Bethany Joy Lenz played the girl-next-door character of Haley James Scott on The CW series, One Tree Hill for nine long seasons. She was also one half of the show's star couple, Nathan and Haley (and she even had a crush on him in real life too). Before her days on the primetime drama series, Lenz's big break was portraying the role of Michelle Bauer on the daytime soap, Guiding Light. She also loves the theater and starred in many local productions growing up in New Jersey.
Fans may be wondering what Lenz has been up to since her days on their favorite teen drama. Well, for starters, she's made multiple Hallmark movies, which repeat on the Hallmark Channel every once in a while. Fans may also recall her five-episode stint on the final season of Dexter in 2013. She's also made many appearances on various television shows over the years, started a podcast with her One Tree Hill co-stars, and continues to raise her daughter Maria as a single mom.
6 Bethany Joy Lenz Is A Mom
Joy Lenz has been a mom to her daughter Maria Rose Galeotti since she gave birth to her on February 23, 2011. She has been a single mom since March of 2012, when she publicly announced her separation from Maria's father, Michael. She once posted on her Instagram feed about how hard it can be sometimes to be a single working mother, but that her daughter is worth all of the struggles that she goes through. Lenz now lives on a ranch in Southern California with her daughter and even owns some horses!
5 Bethany Joy Lenz Has Made Tons Of Hallmark Movies
Joy Lenz has made tons of made-for-TV movies for the Hallmark channel as well as for Lifetime. She has starred in Hallmark movies such as An Unexpected Christmas, Five Star Christmas, Just My Type, A Valentine's Match, Bottled With Love, as well as many others. Aside from the made-for-TV movies, she has also landed a few film roles made for the big screen, such as a role in Extortion, alongside actors Eion Bailey and Danny Glover, and Blindfire, alongside actors Sharon Leal and Wayne Brady. Most recently, she filmed a thriller movie with Andrew J. West and Alysia Reiner called So Cold the River.
4 Bethany Joy Lenz Has Guest-Starred On Many TV Shows
Lenz has made a handful of appearances on various television shows over the years, including roles on Grey's Anatomy, American Gothic, and Men at Work. She has also made appearances on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Sock Monkey Therapy. Lenz also had a recurring role on the second season of USA Network's series Colony and was a regular on the short-lived Suits spin-off called Pearson. A major recurring role she had in 2013 was appearing on five episodes of the final season of Dexter. Sadly, her character ended up being murdered, but, well, that's Dexter for you.
3 Bethany Joy Lenz Does Charity Work
Lenz designed her own line of jewelry in the year 2016 in a partnership with the brand Stilnest, which is an online jewelry company. She donated ten percent of the profits to a charity called the Tanka Fund, which, according to the nonprofit's website, is a corporation dedicated to converting "one million acres of virgin prairie to regenerative agriculture built around a buffalo-based economy." Lenz's jewelry pieces actually featured a buffalo motif, which she said was inspired by a trip she took to Fort Apache. Lenz has also taken part in the "Friends With Benefit" charity events and even auctioned off a Zoom call with her in 2021 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Greater Los Angeles Chapter.
2 Bethany Joy Lenz Occasionally Records Music
Lenz has had a love of music for as long as she can remember. She has released a handful of EPs over the years, including three of them since One Tree Hill ended. Her latest EP is a Christmas record that came out in 2020, titled Snow. In 2014 she recorded a song called "(They Long To Be) Close To You" for the A Boy Called Po soundtrack. She also recorded a song called "How About You" for her 2017 Lifetime movie, Snowed-Inn Christmas. She has had different band mates over the years and has also sung solo. From her partnership in the band "Everly" with musician Amber Sweeney to "Joy Lenz and The Fellas," Lenz has done touring over the years as well.
1 Bethany Joy Lenz Has A Podcast With Her One Tree Hill Co-Stars
As most One Tree Hill fans know, Lenz is part of the rewatch podcast, Drama Queens, along with her former One Tree Hill co-stars, Sophia Bush, and Hilarie Burton. They release episodes once a week and voice their opinions on each episode of the series as well as share behind-the-scenes information that even die-hard fans of the show didn't know about. They also occasionally have guests on the podcast, such as other former co-stars and guest stars. Bush stated in an interview on Michael Rosenbaum's podcast that Lenz originally didn't want to do the podcast, but when Bush told her that it would be a way for the women to reclaim the show from their viewpoint, she reconsidered it.
