The Stunning Transformation Of Hallmark's Bethany Joy Lenz

Given her youthful glow and energetic spirit, it is easy to forget just how long Bethany Joy Lenz has been in the public eye. But as of 2026, Lenz already has more than three decades of professional acting experience under her belt. Even more impressively, there have been no real lulls in her career since she first hit it big on "One Tree Hill" back in 2003. She has acted consistently, but the buck does not end there. Lenz has also released a bunch of music, gone on tour with said music, directed episodes of TV, co-hosted a podcast, written a memoir, and started a newspaper.

Here we explore Lenz's evolution, from her earliest years singing in church all the way through her starring role on the Hallmark+ series "Hope Valley: 1874," which began airing in 2026. She's navigated a wide range of professional pursuits as well as personal peaks and valleys, all of which come together to paint a picture of a fascinating life. Next up for the star is a novel entitled "The Betrayal of Cora Wexford," a Victorian thriller to be released in October 2026. She is also writing a historically accurate musical about Pocahontas.

Lenz's creativity, resiliency, and refusal to be boxed in are nothing short of inspirational, as is her openness about faith, fear, and shame. Keep reading for more on the stunning transformation of Hallmark star and "One Tree Hill" alum Bethany Joy Lenz.

Bethany Joy Lenz has been a Nashville girl for a few years now, but she has roots planted all over the United States. The star was born in the suburb of Hollywood, Florida. She moved to Texas as a young girl, and then to New Jersey. In October 2024, as a means of promoting her freshly released memoir, Lenz shared photos of her old Jersey digs. "Back home to New Jersey this week. Literally back home. Visited my childhood house in Waldwick that I write about in chapter 2," she wrote on Instagram. "My dad and his sister also grew up here."

Lenz remained in New Jersey until the end of high school, working mainly out of New York. She moved to Los Angeles to further her career when she was 20, and before long, found herself living in Wilmington, North Carolina, where "One Tree Hill" filmed.

Lenz has said she sometimes struggled with fitting in because of the many moves, but her faith remained a constant in her life. "Christmas was always special because I grew up in a Christian household and because Christ's story was deeply embedded in my heart," Lenz said to Southern Living in 2023. "I felt deeply connected to that, culturally, and just as an experience of a time to feel warmth and meditate on something that was very valuable and important in my life." Church is also where Lenz first sparked an interest in performing.

Bethany Joy Lenz began singing in church at age 3. "I grew up singing, writing songs, it was always the first love. I pursued that and I also pursued acting at the same time and did a lot of musical theater. [Then] my acting career took off," she explained to Entertainment Tonight in 2023.

Lenz's parents had no connection to the arts — her dad was a history teacher and therapist and her mother a personnel manager and entrepreneur — but one of her grandfathers was at one point a Broadway performer. Perhaps that helps explain her undying love for musical theater, which is how the star first began her career. She starred in community productions of "Cinderella," "The Wizard of Oz," and more.

In addition to community theater, Lenz also began booking commercials at a young age. She landed her first one while on a trip to Los Angeles, and from there the rest came flowing. Her credits include advertisements for "Swan's Crossings" dolls, Dr. Pepper, and Eggo waffles. Lenz appeared in a religious-themed video, "Psalty's Salvation Celebration," in 1992, but her first big break came four years after that when she acted in the 1996 film "Thinner," based on the Stephen King book of the same name.

Bethany Joy Lenz had no screen credits the year after "Thinner" hit theaters, but things picked back up again in 1998. First, she appeared in the TV movie "1973," acting opposite a number of future stars including James Franco, Ben Foster, and Gabrielle Union. What's more, Lenz's showbiz career got a major boost when she landed on the popular soap opera "Guiding Light" and played Michelle Bauer for two years. She was in 49 episodes of the series. Prior to Lenz, Michelle was played by three other actors, including Macaulay Culkin's ex-wife Rachel Miner. Actor Nancy St. Alban picked up the role once Lenz left in 2000.

After "Guiding Light," Lenz guest starred in multiple television series including the cultural touchstones "Felicity" and "Charmed." Given that "One Tree Hill" began its run on The WB, where both of those programs also aired, there is little question that Lenz made her mark on the powers-that-be. At the very least, these guest roles likely helped get her foot in the door for a "OTH" audition. During this time, Lenz also appeared in the TV movie "Mary and Rhoda" and headlined a small film, "End of August" — her first leading screen role.

