Lili Pauline Reinhart (born September 13, 1996) is an American actress. She portrayed Betty Cooper on the CW teen drama series Riverdale (2017–2023) earning 7 Teen Choice Awards as well as nominations for a Critics' Choice Award and three People's Choice Awards.
Reinhart early film work includes supporting roles in The Kings of Summer (2013), Miss Stevens (2016), and Hustlers (2019). She has since taken leading roles in the romance films Chemical Hearts (2020), Look Both Ways (2022), and The Love Hypothesis (2026) as well as the crime drama American Sweatshop (2025) and the comedy-drama miniseries Hal & Harper (2025), all of which she also served as an executive producer.
Early life Reinhart was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Amy and Daniel Reinhart, and raised in the nearby town of Bay Village. She is of German and French descent and has stated her surname is of German origin. Reinhart is the middle of three sisters. She developed a love for singing, acting, and dancing at the age of 10, and asked her mother to drive her to New York City for auditions. Reinhart moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, when she was 16 years old. Reinhart moved to Los Angeles when she was 18 years old to pursue acting and after five months, she returned home to Charlotte, North Carolina, and worked with a therapist.
Career 2010–2016: Early roles Reinhart starred in the television pilot for Scientastic! (2010) and guest starred on the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2011). She also starred in the films Lilith (2011), Not Waving But Drowning (2012), The Kings of Summer (2013), Gibsonburg (2013), Forever's End (2013), Miss Stevens (2016), and The Good Neighbor (2016).
2017–2023: Breakthrough with Riverdale On February 9, 2016, Reinhart was cast as Betty Cooper in the CW's teen drama television series Riverdale, based on the characters of Archie Comics. Series creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa originally sought out Kiernan Shipka for the role after seeing her work in Mad Men. Reinhart auditioned twice for the role, first sending in an audition tape from her North Carolina home before appearing in person a month later. The series premiered on January 26, 2017, and in February 2021, it was renewed for a sixth season. Previously, Reinhart worked on the Fox sitcom Surviving Jack. In 2017, Reinhart was cast in Galveston, based on Nic Pizzolatto's 2010 novel of the same name. In the film, directed by Mélanie Laurent, Reinhart plays Tiffany, who was placed for adoption as a child. The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 10, 2018, and received a limited theatrical release through RLJE Films on October 19, 2018. Galveston received mixed critical reviews and grossed only $190,320 at the box office.
Reinhart joined the cast of Lorene Scafaria's Hustlers in March 2019. Reinhart played Annabelle, "the baby of the group," a former stripper who joins Ramona and her crew in drugging and robbing their Wall Street clientele. Reinhart described her character's aesthetic as "slutty Hannah Montana." A running gag shows Annabelle vomiting in times of stress, and the fake vomit was made of animal crackers and Sprite. Hustlers premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States the next week. The film received positive critical reviews and grossed $157.6million worldwide. The same year, Reinhart made a cameo appearance during the mid-credits scene of Elizabeth Banks' Charlie's Angels (2019).
In June 2019, it was announced that Reinhart would star as the female lead of Amazon Studios' romantic drama film Chemical Hearts, written and directed by Richard Tanne and based on the 2016 Krystal Sutherland novel Our Chemical Hearts. Reinhart played Grace Town, a physically disabled high school senior who falls in love with school newspaper writer Henry Page. In addition to starring, Chemical Hearts was Reinhart's first executive producer credit. The film was released on August 21, 2020, on Amazon Prime Video and received mixed reviews.
In May 2020, Reinhart voiced Bella-Ella, "a ... snooty rich [girl]" in the Simpsons episode "The Hateful Eight-Year-Olds". In March 2021, it was announced that Reinhart would star in Wanuri Kahiu's Look Both Ways as Natalie, a college student whose life diverges into two parallel realities on the eve of her college graduation. In one reality, she becomes pregnant and must navigate motherhood as a young adult; in the other, she moves to LA to pursue her career. In addition to starring in the film, Look Both Ways was Reinhart's second executive producer credit.
In June 2021, Reinhart's production company, Small Victory Productions, signed a deal with Amazon Studios. Small Victory Productions will develop original and adapted content for film and television with a focus on modern, young adult content that celebrates diversity and inclusivity, as well as supporting new voices.
2024–present In 2025, she acted in and executive produced the Netflix thriller American Sweatshop which debuted on Netflix. The film received positive reviews with critics praising her performance including Brian Tallerico of Roger Ebert.com who wrote that he was "impressed by the choices made by Reinhart" in a dramatic role. That same year, she also executive produced and starred opposite Cooper Raiff and Mark Ruffalo in the independent dramedy miniseries Hal & Harper (2025) which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and debuted on Mubi. Ben Travers, television critic for IndieWire highlighted Reinhart's performance among the cast as being "stellar". She received a nomination for the Gotham Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Limited or Anthology Series.
Other ventures In October 2019, Reinhart was announced as an ambassador for American Express for the relaunch of its AmexGreen Card. That same month, Reinhart became a spokesperson and ambassador for CoverGirl.
