25 Things You Don’t Know About Bethany Joy Lenz: 'OTH' Nickname and More
Bethany Joy Lenz is an author — again!
Her book The Betrayal of Cora Wexford, out now, is a spooky tale following a woman in 1880s London who paints the dead.
The actress’ 2024 memoir, Dinner for Vampires, detailed her time in a cult and continues to resonate with fans now.
“I feel so grateful for the chance to tell my story, and I’ve been surprised by how many people send me messages every day still, to tell me about their own similar experiences,” Lenz, 45, exclusively tells Us. “I hope it snowballs and just continues to help people heal. That’s the top outcome I could hope for.”
Below, the One Tree Hill alum also gives Us her unexpected favorite TV binge (about a fishing family?!) and reveals why she’s always getting sucked into Star Trek. Scroll down for all 25 things:
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1. My favorite season is autumn unless I’m on vacation. Then I want summer!
2. [When I was younger], my parents drove me to a house where the prettiest cocker spaniel jumped into my lap. We got to take him home and he was my finest friend for 13 years.
3. The last show I binged was The Hardacres on Britbox.I love the characters and the story of this tough fishery family becoming true fish out of water — pardon the pun — when they inherit a fortune. It’s a great setup and I totally fell in love with them all.
4. I tend not to read [reviews] unless someone on my team or a family member sends me something particularly nice.
Bethany Joy Lenz on Biggest Book Revelations, How the 'OTH' Cast Will React
5. I’m a night owl. I get my best ideas before bed, resolve to do them tomorrow, but difficulty waking up in the morning foils my plans.
6. [The nonprofit] Peace Over Violence is doing wonderful, trackable work in legal advocacy, counseling, intervention and prevention of domestic violence.
7. Most-quoted movie: Labyrinth. I could probably recite my way through the whole film.
8. Our One Tree Hill base camp PA called me “Joypiter” often. My neurodivergence is a superpower, but I can be really spacey.
Fred Norris/Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection
9. I feel so grateful for the chance to tell my story [in Dinner for Vampires]. People still send me messages every day to tell me their own similar experiences. I hope it continues to help people heal.
10. Playing a struggling woman with a heavy past in So Cold the River was a great challenge. I need more villain roles!
11. I’m never nervous with stunts, but I am with intense emotional overtures of sorrow. I’m not personally comfortable with wild outbursts of weeping in front of anyone — excuse me while I call my therapist.
12. I’m an excellent issue solver — MacGyver level. OK, I’ve never seen MacGyver, but this is what I’m told.
13. Growing up, Jodie Foster was my acting icon.
14. My first car was a1984 Ford Bronco II Eddie Bauer edition, forest green with tan trim.
15. “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” brings back the best memories. It came on the playlist in my delivery room.
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