Biography
Born in Hollywood, Florida, Bethany Joy Lenz relocated to Los Angeles during her teenage years. An actress, filmmaker, singer, and songwriter recognized primarily for portraying Haley on the long-running series One Tree Hill, she first performed vocally at age three inside a Florida church. After her family settled in Arlington, Texas when she turned seven, she attended a performing arts school. Her grandfather, George Lenz, a veteran of Broadway musical theater, encouraged her early involvement in local stage productions. During a visit to Los Angeles she secured her initial television commercial booking, and throughout the 1990s she appeared in several made-for-TV movies as a young performer before joining the daytime drama Guiding Light as a recurring character in her late teens.
While continuing to develop instrumental abilities on guitar and piano, she issued her debut solo record, the folk-rock-oriented Preincamate, in 2002. The two-year Guiding Light stint opened doors to guest appearances on primetime programs including Charmed and Felicity, after which she joined the cast of the WB/CW series One Tree Hill as a series regular. She embodied the character Haley across the show’s entire 2003–2012 run, contributed a duet with Tyler Hilton titled “When the Stars Go Blue” (penned by Ryan Adams) to the soundtrack album One Tree Hill: Music from the WB Television Series, Vol. 1, and helmed multiple episodes. Her second full-length album, Come on Home, arrived in 2005. She subsequently partnered with musician Amber Sweeney to form the folk duo Everly, which debuted with the EP Mission Bell in 2008, released an expanded edition later the same year, and followed with the holiday collection Fireside in late 2009. Another solo effort, Then Slowly Grows, surfaced in 2012.
After One Tree Hill concluded, Lenz maintained activity in both music and acting. Her fourth solo album, Your Woman, was released in 2013, succeeded the next year by the four-track EP Get Back to Gold. Additional television work included recurring parts on Dexter, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and American Gothic.
While continuing to develop instrumental abilities on guitar and piano, she issued her debut solo record, the folk-rock-oriented Preincamate, in 2002. The two-year Guiding Light stint opened doors to guest appearances on primetime programs including Charmed and Felicity, after which she joined the cast of the WB/CW series One Tree Hill as a series regular. She embodied the character Haley across the show’s entire 2003–2012 run, contributed a duet with Tyler Hilton titled “When the Stars Go Blue” (penned by Ryan Adams) to the soundtrack album One Tree Hill: Music from the WB Television Series, Vol. 1, and helmed multiple episodes. Her second full-length album, Come on Home, arrived in 2005. She subsequently partnered with musician Amber Sweeney to form the folk duo Everly, which debuted with the EP Mission Bell in 2008, released an expanded edition later the same year, and followed with the holiday collection Fireside in late 2009. Another solo effort, Then Slowly Grows, surfaced in 2012.
After One Tree Hill concluded, Lenz maintained activity in both music and acting. Her fourth solo album, Your Woman, was released in 2013, succeeded the next year by the four-track EP Get Back to Gold. Additional television work included recurring parts on Dexter, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and American Gothic.
Singles
