Lili Pauline Reinhart is an American actress best known for her role as Betty Cooper on the popular teen drama series Riverdale.
Who is Lili Reinhart?
Apart from appearing on The CW teen drama series Riverdale (2017), the American actress Lili Reinhart also portrayed Annabelle in Lorene Safaria’s black comedy crime drama film Hustlers (2019). In 2020, she was cast as Grace Town in Chemical Hearts, a film adaptation of the novel ‘Our Chemical Hearts’ by Krystal Sutherland.
Early Life
Lili Reinhart was born September 13, 1996, in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in the nearby town of Bay Village. At age 10, Reinhart developed a passion for singing, dancing, and acting. She even requested her mother to drive her to New York City for auditions. At age 18, Reinhart moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, though she almost gave up after five months due to mental illness.
Mental Health
Reinhart started battling social anxiety and depression when she was in seventh grade. She explained during an interview with Ocean Drive Magazine why she often speaks out about issues surrounding depression.
“I remember being in middle and high school and hearing Demi Lovato speak about her mental illness, and that was comforting. But I wanted more people to stand up. I needed more people to relate to.”
Reinhart felt isolated and depressed in between auditions when she was eighteen years old, just after moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting. After five months on the West Coast, she returned home and worked with a therapist. Nevertheless, she never gave up on her acting dreams. She booked Riverdale shortly after her return to Los Angeles.
Career
In 2010, Reinhart starred in the television pilot for Scientastic and appeared on the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2011). She also featured in the films Lilith (2011), Not Waving But Drowning (2012), The Kings of Summer (2013), Gibsonburg (2013), Forever’s End (2013), Miss Stevens (2016), and The Good Neighbor (2016).
She portrayed Betty Cooper in The CW’s teen drama television series Riverdale on February 9, 2016. The film was based on the characters of Archie Comics. The series premiered on January 26, 2017, and was renewed for a sixth season in February 2021. Reinhart previously worked on the Fox sitcom Surviving Jack before auditioning for Riverdale.
In 2017, Reinhart was cast as Tiffany, a child who was given up for adoption, in the film Galveston, directed by Melanie Laurent. On March 10, 2018, the film premiered at South by Southwest and received a limited theatrical release through RLJE Films on October 19, 2018. Apart from receiving critical reviews, Galveston grossed only $190,320 at the box office.
In March 2019, Reinhart played Annabelle, “the baby of the group,” a former stripper who joins Ramona and her crew in drugging and robbing their Wall Street clientele in Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States the following week. It garnered numerous positive critical reviews and grossed $157.6 million worldwide.
In May 2020, Reinhart voiced Bella-Ella, “a … snooty rich (girl)” in the Simpsons episode “The Hateful Eight-Year-Olds.” In the same year, it was announced that Reinhart would star in Wanuri Kahiu’s Look Both Ways. She would play the role of a college student named Natalie, whose life diverged into two parallel realities on the eve of her college graduation.
Personal Life
Reinhart suffers from anxiety and body dysmorphia. She was diagnosed with depression at age 14. She practices meditation and is training to be a reiki healer.
In the spring of 2017, fans began speculating that Reinhart was dating her Riverdale co-star Cole Sprouse, who plays Jughead Jones. This resulted from both posting each other on their social media pages. Sprouse always featured photos of Reinhart on his Instagram, while Reinhart sent him a warm message on his 25th birthday.
In January 2018, the pair vacationed together in Hawaii and were spotted kissing in Paris in April. Later that month, the two took a romantic trip to Mexico, though they never confirmed their relationship.
In May 2018, Sprouse and Reinhart attended the Met Gala together. However, the pair were spotted keeping distance from one another at a San Diego Comic-Con event in July 2019. It was mistakenly reported that the two had split, though rumors of their breakup surfaced again in May 2020.
Reinhart came out as bisexual in June 2020.