In September 2020, Reinhart released a book of poetry titled Swimming Lessons: Poems. The book explores themes such as "young love, anxiety, depression, fame, and heartbreak". For the week of October 18, 2020, Swimming Lessons: Poems debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list for paperback trade fiction. She launched a skincare line called Personal Day in 2024.
Personal life Reinhart practices Transcendental Meditation and is training to be a reiki healer. In June 2020, she came out as bisexual. In an Instagram story, she stated that she would be attending an LGBTQ for Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles.
Reinhart was diagnosed with depression at age 14. She has also opened up about her experiences with anxiety and body dysmorphia. In January 2024, she was diagnosed with alopecia. In 2025, she revealed that she was on antidepressants and struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, severe premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and endometriosis.
In 2026, Reinhart sparked online debate and viral reactions when she attended a Q&A event for the film Forbidden Fruits wearing a white tank top emblazoned with the phrase "I support a man's right to shut the fuck up". The fashion magazine Marie Claire defended "her right to wear this tank top whenever she wants", and the fashion magazine L'Officiel praised the clarity and consistency of the outfit.
Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes 2011 Lilith Lilith Wilson 2012 Not Waving but Drowning Amy 2013 The Kings of Summer Vicki Gibsonburg Kathy Colaner Forever's End Lily White 2016 Miss Stevens Margot Jensen The Good Neighbor Ashley 2018 Galveston Adult Tiffany 2019 Hustlers Annabelle Charlie's Angels Angel Recruit Cameo appearance 2020 Chemical Hearts Grace Town Also executive producer2022 Jennifer Lopez: Halftime Herself Documentary film; interview clip Look Both Ways Natalie Bennett Also executive producer2025American SweatshopDaisy Moriarty 2026 Forbidden Fruits Apple The Love Hypothesis Olive Smith Also executive producer
Television Year Title Role Notes 2010 Scientastic! Leah Episode: "Sticks and Stones" 2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Courtney Lane Episode: "Lost Traveller" 2014 Surviving Jack Heather Blumeyer Recurring role 2015 Cocked Marguerite Paxson Television film 2017–2023Riverdale Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper Main role 2020 One World: Together at Home Herself Television special The Simpsons Bella-Ella (voice) Episode: "The Hateful Eight-Year-Olds" 2025 Hal & Harper Harper Main role; also executive producer
Podcast Year Title Role Notes 2022 On Purpose with Jay Shetty Herself Episode: "Lili Reinhart ON: Living With Anxiety & Giving Yourself Permission to Feel All of Your Emotions"
Music videos Year Title Artist(s) 2026 "Swim" BTS "Do Me Right" Mr. Fantasy
Discography + List of Lili Reinhart soundtrack appearances Title Year Album "Jigsaw" 2013 Forever's End "In" 2018 Riverdale: Special Episode – Carrie the Musical (Original Television Soundtrack) "Do Me a Favor" "The World According to Chris" "You Shine" "A Night We'll Never Forget" "Mad World" Riverdale: Season 2 (Original Television Soundtrack) "Beautiful" 2019 Riverdale: Special Episode – Heathers the Musical (Original Television Soundtrack) "Candy Store" "Big Fun" "Seventeen" "Seventeen (Reprise)" "Dream Warriors" Riverdale: Season 3 (Original Television Soundtrack) "Wicked Little Town" 2020 Riverdale: Special Episode – Hedwig and the Angry Inch the Musical (Original Television Soundtrack) "Random Number Generation" "Wig in a Box" "Exquisite Corpse" "The Origin of Love" "Wicked Little Town (Reprise)" "Midnight Radio" "Just Another Day" 2021 Riverdale: Special Episode – Next to Normal the Musical (Original Television Soundtrack) "I Miss the Mountains" "Everything Else" "It's Gonna Be Good" "She's Not Here" "I Am the One" "I've Been" "Make Up Your Mind / Catch Me I'm Falling" "A Promise" "Maybe (Next to Normal)" "Light" "Walking in Space"Riverdale: Season 5 (Original Television Soundtrack) "Nothin' But a Good Time" "You Are What You Wear" 2022 Riverdale: Special Episode: American Psycho the Musical (Original Television Soundtrack) - EP "A Girl Before" "The End of the World" Riverdale: Season 6 (Original Television Soundtrack)
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2017 Teen Choice Awards Choice Breakout TV Star Riverdale Choice TV Ship Riverdale 2018 Saturn Awards Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television SeriesRiverdale Teen Choice Awards Choice Drama TV ActressRiverdale Choice Liplock Riverdale Choice TV Ship Riverdale Variety + H&M Conscious Award Conscious Award — 2019People's Choice AwardsDrama TV Star of 2019Riverdale Female TV Star of 2019Riverdale Teen Choice Awards Choice Drama TV ActressRiverdale Choice Ship Riverdale 2020 People's Choice Awards Female TV Star of 2020 Riverdale 2021 Critics' Choice Super Awards Best Actress in a Superhero Series Riverdale
Publications Swimming Lessons: Poems (September 29, 2020) September Love (November 3, 2020) (co-written with Lang Leav)
References
External links