Nichols was born in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Naperville, Illinois,[2] with her mother, who is of Mexican descent, and her stepfather, Randy.[3][4] Her biological father is of Russian-Jewish and Hungarian-Jewish descent.[5] She is the oldest of three siblings, having two younger brothers.
In 2017, Nichols began starring as Hermione Lodge, the mother of Veronica Lodge, in the teen drama series Riverdale, loosely based on the Archie comic book series. On February 23, 2020, Nichols announced that she would be leaving Riverdale ahead of its fifth season, making season four her last on the show.[9] However, in June 2020, Nichols revealed that after having a talk with showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, she would be staying on for season five.[10]
On the Nickelodeon animated television series The Loud House, Nichols voices Principal Ramirez.
Personal life
In November 1999, Nichols married Andrea Sorrentino, whom she met in Italy while filming the movie My Father's Shoes. They later divorced.[2][11] In April 2008, she married director Taron Lexton.[12] They have a daughter, born in September 2008.[13] In November 2018, Nichols filed for divorce.[11][14]
In the 1990s, Nichols became a Scientologist, having been introduced to it by her chiropractor.[2][3]
Volunteer work and activism
In an interview with Marie Claire,[16] Nichols stated that she was raped when she was eleven, and that it "changed the entire trajectory of my life in a day." This inspired her to start a non-profit organization called Foundation for a Slavery Free World and has regularly spoken publicly about sex trafficking and ways to prevent children from becoming trafficked victims.[17]
In 2012, as her career slowed down, Nichols began working with former FBI and CIA agents, Navy SEALs and Green Berets,[18] as well as local law enforcement who have left government agencies and gone independent to help trap child sex predators. Her role involved acting as "bait", playing whatever role the situation called for, such as pretending to be a parent who was pimping out a child.[17] In partnership with nonprofit organization Operation Underground Railroad, Nichols' work took her across the United States and other countries globally, including Haiti and Venezuela.[18][17]
