Amanda Righetti (born April 4, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for playing Grace Van Pelt on ''

The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, t ...

'' and her roles in ''

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year ...

'', ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on Fox in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, with a total of four seasons consisting of 92 episodes. The serie ...

'' and ''

Colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

''.

Early life

The youngest of eight children, Righetti was born on April 4, 1983, in

St. George, Utah St. George or Saint George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The cit ...

, and raised in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, outside

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. Her father, Alexander Dominic Righetti, is of Italian descent, while her mother, Linda Carol Chisum, is of German, French, and English descent.

Career

Righetti started modeling at age 14, then moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at 18 to start her acting career. After securing a role in the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

for a proposed series by the name of ''No Place Like Home'', she played a recurring character in the teen drama ''

'', was a regular in the primetime

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'' North Shore'', and in late 2005, Righetti starred in

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's drama series '' Reunion''. Her other credits include a recurring role on '' K-Ville'', guest roles on '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'', and a role in the television film '' Romy and Michele: In the Beginning''. Amanda Righetti 2009

In 2006, Righetti signed on to star as the female lead in horror sequel ''

Return to House on Haunted Hill ''Return to House on Haunted Hill'' is a 2007 American horror film and the sequel to the 1999 film ''House on Haunted Hill''. Directed by Víctor Garcia and written by William Massa, the film stars Amanda Righetti, Tom Riley, Cerina Vincent and ...

''. The film was released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

in October 2007. In April 2008, she was cast as the female lead in the slasher film ''

'' (2009). Production ended in June 2008 and the film was released in theaters on February 13, 2009. Also that year, Righetti was signed to the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

series ''

'', in the role of

Grace Van Pelt Grace Van Pelt Rigsby is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama ''The Mentalist'', portrayed by Amanda Righetti. Van Pelt Rigsby is a former special agent in the fictionalized California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) who is currently a priva ...

. Her 2012 to 2013 pregnancy was not reflected in her character's storyline, during which she was filmed using selective angles and largely limited to desk duty. Righetti left ''The Mentalist'' after season six. In September 2011, Righetti signed with talent agency

UTA Uta or UTA may refer to: Universities *University of Texas at Arlington, in the United States *University of Texas at Austin, in the United States *University of Tarapacá, in Chile *University of Tampere, in Finland Sports * FC UTA Arad, a R ...

. From 2016 to 2017, Righetti played role of Maddie Kenner in ''

''. In 2017, Righetti starred as a divorced novelist in the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

television film ''Love at the Shore''. Righetti starred in the 2021 holiday romance film ''Christmas at the Ranch'', with

Lindsay Wagner Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science fiction television series '' The Bionic Woman'' (1976–1978), in which she portrayed character Jaime Sommers. S ...

Laur Allen Laur Allen (born March 9) is an American actress and beauty pageant winner. She is known for playing Juliet Helton in the American television soap opera, ''The Young and the Restless''. Early life Laur Allen was born in Cedars-Sinai Medical Cent ...

Archie Kao Archie Kao ( Chinese: 高聖遠) is an American actor and producer. He is best known to American audiences for series regulars roles on '' Chicago P.D.'', '' Power Rangers Lost Galaxy'' as well as long-running hit '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigat ...

, and

Dia Frampton Dia Frampton (born October 2, 1987) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Frampton is the lead singer of the band Meg & Dia, was the runner-up in the inaugural season of '' The Voice,'' and is perhaps most known for her presence and ...

, playing the character Kate. In 2024, Righetti played Nelle Reagan, the mother of

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

Sean McNamara Sean Patrick Michael McNamara (born May 9, 1962) is an American film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter. Life and career McNamara was born in Burbank, California, Burbank, California. He is best known for his feature films ''Soul Sur ...

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...

''.

Personal life

Righetti married director and writer

Jordan Alan Jordan Alan is an American film director, producer and television-commercial, television commercial director. In 1985, Alan made a 35mm film trailer starring Sandra Bullock. The trailer was screened by South African film producer Anant Singh (f ...

on April 29, 2006, on the Hawaiian island of

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

. They have a son, born in 2013. Righetti filed for divorce in 2017.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

* 2009 New York Independent International Film and Video Festival: Best Actress in a Short Film – Amanda Righetti in ''Matter''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Righetti, Amanda 1983 births Actors from Clark County, Nevada Actresses from Nevada Actresses from Utah American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses American people of Italian descent Living people People from St. George, Utah 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses