Ashley Rickards

Ashley Rickards (born May 4, 1992) is an American actress, known for her role as Jenna Hamilton in the MTV comedy-drama series Awkward, and as Samantha "Sam" Walker, a troubled young girl in The CW's teen drama series One Tree Hill. She also starred in the 2011 independent drama film Fly Away as Mandy, an autistic girl.

Early life and acting career Born on May 4, 1992 in Sarasota, Florida, Rickards grew up on a horse farm that catered to children with special needs. She attended a local Montessori school where, at age 13, she had her first experience of acting in an opera production. Rickards graduated from high school at age fifteen and is a member of Mensa. After attending a local talent showcase, organized by Lou Pearlman, Rickards traveled to Los Angeles where she eventually gathered a team of representatives. Upon graduating, Rickards began to appear in a number of minor roles, while child labor laws restricted the number of hours she was able to work. Her character did not return the following season, while in the same year she had a bit part in her first feature film, Gamer.

Rickards spent much of 2009 attending auditions while a proposed lead role in the film Dirty Girl fell through. In 2010, she appeared opposite Jimmy Smits in an episode of the legal drama Outlaw while she also auditioned for the lead role in the MTV series Awkward. Initially rejected, her manager Adam Griffin sent the producers a tape Rickards had made for Fly Away "to show how she can do anything". The actress landed both roles and filmed the pilot for the MTV series prior to Fly Away, a feature where she played a girl with severe autism.

As the lead in Awkward, Rickards' profile began to rise and she was also given the opportunity to direct an episode. In 2012, she had a minor role in the moderately successful comedy Struck by Lightning and another coming-of-age film Sassy Pants. In 2015, she filmed the fifth and final season of Awkward. In August 2016 it was announced that Rickards would play Rosalind "Rosa" Dillon/The Top in the CW series The Flash. She also featured in the first season of comedy series Ctrl Alt Delete that aired in 2019.

Other activities In 2011, Rickards helped to launch the Project Futures Somaly Mam Foundation, which works to prevent and end human trafficking and sexual slavery in Southeast Asia. In March 2015, she published the book A Real Guide to Really Getting It Together Once and For All (Really).

Over the course of her career, she has also appeared in various music videos such as The Fray's "How to Save a Life", The Format's "She Doesn't Get It", and M83's "Claudia Lewis".

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2006 Web Journal Now Janet Short film 2007 Spoonfed Bridgette Short film 2009 Gamer 2Katchapredator 2011 Fly Away Mandy 2012 Struck by Lightning Vicki Jordan 2012 Sassy Pants Bethany Pruitt 2014 At the Devil's Door Hannah 2014 Becky 2014 Behaving Badly Kristen Stevens 2017 Virginia Van Der Camp 2017 Antisocial.app Jessie 2018 Pretty Little Stalker Mallory 2020 Smiley Face Killers Alana

Television Year Title Role Notes 2006 Everybody Hates Chris Girl Episode: "Everybody Hates Superstition" 2007 CSI: NY Young Lindsay Monroe Episode: "Sleight Out of Hand" 2007 Zoey 101 Molly Talbertsen Episode: "Dance Contest" 2007 Ugly Betty Sharra Episodes: "Grin and Bear It" and "A League of Their Own" 2008–2009 One Tree Hill Samantha "Sam" Walker Recurring role 2008 Entourage Candice Episode: "The All Out Fall Out" 2010 Outlaw Tracy Vidalin Episode: "In Re: Tracy Vidalin" 2011–2016 Awkward Jenna Hamilton Main role; also directed episode: "Listen to This" 2011 American Horror Story: Murder House Chloe Stapleton Episodes: "Halloween (Part 2)" and "Piggy Piggy" 2015 Robot Chicken Jenna Hamilton, Betty Cooper, Ashley (voice) Episode: "Cake Pillow" 2015 Scream Jenna Hamilton Promotional campaigns for season 1 2016–2017,2021–2022 The Flash Rosalind "Rosa" Dillon / The Top Recurring role 2017 Dimension 404 Susan Hirsch Episode: "Chronos" 2019 Ctrl Alt Delete A'sha 6 episodes

Music videos Year Title Role Artist 2006 "How to Save a Life" Girl The Fray 2007 "She Doesn't Get It" Love interest The Format 2013 "Claudia Lewis" Girl M83

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2011 Arizona International Film Festival Best Performance Fly Away 2012 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Actress in a Comedy Series Awkward 2012 Teen Choice Award Summer TV Star: Female Awkward