Biography.guide
Home › People › Television actor › Nikki Reed
Portrait of Nikki Reed

Nikki Reed

b. 1988

American actress

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Nikki Reed

Born 1988. Nikki Reed is an American television actor, film actor, actor, screenwriter, film producer and director.

Nikki Reed is an American actress, screenwriter, and entrepreneur best known for her role as Rosalie Hale in The Twilight Saga (2008–12). Reed rose to prominence when she starred in and co-wrote the psychological drama film Thirteen with director Catherine Hardwicke, for which she won Best Breakthrough Performance and was nominated for Best First Screenplay at the 19th Independent Spirit Awards.

Early life Reed's mother is Cherokee-Italian whereas her father, a set designer, is Jewish. Reed was raised without religion but has identified as Jewish. She grew up around some Jewish practices, as her brother had a Bar Mitzvah.

Reed has said in numerous interviews that her early home life was "pretty complicated". Her parents divorced when Reed was two, after her mother found her father in bed with another man. She was raised by her mother. In 2002, when Reed was 14 years old, she moved out of her mother's house and began living on her own, mainly in apartments in the Los Angeles area. After Thirteens success, Reed returned to Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, but dropped out again after a year. She said that "mothers who were sneaking into the school at lunchtime to confront and harass her about the film" were the reason for her departure. invited Reed to work on a script with her when she said she was interested in acting. They finished the script for the semi-autobiographical film Thirteen in six days. Producers asked Reed to play a role in the film because they had trouble casting it, as it was an "uncomfortable" role for most young actresses.

Reed said that her early decision to avoid acting in television series or in mainstream cinema was naïve. She had thought at the time they were not right for her, but had since gained valuable experience in them. She had a lead role in Mini's First Time, which received a limited release in the United States on July 14, 2006. Reed played a teenager who, through seduction, involves her stepfather in a plot to murder her mother. Reed has noted that her character does not "understand the weight of consequence". She said she had enjoyed playing someone who she describes as "crass" and having a "trucker's mouth". Reed's character has sex scenes. As Reed was 16 at the time and legally unable to film such scenes in an explicit way, she was filmed from the back to hide her face. The film, directed by Stewart's mother, takes place in a dorm of the Los Angeles County Jail. It was to feature both Stewart and Reed as female characters. Later that year, Reed said that she was no longer part of the project. In July 2010, Reed joined the cast of the lady assassin action-drama Catch .44, alongside Bruce Willis, Forest Whitaker and Malin Akerman. In November 2010, it was announced that Reed would star with Hayden Panettiere in the film Downers Grove, a movie adaptation of Michael Hornburg's novel. The screenplay was written by Bret Easton Ellis, the novelist who wrote The Rules of Attraction and American Psycho.

In December 2011, it was announced that Reed joined the cast of Pawn, an indie crime thriller directed by David A. Armstrong. The film also stars Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta, Common, Michael Chiklis, Sean Faris, Stephen Lang, Marton Csokas and Jessica Szohr. In July 2013, Reed joined the cast of the independent sports comedy Balls Out, alongside Jake Lacy, Kate McKinnon, Beck Bennett and Jay Pharoah. The film is about a group of college friends who get together in their final year to play a game of intramural football. In 2019, she appeared in an episode of the Hulu original TV show Dollface.

Other work Reed recorded a song, "Now That I've Found You", with her then-husband Paul McDonald, which debuted on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on November 15, 2011. The couple released their first EP, The Best Part, on October 29, 2012. Their song "All I've Ever Needed" is on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 soundtrack.

In January 2013, Reed filmed Hanson's 2013 music video for their single, "Get the Girl Back", also with McDonald. The video was released in April 2013. Other well-known figures in the video include Kat Dennings, Drake Bell, Drew Seeley, Amy Paffrath, and Alex Beh.

Reed wrote a script set in New Zealand between the 1960s and the 1980s. She has said she feels more versatile than her typecasting in roles of "sexy bad girls". She has sometimes been told by producers that she is too "sexy" for a particular part.

In 2017, Reed and friend Morgan Bogle set up a sustainable jewelry brand BaYou With Love. The company works with Dell turning recycled technology into jewelry.

Personal life Reed met Paul McDonald, a singer-songwriter and former American Idol contestant, on the red carpet at the premiere of Red Riding Hood in March 2011. This moment was broadcast on an American Idol episode as part of a segment that showed the contestants attending the premiere. The couple began dating, and moved in together not long after. They confirmed their engagement in June 2011, and married on October 16, 2011, in Malibu, California. In March 2014, Reed and McDonald announced that they had separated after living apart for the previous six months due to "work obligations". Reed filed for divorce in May 2014, and the divorce was finalized on January 2, 2015.

Reed began dating actor Ian Somerhalder in mid-2014. They confirmed their engagement in February 2015, and married on April 26, 2015, in Malibu, California. They have two children: a daughter born in 2017 and a son born in 2023.

Reed is close friends with her Twilight co-star Jackson Rathbone and Spy Kids actress Alexa Vega, who was her maid of honor at her first wedding.

Activism Reed teamed up with Staples and Do Something for their third Annual School Supply Drive in the summer of 2011. She is also an animal rights advocate. She volunteers at animal shelters in her free time and she designed a limited edition collar and leash for Gilt to benefit ASPCA. On October 22, 2014, she was honored with the ASPCA Compassion Award for her contributions to animal welfare.

Reed endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Filmography + Film Year Title Role Notes 2003 Thirteen Evie Zamora Also co-writer 2005 Man of God Zane Berg Lords of Dogtown Kathy Alva American Gun Tally 2006 Mini's First Time Minerva "Mini" Drogues 2007 Cherry Crush Shay Bettencourt 2008 Twilight Rosalie Hale Familiar Strangers Allison 2009 Rosalie Hale Last Day of Summer Stefanie Also executive producer 2010 Rosalie Hale Chain Letter Jessie Campbell PrivilegedLauren Carrington 2011 Catch .44 Kara The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Rosalie Hale 2012 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 2013 Empire State Lizzette Pawn Amanda Enter the Dangerous Mind Wendy 2014 Balls Out Meredith Downs In Your Eyes Donna Murder of a Cat Greta 2015 About Scout Georgie 2016 Jack Goes Home CrystalAlso co-producer A Sunday Horse Debi Walden

+ Television Year Title Role Notes 2006 Sadie Campbell 6 episodes Justice Molly Larusa 1 episode 2015–2016 Sleepy Hollow Betsy Ross 15 episodes 2019 Dollface Bronwyn 1 episode V-Wars Rachel 5 episodes

+ Music videos Year Title Artist Notes 2005 Just Feel Better Santana feat. Steven Tyler 2010 No Rose Petals & Bubblebaths Sabrina 2012 Now That I've Found You Nikki Reed and Paul McDonald Also director All I've Ever Needed Nikki Reed and Paul McDonald 2013 Get the Girl Back Hanson 2015 Til It Happens to You Lady Gaga 2016 In Too Deep The Sweeplings Also director Where's the Love? The Black Eyed Peas featuring The World

Awards and nominations

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
Alexander Hamilton High School
Awards
Young Hollywood Awards

Family & relationships

Spouse
Ian Somerhalder
Spouse
Paul McDonald (musician)

People in Nikki Reed's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Nikki Reed's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Nikki Reed?

American actress

When was Nikki Reed born?

Nikki Reed was born on 17 May 1988 in West Los Angeles.

What is Nikki Reed's occupation?

Nikki Reed is a television actor, film actor, actor, screenwriter, film producer and director.

What nationality is Nikki Reed?

Nikki Reed is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Nikki Reed

· Wikidata: Q234847

· DBpedia: Nikki Reed

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Nikki Reed. https://biography.guide/nikki-reed/

MLA: "Nikki Reed." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/nikki-reed/.

Chicago: "Nikki Reed." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/nikki-reed/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-26 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:14 UTC