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

The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American 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, the show f ...

'', as well as 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 the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initialis ...

'' and ''

Colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

''.

Early life

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

St. George, Utah St. 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 city lies in the no ...

, and raised in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, outside

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

. 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 she moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

at age 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 directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

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, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

North Shore North Shore or Northshore may refer to: Geographic features Australia *North Shore (Sydney), a suburban region of Sydney **Electoral district of North Shore **North Shore railway line, Sydney *Noosa North Shore, Queensland * North Shore, New So ...

'' 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 (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

's drama series '' Reunion''. 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, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

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 series ''

'', in the role of Grace Van Pelt. 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. 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 Tarapacá, in Chile *University of Tampere, in Finland Sports * FC UTA Arad, a Romanian football club based in the town of Arad * A c ...

. Righetti left ''The Mentalist'' after season six. Righetti starred as a divorced novelist in the

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies ...

television film ''Love at the Shore'' (2017).

Personal life

Righetti married director and writer Jordan Alan on April 29, 2006, on the Hawaiian island of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

. 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 Actresses from Nevada Actresses from Utah American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses American people of Italian descent Living people People from Clark County, Nevada People from St. George, Utah 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses