Riley Emilia Voelkel (born April 26, 1990) is an American-born Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Freya Mikaelson on The CW television series The Originals and Legacies. Voelkel also played the role of Jenna Johnson on the HBO television series The Newsroom. In 2013, she played the younger version of Jessica Lange's character, the witch Fiona Goode in the FX series American Horror Story: Coven.

Riley Voelkel
Born
Riley Emilia Voelkel

(1990-04-26) April 26, 1990 (age 34)
OccupationActress
Years active2010–present
Notable work

Early life

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Voelkel was born in Elk Grove, California but raised in Calgary, Alberta.

Just a month away from going to college, a modeling scout came to her town and she decided to try her luck. The scout picked her and she went to Los Angeles where she was very much liked by several agents. She moved to Los Angeles to model, but, soon after, she joined an acting class recommended by an agent.[1]

Career

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Voelkel's first role was of a club girl in The Social Network, winning the part by audition. Afterwards, she signed with an agent,[citation needed] and booked her first starring role, as Carrie in the independent film, The Secret Lives of Dorks, released in 2013.[2][3] In 2012, she joined the HBO series The Newsroom only for the pilot episode, but later became the character of Jenna.[1] In 2014, she was cast as one of the leads in the Amazon pilot Point of Honor.[4][5]

In the fall 2014, Voelkel was cast in an unnamed recurring role on The CW series The Originals during its second season. Her character on The Originals, Freya Mikaelson, was upgraded to a series regular for the show's third season.[6][7]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 The Social Network Final Club Girl Uncredited[citation needed]
2011 Prom Claire
2012 Hidden Moon Christine Brighton
2013 Synthesizers Club Girl Short film
The Secret Lives of Dorks Carrie Smith
2016 Scrambled Cristina

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Glory Daze Caroline Episode: Pilot
2012 The Mentalist Tristan Episode: "Red is the New Black"
2012–14 The Newsroom Jenna Johnson Recurring, 15 episodes
2013 American Horror Story: Coven Young Fiona Goode 3 episodes
2014 Glee Sam Episode: "New New York"
2014–2018 The Originals Freya Mikaelson Recurring role (season 2)
Series regular (season 3–5); 60 episodes
2015 Point of Honor Lorelei Sumner Unsold television pilot
2016 Advance & Retreat Alison Sinclair TV movie
2019–2022 Roswell, New Mexico Jenna Cameron Recurring role
Legacies Freya Mikaelson Special guest star (3 episodes)[8]
2020–2024 Hightown Renee Segna Series regular
2022 Chicago Med Milena Jovanovic Recurring role

References

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  1. ^ a b "Don't ask Riley Voelkel why America is the best country in the world!". July 29, 2015.
  2. ^ Frank Scheck (September 25, 2013). "The Secret Lives of Dorks: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  3. ^ Scott Foundas (October 15, 2013). "Film Review: 'The Secret Lives of Dorks'". Variety. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  4. ^ Nellie Andreeva (August 27, 2014). "Riley Voelkel Cast In 'Point Of Honor'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 28, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  5. ^ Todd Spangler (November 11, 2014). "Amazon Studios Announces 7 Pilots for Early 2015". Variety. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  6. ^ Andy Swift (May 11, 2015). "Originals Scoop: Riley Voelkel Promoted to Series Regular". TVLine. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  7. ^ "The Originals Season 2 Spoilers: Meet Freya Mikaelson". gossipandgab.com.
  8. ^ Swift, Andy (March 24, 2022). "Legacies: Charles Michael Davis and Nathaniel Buzolic to Appear as Marcel and Kol in season 4 Episode". TVLine. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
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