Biography

Originally from Hollywood, Florida, but making her way to Los Angeles by her teens, Bethany Joy Lenz is an actress/filmmaker and singer/songwriter best known for the role of Haley on TV's One Tree Hill. She began singing in church in Florida at the age of three, and enrolled in a performing arts school after moving to Arlington, Texas at age seven. Lenz, whose grandfather, George Lenz, was a Broadway musical theater performer, quickly found roles in community theater. She won her first TV-commercial audition on a trip to Los Angeles, and as a child actress earned parts in a handful of TV movies in the '90s before landing a recurring role on the daytime soap Guiding Light in her late teens. Still working on her music skills in the meantime, Lenz learned to play guitar and piano, and released her first solo album, the folk-rock-inspired Preincamate, in 2002. Two years on Guiding Light led to several guest spots on network primetime shows such as Charmed and Felicity, until Lenz was cast as a regular on the WB/CW drama One Tree Hill. She played Haley on the hit show's full run from 2003 to 2012. During her time on the series, Lenz was featured on One Tree Hill: Music from the WB Television Series, Vol. 1, singing a duet with Tyler Hilton called "When the Stars Go Blue," which was written by Ryan Adams. She also directed multiple episodes of the show. She released her sophomore LP, Come on Home, in 2005, and later formed the folk duo Everly with musician Amber Sweeney. They made their debut with Mission Bell [EP] in 2008, and issued an extended version of the record later that year. Everly also released the holiday album Fireside in late 2009. Another Lenz solo album, Then Slowly Grows, arrived in 2012. Lenz followed her time on One Tree Hill with more music and more acting. Her fourth solo album, Your Woman, appeared in 2013, with the four-track Get Back to Gold out in 2014. She also found regular work in television, including recurring roles on shows such as Dexter, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and American Gothic. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi