Reeser graduated from UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television in 2004.[2] She also studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.[3]
Career
Television
Early in her career, she appeared in television commercials for Burger King, Clean & Clear and International House of Pancakes.[4] Her first on-screen appearance was a role as Ventu Girl in the episode "Natural Law" of UPN's Star Trek: Voyager. Shortly thereafter, she booked guest roles in television shows CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Birds of Prey and Cold Case, and moved onto recurring roles in the sitcoms Grounded for Life, Maybe It's Me and Complete Savages. She rose to fame through her role as Taylor Townsend on the Fox series The O.C. (2005–2007).[5][6] She reflected back on the character during a 2010 interview, saying "I feel like there's a lot of girls out there who could really relate to her, who hadn't seen themselves on TV in that way. I loved that about her. I loved that she made no apologies for who she was even though she wasn't what all the magazines said was OK. She was like, 'I'm still valid. And I'm awesome. And I know I'm odd, and that's OK.'"[7]
Reeser portrayed Lizzy Grant in ten episodes of HBO's comedy-drama television series Entourage (2009–2010).[8][9] First appearing in the show's sixth season, Lizzie is a junior agent working in the Miller Gold Agency's TV division under Andrew Klein, with whom she has an affair. Reeser played Phoebe Valentine, a goddess from Greek mythology in The CW's romantic comedy-drama series Valentine (2008–2009). In 2009, she portrayed lawyer Ashley Hastings in three episodes of TNT's legal drama series Raising the Bar. Reeser played Katie Andrews, Julie Benz's personal assistant in ABC's No Ordinary Family (2010–2011).[10] The show centers on the Powells, a typical American family living in fictional Pacific Bay, California, whose members gain special powers after their plane crashes in the Amazon, Brazil. Reeser also had roles as Kylie Sinclair in Last Resort, as Dr. Gabrielle Asano in Hawaii Five-0 and as Abigail Bruce in Necessary Roughness.[11] She had guest roles in several television shows, including It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Ghost Whisperer, Pushing Daisies, Human Target, Royal Pains, Jane by Design, and Hart of Dixie.
In 2015, Reeser portrayed Amanda Weil in three episodes of ABC's science fiction drama series The Whispers. In 2017, she had a recurring role as Tess, Darius Tanz's childhood sweetheart, on the CBS show Salvation.[12] She played talent agent Leslie Bellcamp on the two seasons of The Arrangement, on the E! network.[13] The series follows an unknown actress who, after a successful audition, is plucked from obscurity and offered a secret contract to be the fiancée to Kyle West, one of Hollywood's biggest stars.[14][15] In 2018, she made a guest appearance as Dr. Wells on Fox's procedural drama television series 9-1-1, in the episode "Let Go".
In late 2012, she received positive reviews for Hallmark Channel's Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, in which she was the main heroine.[20] Shortly after, she appeared in a number of romantic comedies aired on the Hallmark Channel,[21] with leading roles in Midnight Masquerade (October 2014), I Do, I Do, I Do (February 2015),[22]A Country Wedding (June 2015), Valentine Ever After (February 2016), A Bramble House Christmas (November 2017), Season for Love (August 2018), Love on the Menu (February 2019), All Summer Long (August 2019), and Christmas Under the Stars (November 2019).
She joined forces with fellow Hallmark regulars Lacey Chabert and Allison Sweeney in a trilogy that aired on the Hallmark Channel in 2022 about three long-time college friends who find an antique wedding veil that was reputed to bring its possessor her destined partner. She played Emma, who teaches art history and later travels to Italy to investigate the veil's origin. Lacey Chabert as Avery and Allison Sweeney as Tracy were her cohorts, and the three actresses reprised their roles in a sequel trilogy that aired on the Hallmark Channel in 2023.[23]
An accomplished singer and dancer, Reeser has played in many musicals throughout her life. She also sang in numerous cabarets around Los Angeles, including Upright Cabaret and the acclaimed For The Record: Quentin Tarantino (Show at Barre).[26] Reeser played Julie Cooper in The O.C. one-night musical, which took place at The Federal Bar in North Hollywood on August 30, 2015.[27] In 2019, she starred in the West Coast premiere of Nicky Silver's Too Much Sun at the Odyssey Theater in Los Angeles.
Reeser was featured on the cover of December 2006 issue of Stuff magazine.[30] She has also appeared in editorials for Maxim, Celebrity Skin and Zooey.[31][32] She was ranked at number 57 on the Maxim magazine's "Hot 100 of 2006" list,[33] at number 65 on the Maxim "Hot 100 of 2007" list[34] and at number 85 on the Maxim "Hot 100 of 2011" list.[35]
Personal life
On May 9, 2009, Reeser married writer and director Jesse Warren in Ojai, California.[36] The couple have two sons.[37][38] In November 2014, Reeser filed for divorce from Warren and requested joint physical and legal custody of their children.[39][40][41]
Author and friend Patrick Loubatière wrote her 2014 biography, titled No Ordinary Girl, published in English and French.[42]
In 2015, she was elected to SAG-AFTRA's National and Los Angeles Local Boards.[43]
