Amanda Righetti

Actress Amanda Righetti personified the ability had by some to catch the eye of television producers with one small, recurring part and spin that into a more permanent and higher-profile success. A native of St. George, UT (and the youngest of eight children), Righetti grew up in Las Vegas, NV, and enjoyed her first taste of fame with a multi-episode run as Hailey on the Fox network's prime-time soap opera The O.C. Though it failed to evolve into a permanent role, it so impressed the program's producers that they insisted on retaining Righetti for a follow-up assignment -- as a regular character, Tessa Lewis, on the Fox ensemble drama North Shore (2004). Unfortunately, that series only lasted one season, as did a regular role on a Fox follow-up series, Jon Harmon Feldman's experimental drama Reunion (2005). Righetti then moved into features, becoming something of a scream queen in horror-oriented work. Projects included director Victor Garcia's Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007) and the 2009 remake of the iconic 1980 slasher film Friday the 13th. She also returned to regular TV work in the fall of 2008, with a supporting role as rookie Grace Van Pelt on the detective drama The Mentalist, opposite Simon Baker. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide