Fall River four years ago; went to work for Mrs.. Reed. Had been working for Mr.. Borden two years and nine months at the time of his death. There was no other domestic servant, but a man from the farm used to come and do chores; his first name was Alfred; I don't know his other name,” Sullivan's testimony had read.

She had also noted that Lizzie and her sister, Emma Borden, would often call her ‘Maggie’.

“My work was washing, ironing and cooking and sweeping. I did not have the care of any of the bedchambers except my own. My room was in the third story, right over Mr. Borden's, and his was over the kitchen,” Sullivan had further said. In her testimony she described the events of the day, as observed while she was out cleaning windows. Sullivan had noted that she had not seen anybody approach the house and at one point of the day Lizzie Borden told her to come down, saying that somebody had killed her father.

"I heard the City Hall bell ring and I looked at my clock and it was eleven o'clock. I wasn't drowsing or sleeping. In my judgment I think I was there three or four minutes. I don't think I went to sleep at all. I heard no sound; I didn't hear the opening or closing of the screen door. I can hear that from my room if anyone is careless and slams the door. The next thing was that Miss Lizzie hollered, "Maggie, come down!" I said, "What is the matter?" She says, "Come down quick; Father's dead; somebody came in and killed him." This might be ten or fifteen minutes after the clock struck eleven, as far as I can judge," she had said during the trial.

Borden then sent Sullivan out to fetch the doctor. At the time of the murder, Sullivan was 25. She later moved to Anaconda, Montana in 1897 and married John Sullivan in 1905. She lived till about 81. Sullivan died at the county hospital in Butte in March of 1948.

The Anaconda Leader, which shut down in June 2026, had reported at the time that some investigators believed Sullivan had ‘helped’ in the Borden family slaying. They felt that Sullivan was ‘less than forthright’ at the trial as per the publication and also argued that given she was cleaning windows, looking into the house, it was nearly impossible for her not to have seen anything out of place.

The report also noted that Sullivan had not accurately portrayed the tense feelings between Lizzie Borden and her stepmother Abby. According to the report, Sullivan later spoke to a friend, Minnie Green, who she told that she'd ‘helped Lizzie out at the trial’ and had been ‘less than candid’.

Were Lizzie Borden and Bridget Sullivan lovers?

Several retellings of the Lizzie Borden story have explored the possibility of her and Sullivan being lovers. This includes Evan Hunter’s 1984 novel Lizzie, the 2018 movie of the same name which starred Chloe Sevigny and the new Netflix version.

However, there is no proof of the same. Sullivan was married after the incident. The Anaconda Leader also reported that Sullivan had returned to Ireland as her lawyer had advised but was not happy there as there were ‘no young men as prospective husbands’.

Ella Beatty plays Lizzie Borden in the Netflix series which premiers on September 17.

- Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More