What Only True Hallmark Fans Know About Autumn Reeser
Hallmark star Autumn Reeser has been in a handful of Christmas movies for the network and other feel-good Hallmark romances for any season, like "The Wedding Veil" series. Reeser starred in some high-profile projects before her Hallmark fame, such as "The O.C." Her first professional project was "Into the Void," but her first starring role was actually for a community theater production when she was just a kid.
While doing press for Hallmark's "A Bramble House Christmas," Reeser explained that she discovered her acting ambitions when she was six, after watching a play for the first time. Her parents helped her get started with a local theater group as a child. "And I got the lead in the first one I auditioned for when I was seven," Reeser said. "And so I've been doing theater since I was seven, and it was just always a path for me."
That path has taken her to exciting places in her career. Her website recounts her early journey with acting, along with some of her biggest roles and other things she's done: "In recent years, she's stepped further into her power by executive-producing for [Hallmark], as well as writing and directing additional projects for stage and screen." However, there are some fun facts about Reeser that only the most devoted Hallmark fans will know.
Reeser used to have a blog
In Hallmark's 2021 flick "The 27-Hour Day," Autumn Reeser, also an executive producer, played Lauren, a woman running a brand teaching efficiency but struggling in areas of her own life. In a MediaVillage interview, Reeser explained the film's connection to her past. "I loved being a girl on the go, having ideas to share with other women about how to do life more efficiently," Reeser told the outlet. She talked about running a blog called Move Lifestyle with two friends and enjoying it. "Then I had kids, discovered spirituality, so many things in my life happened," Reeser added. Being more "present" is a skill Reeser had to hone, just like Lauren.
In a 2013 Levo interview, Reeser said her Move Lifestyle co-founders were Jenn Wong and Ashley Faucet. She told the outlet, "I'm particularly intrigued by the concept of women believing they must 'do it all,' yet not many discussions focus on how individuals create a balance between work and life, or the challenging decisions made between pursuing a career and raising children." Reeser also hinted at what some of the discussions with women for the blog entailed.
Although the Move Lifestyle website is no longer operational, there are blog posts on Reeser's website discussing it. One page described the "Move" acronym: "It embraces the urban California lifestyle with a strong style sense that is modern, organic, vintage and eclectic."
Reeser is a single mom
Autumn Reeser and Jesse Warren married in 2009. They have two sons, Finn and Dash, born in 2011 and 2013, respectively. In 2014, Reeser filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences," but her representative told Us Weekly, "It is completely amicable, and they remain committed to raising their two sons together."
Reeser spoke about balancing work and her personal life in a Career Contessa interview when her sons were one and three years old. Reeser was still operating Move Lifestyle in addition to acting at the time, but things were more organized when she wasn't on set. When Reeser spent the majority of her days filming a project, "I don't eat as well as I should, I go to bed at odd hours, I don't sleep well, I don't get to see my kids enough." She talked about trying to find a balance and figuring things out "on a large scale" instead of one day at a time. Reeser seems to have things sorted and found her true self post-divorce.
The "Midnight Masquerade" actor often posts photos of her sons on social media. In April 2024, she documented their trip to Texas to watch the solar eclipse. In a video on Instagram from the day, Reeser and her sons were incredibly excited watching it. In the caption of her video, Reeser thanked the people who made the day possible, giving her sons a sweet shout-out, too.
She was listed in Maxim multiple times
Every year, Maxim releases a Hot 100 list of the most beautiful women. Autumn Reeser has made her way onto the list three times: in 2006, 2007, and 2011. The list also boasted names like Gabrielle Union, Halle Berry, Kim Kardashian, and former fellow Hallmark star Danica McKellar.
In August 2008, Reeser was featured in a Maxim spread. In a post on Reeser's website, a snippet of her interview with Maxim was shared, in which she spoke about preparing for her part in the vampire flick "Lost Boys: The Tribe." After explaining how her character's brother was trying to save her before fully turning into a vampire, Reeser added, "I read a lot of vampire lore, like the Anne Rice stuff. I was always carrying one of her books on set with me." With all of the pop culture hype around vampires in the late aughts, it's no surprise that the popular magazine wanted to feature Reeser.
Reeser performed in a musical parody
Autumn Reeser's teen soap got the musical parody treatment in 2015 — and she got to be a part of it. "The Unauthorized O.C. Musical" mainly brought moments from the show's pilot episode to the stage, with a few recreations of moments from later seasons. Since Reeser's original character, Taylor Townsend, didn't arrive until Season 3, she instead played Julie Cooper in the musical, who was played by Melinda Clarke in "The O.C." show. A Julie-inception was seen in a behind-the-scenes photo posted on X, formerly Twitter, showing Reeser and Clarke hugging before the show began.
The musical was a live reading that was only performed once, and the musical numbers, ranked by Entertainment Weekly, included songs featured on the soundtrack. Jordan Ross and Lindsey Rosin created the parody musical, which was also inspired by the film Cruel Intentions.
Reeser shared a bit about the musical on social media. In June 2015, she shared a post on Instagram advertising it and captioned it, "Musical theater and #TheOC have both been a big part of my life ... Someone has decided to sandwich them together, so I'm taking a bite outta that! #OCMusical." On the day of the show, she shared a sign with the cast member's names on Instagram with the caption, "California, here we come. :)"
UCLA was Reeser's dream school
Autumn Reeser attended UCLA to study musical theater — although it's unclear when she graduated. A 2007 interview with UCLA's newspaper, the Daily Bruin, confirmed Reeser was a student from 1998 to 2001, but she was three classes shy of officially graduating. "There've been two years that I signed up for fall quarter, but I had a show both years, and it doesn't really work to try and do (school) and do acting professionally," Reeser said. "You have to be in a position where you can say, okay, I'm taking a break. Maybe I'll do it down the line when I'm married and pregnant."
The "Season for Love" actor also explained how UCLA was her dream school and the only college she applied to. She knew she'd find her way to L.A. to pursue acting even if she hadn't been accepted.
In June 2014, Reeser took to Instagram to share that she was taking college courses again: "Starting my UCLA course today! (I'm finally completing my degree this summer after leaving school to work in TV) #college." She shared updates through the summer, such as a photo of her preparing dinner while watching an online lecture. In August, Reeser shared a screenshot of her glowing grade — an A+. However, it doesn't seem Reeser updated fans about if or when she officially finished her degree. Regardless, Reeser is proof that you don't need a diploma to succeed!