Ashley Rickards facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ashley Rickards
Rickards at the Media Access Awards on October 16, 2014
Born	Ashley Nicole Rickards Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Actress director
Years active	2005–present

Ashley Nicole Rickards is an American actress. She is well-known for playing Jenna Hamilton in the MTV show Awkward. She also played Samantha "Sam" Walker in The CW series One Tree Hill. In 2011, she starred in the movie Fly Away as Mandy, a girl with autism.

About Ashley Rickards

Growing Up and Starting Out

Ashley Rickards was born in Sarasota, Florida. She grew up on a horse farm. This farm helped children with special needs. When she was 13, Ashley acted in an opera for the first time. She went to a Montessori school. Ashley finished high school when she was just fifteen years old. She is also a member of Mensa, a group for people with high IQs.

After a talent show, Ashley went to Los Angeles. There, she found people to help her start her acting career. She began with small roles. Child labor laws meant she could only work a few hours.

Early TV Roles

Ashley made guest appearances in different shows. She then got the role of Samantha Walker. Samantha was a runaway foster child in One Tree Hill. This was in the show's sixth season. Ashley learned a lot from this role. Her character did not return for the next season. In the same year, she had a small part in the movie Gamer.

Landing Big Roles

In 2009, Ashley went to many auditions. In 2010, she appeared with Jimmy Smits in the show Outlaw. She also tried out for the main role in the MTV series Awkward. At first, she was not chosen. But her manager sent a video of her acting in Fly Away. This video showed how talented she was. Ashley got both roles. She filmed the pilot for Awkward before Fly Away. In Fly Away, she played a girl with severe autism.

Becoming a Star

As the main actress in Awkward, Ashley became more famous. She even got to direct one episode of the show. In 2012, she had roles in the movies Struck by Lightning and Sassy Pants. In 2014, Ashley acted in horror movies. These included At the Devil's Door and A Haunted House 2. She filmed the fifth and final season of Awkward in 2015.

In August 2016, it was announced that Ashley would play Rosalind "Rosa" Dillon/The Top. This was for The CW series The Flash. She also appeared in the comedy series Ctrl Alt Delete in 2019.

Other Interests

In 2011, Ashley helped start Project Futures Somaly Mam Foundation. This group works to stop bad things from happening to people in Southeast Asia. In March 2015, she wrote a book. It is called A Real Guide to Getting It Together Once and For All.

Ashley has also been in several music videos. These include "How to Save a Life" by The Fray. She was also in "She Doesn't Get It" by The Format. And she appeared in "Claudia Lewis" by M83.

Film and Television Work

Movies

Television Shows

Music Videos

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Ashley Rickards para niños