Many fans were first exposed to Bethany Joy Lenz's music via "One Tree Hill," since her character was a singer. Lenz performed multiple of her own songs on the series, including "Halo," "I Want Something That I Want," and "When the Stars Go Blue." The latter, a duet with Tyler Hilton, was even featured on one of the series' official soundtrack albums. "Back then I was trying to write pop, write for the show and figure out what my sound was," Lenz recalled to People in 2023. "Now I just feel so connected to my own voice as a musician."

Lenz released multiple EPs and studio albums during "One Tree Hill's" long run, including solo projects and ones as part of the duo Everly (active from 2008 through 2012). In 2022, Lenz moved to Nashville to "put music at the front and center." She has subsequently released the singles "Strawberries" and "Flesh & Bone," and an album of duets with Hilton, entitled "Well Well Well."

Because of the intermingling of the show and Lenz's real-life music, people often overlook that the star's professional music career actually predates her start on "One Tree Hill." In 2002, a year before the series hit the air, Lenz released an independent album named "Preincarnate," under her (then) married name Bethany Joy Galeotti. While "Preincarnate" is not available via Spotify, it can be found on YouTube and remains an essential part of Lenz's trajectory.

Like many teen dramas, "One Tree Hill" remained on the air for far longer than the characters could conceivably remain in high school. In Season 5, the showrunners even jumped ahead by four years to narrow the gap between the actors' ages and those of the characters. The show said finally goodbye in 2013, after a whopping nine seasons, and Bethany Joy Lenz is one of the few actors who remained for the entire run; she and co-star Sophia Bush are the only actors to appear in all 187 episodes of the series.

While it is almost impossible to envision anyone else playing Haley James Scott, Lenz initially wasn't up for doing a high school show. "When I first got the script for One Tree Hill, I flipped through it. I didn't even really read it. My manager kept saying, 'Please read this, please read this. You're really right for it," Lenz said in a 2024 video interview with Simon and Schuster. Luckily, she decided to audition when the script came around a second time.

While Haley's main love interest was the character of Nathan Scott (played by James Lafferty), her friendship with Nathan's half-brother Logan was also central to the show's success. Lenz credits her chemistry with Lucas's portrayer Chad Michael Murray with helping her earn the role. "It was fun. We had a few surprise moments in the screen test that I think really cinched the job," she said.

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles in pursuit of new acting opportunities, Bethany Joy Lenz found herself attending a local Bible study that seemed like a dream come true. Then 20, Lenz gravitated toward the group due to her religious upbringing and her desire to find comfort in a new city. "I had always been looking for a place to belong," she explained to People in 2024. "We crave that kind of intimacy," Lenz continued, while noting that she found solace singing, worshiping, and having deep conversation with her fellow group members. "The idea that someone out there says, 'No matter what you do or how badly you might behave or what dumb choices you make, I still love you, and I'm here for you.'"

Through this group, Lenz met a pastor she refers to as "Les," who changed the trajectory of her life. Before long, this pastor convinced Lenz and other Bible study members to move to a communal Big House in Idaho. It was not until she was writing her memoir, more than two decades after meeting Les, that Lenz publicly disclosed the ordeal (the first time was on her podcast, though she did not go into as much depth at that time). Once the book was done and she was on her press tour, Lenz repeatedly described the Big House Family as a cult. In her 2023 book, she alleged she experienced manipulation, abuse, isolation, and fear during her time as a member.

Bethany Joy Lenz lost much of her fortune to the Big House Family, and she was also disconnected from many of her loved ones after becoming entrenched in the group. Her isolation from friends and family only grew following her marriage to Michael Galeotti, a fellow member of the "family" and the group leader's son. Lenz and Galeotti married in December 2005, when Lenz was 24. She changed her professional name to Bethany Joy Galeotti and, to the outside world, appeared to be happily wed.

The couple kept up appearances for seven years, until Lenz announced her impending divorce on her blog in March 2011. Even then, the star only spoke glowingly about her soon-to-be ex. "We remain friendly and dedicated to raising our beautiful girl in love and we appreciate your prayers and support during this difficult time," read a portion of her statement (via The Hollywood Reporter).

A decade later, Lenz disclosed that she never felt a romantic attraction to Galeotti, who she married at her minister's urging. "He was always just kind of a friend, brotherly person to me who really love and care about," Lenz told "Good Morning America" in 2024 in reference to her musician ex-husband. "But I know in my body there was this constant back and forth, and this awareness that I am capable of butterflies and feeling excited and feeling loved and engaged by another person and it's not happening in my marriage and it never did."

Bethany Joy Lenz was a member of Big House Family for roughly a decade. The group filled a void inside of her, and the longer she was a member, the more dependent she became on the group to fulfill her needs. "The stakes were so high," she told People. "They were my only friends. I was married into this group. I had built my entire life around it. If I admitted that I was wrong...everything else would come crumbling down."

Though she may not have identified the group as a cult while she was in it, or even in the years immediately following her exit, Lenz knew in her gut that something was not right. It took the birth of her daughter, however, for her to act on these feelings. Lenz's daughter Maria Rose Galeotti was born in 2011, a month before Lenz announced her impending divorce. Though exact dates are not known, it can be deduced that Lenz fled the compound around that same time. "I remember having this thought," Lenz said in a 2024 interview with "Good Morning America." "I said, 'I don't know what's wrong with me and why I will allow myself to be treated this way, but there's no way in hell I'm going to allow this to happen to her. We gotta get out.'"

Rewatch podcasts — wherein actors and/or creatives view and discuss episodes of their old TV series — have become all the rage in recent years. From "Boy Meets World" to "7th Heaven" to "Beverly Hills, 90210," just about every teen show worth its salt has gotten the rewatch treatment. It should come as no surprise, then, that Bethany Joy Lenz and two co-stars started their own podcast to take a look back at "One Tree Hill," their journey, and the show's legacy. Called "Drama Queens," the pod got its start in 2021, and it is still running today. Just not with the same format... or the same lineup of hosts.

"Drama Queens" was originally hosted by "One Tree Hill" alumni Lenz, Sophia Bush, and Hilarie Burton. Because Burton left the show in Season 6, she left the podcast when the rewatch hit the end of her episodes (although there are also rumors she left due to behind-the-scenes drama). Another "One Tree Hill" star, Robert Buckley, was brought in to replace Burton. "Now looking back, the show is something that I love so dearly," Lenz told People in 2025, after completing all episodes. "I'm not worried about all the things that were clouding the memories that made me uncertain of whether I should be happy about it or not. Now I just feel a lot of joy and a lot of peace and a lot of sentimentality and nostalgia." Toward the end of 2025, with no more episodes to rewatch, the podcast transitioned to a celebrity interview format.

When it comes to the creative arts, there is not a whole lot that Bethany Joy Lenz does not do. That said, writing has been a longtime passion for the star and her pivot to print was not something that happened on a whim. It just so happens that two new print endeavors — a newspaper and a memoir — both hit the world in the same year. One could call 2023 the year of the written word, as far as Lenz is concerned.

The higher profile project, Lenz's memoir, was a natural evolution for the star. "I had started writing as a catharsis in journals. I had written songs, [a] short film version. I sort of started to put this out on paper for a book one day over the last 10 years, and it was something that had become more, for me, an outlet," she explained to The Hollywood Reporter in 2024. "So, when the opportunity came up, I just started going back through all those files and went, 'OK, well, let's put this together.' The result was "Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult!), which became a New York Times bestseller.

A memoir is nothing out of the ordinary for a Hollywood star, but founding and running your own (printed) newspaper? Now, that's cool. The goals of Modern Vintage News, per the website, are to cultivate "empathy through critical thinking and deeper connections" and "celebrate women taking up space."

Bethany Joy Lenz has, in more recent years, become a Hallmark Channel staple. She began her relationship with the channel in 2014 when she appeared in a Hallmark Christmas film called "The Christmas Secret," opposite John Reardon. She has since starred in many other Christmas-themed movies for the brand, including "A Biltmore Christmas" in 2023 and an Unexpected Christmas in 2021. Before she was a full-on Hallmark queen, Lenz also appeared in a few Christmas films for its competitor Lifetime, but the last of those was in 2018. It was around then that she became loyal to Hallmark, and the channel has returned the favor. In addition to her three Christmas films for the channel, Lenz has starred in five other popular Hallmark movies, such as "Royal Matchmaker" and "Just My Type."

Beyond television films, Lenz is also the headliner for the Hallmark+ Original Series "Hope Valley: 1874," a spinoff that explores the origins of the frontier town featured in the popular series "When Calls The Heart." Straight away, the show did big numbers on Hallmark+, and the first season was so well-received that a second season pickup came before the season finale had even dropped. "It's such a dream job," Lenz told People in 2026. "It feels big."

In addition to portraying lovable widow, mom, and boarding house owner Rebecca Clarke, Lenz also wrote and performed the show's theme song. And it's a family affair, since Lenz's daughter also acts in the series (using the stage name Maria March).