For decades, children and young people have been setting trends and discovering sparks in the acting industry. Her innocence, cute charm, and ability to work alongside her older peers make her a delight to behold. Ashley Rickards, an American actress, stole people’s hearts when she appeared as a foster child on the series One Tree Hill . Since then, she has acted in starring roles, charities, and various causes. We take a look at who Ashley Rickards is below.
Ashley Rickards’ Biography
Born an only child in Sarasota, Ashley Rickards grew up in Southwest Florida on a horse farm that cares for children with special needs. Information about her parents is not available. She was born on May 4, 1992 and attended a local Montessori school. Here, at the age of 13, she had her first attempt at acting in an opera production. She graduated from high school at the age of 15.
After high school AshleyRickards took part in a talent show organized by Lou Pearlman. This prompted her to move to Los Angeles where she was able to assemble a team of representatives. She began appearing in several supporting roles, limiting the time she could work as an actress due to child labor laws.
Career (Movies & TV Shows)
Ashley Rickards’ entry into the world of acting saw her appear in short films and in supporting roles on television series. Her television debut was a single episode of Everyone Hates Chris that same year, she appeared in the short film Web Journal Now . In 2007 she was in another short film Spoonfed , appeared on CSI: NY (one episode), Zoey 101 (one episode) and Ugly Betty (two episodes).
Her breakthrough on the small screen came when she was cast in the role of Samantha ‘Sam’ Walker, a runaway foster child, on the sixth season of the CW hit series One Tree Hill . She appeared in 19 episodes from 2008-2009 and her time on opened up more fans for her.
However, Ashley Rickards did not return for the seventh season of the show. In 2009, she appeared in the 2009 sci-fi film Gamers as the character 2Katchapredator . After that, she auditioned for more roles and managed to land lead roles in the MTV series Awkward and the 2011 drama film Fly Away . Awkward, a teen drama series centered on the lead Jenna Hamilton, a teenager struggling with her identity after an accident is misinterpreted as a suicide attempt. The series ran for five seasons from July 2011 to May 2016, and Ashley Rickards’ performance was well-received by both critics and fans. It even gave her the opportunity to direct an episode of the series.Flying Away let her play the role of Mandy, an autistic teenager who suffers random seizures to the detriment of those around him. The film was positively received, winning the Arizona International Film Festival award for Best Feature Film, Voice Awards for Honorable Mention and the Swansea Bay Film Festival for Best International Screenplay. Ashley Rickards also received the Arizona International Film Festival Award for Best Performance.
Ashley Rickards has appeared in other films such as Struck by Lightning (2012), Sassy Pants (2012), At the Devil’s Door (2014), Haunted House 2 (2014), Misbehaving (2014), The Outcast (2017) and Antisocial .app (2017). She appeared in the series American Horror Story: Murder House (2011), Robot Chicken (2015), The Flash (2016-2017), and Dimension 404 (2017).
celebrity facts
- Ashley Rickards has a net worth of $2.5 million.
- She is a member of Mensa.
- She is an avid animal lover and has two pets: a dog named Princess and a three-legged cat named Trinny.
- She graduated from high school with honors.
- She was nominated for the 2011 Arizona International Film Festival, 2012 Critics’ Choice Award, and 2012 Teen Choice Award.
- She is heavily involved in charitable causes and helps found the Project Futures Somaly Mam Foundation. and organization toward the end of sexual slavery and human trafficking in Southeast Asia.
- She has written and published a book. It calls itself a real guide to putting it together once and for all. It was released in March 2015.
- She is related to singer Tom Cole.
- She loves poetry and enjoys painting in her free time.
- She has her own blog where she shares tips and tricks with her fans.
- Her role model is Oprah Winfrey.
