For actress Alexandra Breckenridge, having children completely transformed her career. She went from starring in countless horror shows with some fairly gruesome onscreen deaths to opting for more family-friendly content like Hallmark and Netflix's Virgin River.
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Look familiar? She should, because she's done a little of everything. This starlet has appeared in everything from TV series like Freaks and Geeks to movies like Orange County. Her one true love is horror, of course, but she's been in a wide variety of projects that might have you pointing and scratching your head to try and remember where you saw her face last. As it turns out, it might have been in a number of different things!
Or maybe you heard her voice, saw a photo she took, or read about her in a set of celebrity updates. Not only is Breckenridge an actor, but she's a woman of many talents. She's also a singer, photographer, and voice actor, in addition to being a wife and mother. Seriously, is there anything she can't do?
Her current projects couldn't be more different from the roles she used to gravitate toward, but it's incredibly sweet that she's starring in things her kids can actually watch! If it's been a while since you perused Alexandra's acting catalogue or just want to learn a little more about her, we've got you covered. Need the 411 on stars she may be related to as well? Oh, we've got that in store for you, too.
Let's get a little more up close and personal with how she grew up in addition to her acting credits and most popular roles. You may just find that you've got a new favorite actress.
Who is Alexandra Breckenridge?
Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Breckenridge was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, but moved to California with her mother as a young child. As a teenager, she decided to try acting, so they headed out to Los Angeles. Having an uncle as an actor probably helped get her started -- she's related to NCIS actor Michael Weatherly. Early on, the actress appeared in numerous TV shows, including Dawson's Creek, Freaks and Geeks, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, JAG, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
She even landed lead roles in a couple of short-lived TV series, playing Willa McPherson in Dirt and Michele Weinberger in Romy and Michele: In the Beginning. Breckenridge has also appeared in multiple films, such as teen comedies She's The Man, Big Fat Liar, Orange County and D.E.B.S. Over the years, she's even formed a strong working relationship with Seth Macfarlane, appearing as numerous voices for years on his cartoons Family Guy and American Dad.
But Breckenridge has always been an avid horror fan, so as soon as she got to the point in her career where she could pick and choose, she started to gravitate toward projects that she would want to watch herself. In a conversation with Interview Magazine, the actress explained that she had always been a big fan of horror classics like Rosemary's Baby and The Shining.
"Any time a new horror film comes out that looks appealing, I'm always excited to go see it."
It's a Horror Fest!
IMDB
She eventually was able to land a recurring role in the fourth season of the HBO vampire series True Blood. She also appeared in the first season of Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story: Murder House and showed up in its third season, Coven, playing a witch. Breckenridge even appeared on AMC's The Walking Dead as Jessie Anderson, who (spoiler!) dies a horrific death getting mauled by zombies. Needless to say, she was appearing in a lot of projects that weren't exactly child-friendly, so she began to change gears as soon as she became a parent.
Breckenridge married Katy Perry's guitarist Casey Hooper in 2015 after meeting at a Grammys after-party. Baby boy Jack came the following year, and daughter Billie the year after that. The family decided they didn't want to raise their family in the big city of Los Angeles, so they completely relocated to the relaxing suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.
"The rural areas of Georgia have an amazing sense of community we were lacking in L.A.," Breckenridge told Atlanta Magazine. "We wanted our children to grow up in a place where they could play and ride their bikes that didn't feel like a big city."
Virgin River
IMDB
The actress's career really skyrocketed when she was cast as Kevin's ex-wife Sophie on the beloved NBC television series This Is Us. She appeared in the first two seasons with guest roles in seasons 3 and 4. Recently, she's been known for starring in the Netflix drama Virgin River alongside Martin Henderson, which feels like it came right off the Hallmark Channel. She plays the role of Melinda Monroe, "Mel," a nurse practitioner who relocates to the small town of Virgin River looking for a new start. We're currently anxiously awaiting the fifth season, which will hit Netflix on September 7.
Read More: 'Virgin River': A Season 5 Cast and Character Guide for the Romantic Drama
Editors Note: This article was originally published on November 20, 2020.
