Ashley Rickards
Ashley Rickards | |
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Born | Ashley Nicole Rickards May 4, 1992 Sarasota, Florida, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Actress, director |
Years active | 2005–present |
Ashley Nicole Rickards (born May 4, 1992) is an American actress, known for her role as Jenna Hamilton in the MTV comedy-drama series Awkward,[1] and as Samantha "Sam" Walker, a troubled young girl in The CW's teen drama series One Tree Hill. She also starred in the 2011 independent drama film Fly Away as Mandy, a severely autistic girl.
Early life and acting career
Rickards was born in Sarasota, Florida. She grew up on a horse farm that catered for children with special needs.[2] She attended a local Montessori school where, at age 13, she had her first taste of acting in an opera production.[3] Rickards graduated from high school at age fifteen[4] and is a member of Mensa.[5] After attending a local talent showcase, organized by Lou Pearlman, Rickards traveled to Los Angeles where she eventually gathered a team of representatives.[3][6] Upon graduating, Rickards began to appear in a number of minor roles, while child labor laws restricted the number of hours she was able to work. After making a number of guest appearances and shorts, including a role in The Format's music video for She Doesn't Get It in 2007, she landed the role of Samantha Walker, a runaway foster child, in the sixth season of The CW's One Tree Hill.[7] Although not aware of the show before auditioning, Rickards found that she "learned so much from acting techniques to different ways of shooting things".[8] Her character did not return the following season, while in the same year she had a bit part in her first feature film, Gamer.
Rickards spent much of 2009 attending auditions while a proposed lead role in the film Dirty Girl fell through.[9] In 2010 she appeared opposite Jimmy Smits in an episode of the legal drama Outlaw while she also auditioned for the lead role in the MTV series Awkward (2011–present). Initially rejected, her manager Adam Griffin sent the producers a tape Rickards had made for Fly Away "to show how she can do anything".[10] The actress landed both roles and filmed the pilot for the MTV series prior to Fly Away, a feature where she played a girl with severe autism.[11]
Other activities
In 2011, Rickards helped to launch the Project Futures Somaly Mam Foundation, which works to prevent and end human trafficking and sexual slavery in Southeast Asia.[12] in March 2015 she published a book A Real Guide to Getting It Together Once and For All.[13]
Over the course of her career, she has also appeared in various music videos such as The Fray's How to Save a Life.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Web Journal Now | Janet | Short film |
2007 | Spoonfed | Bridgette | Short film |
2009 | Gamer | 2Katchapredator | |
2011 | Fly Away | Mandy | |
2012 | Struck by Lightning | Vicki Jordan | |
2012 | Sassy Pants | Bethany Pruitt | |
2014 | At the Devil's Door | Hannah | |
2014 | A Haunted House 2 | Becky | |
2014 | Behaving Badly | Kristen Stevens | |
2016 | The Outskirts | Virginia | In post-production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Everybody Hates Chris | Girl | Episode: "Everybody Hates Superstition" |
2007 | CSI: NY | Young Lindsay Monroe | Episode: "Sleight Out of Hand" |
2007 | Zoey 101 | Molly Talbertsen | Episode: "Dance Contest" |
2007 | Ugly Betty | Sharra | 2 episodes |
2008–09 | One Tree Hill | Samantha "Sam" Walker | 19 episodes |
2008 | Entourage | Candice | Episode: "The All Out Fall Out" |
2010 | Outlaw | Tracy Vidalin | Episode: "In Re: Tracy Vidalin" |
2011–present | Awkward | Jenna Hamilton | Main role Director; episode: "Listen to This" |
2011 | American Horror Story: Murder House | Chloe Stapleton | 2 episodes |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Arizona International Film Festival | Best Performance | Fly Away | Won[14] |
2012 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | Awkward | Nominated |
2012 | Teen Choice Award | Summer TV Star: Female | Awkward | Nominated |
References
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (November 14, 2011). "MTV Sets Premiere Date for 'I Just Want My Pants Back' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ Plank, Alex (August 16, 2011). "Autism Talk TV 15 – Fly Away – Interview with Janet Grillo and Ashley Rickards". Autismspeaks.org.
- ^ a b Riley, Jenelle (July 21, 2011). "Ashley Rickards of MTV's 'Awkward' Shows Her Acting Range". Backstage.
- ^ Chelsea Lately. Season 5. Episode 129. August 31, 2011. E!.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Gach, PJ. "The Best, Worst and the WTF of the MTV EMAs 2011 Red Carpet Style". Betty Confidential. Desha Productions, Inc. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
- ^ She is represented by KLWGN (management), United Talent Agency (agent) and Hansen Jacobson (legal) "Rickards listing 2013"
- ^ Martin, Denise (July 19, 2012). "'Awkwards Ashley Rickards on Latin Boys, Reverse Method Acting, and Idolizing Chris Colfer". Vulture.
- ^ "Seventeen interview 2009" Staff writer, 'Ashley Rickards from One Tree Hill talks on-set style!', Seventeen Magazine, August 10, 2009
- ^ "April 2008 news item" Warner Loughlin Studio news item
- ^ "Griffin interview" Tara McNamara, 'Adam Griffin, Manager learned from his young charge', Variety, September 13, 2012
- ^ "Collider 2011 interview" Christina Radish, Ashley Rickards Exclusive Interview Awkward', Collider, July 20, 2011
- ^ "Somaly.org press release List Rickards as one of the participants at the LA launch, no other mention of her involvement after that.
- ^ Olya, Gabrielle (March 21, 2015). "Ashley Rickards Reveals Her Long Struggle with 'Dark, Secretive World' of Eating Disorders". people.com.
- ^ "2011 Arizona International Film Festival". Film Festival Arizona. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
External links
- Ashley Rickards at IMDb
- Ashley Rickards at the Music Television