Haley Lu Richardson (born March 7, 1995) is an American actress. Following early television roles on the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up (2013) and the ABC Family supernatural drama Ravenswood (2013–14), she acted in the coming-of-age film The Edge of Seventeen (2016) and the psychological horror film Split (2016).
Richardson had her breakout role in the independent drama Columbus (2017), for which she received a Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress nomination. She continued to appear in critically acclaimed independent films such as Support the Girls (2018), Unpregnant (2020), and After Yang (2022). She also starred in the second season of the HBO anthology series The White Lotus (2022) and in the romantic comedy film Love at First Sight (2023).
Haley Lu Richardson was born on March 7, 1995, in Phoenix, Arizona,[1][2][3] to Valerie, a marketing and branding professional, and Forrest L. Richardson, a golf course architect. Richardson attended Villa Montessori through middle school, then Arcadia High School.[citation needed] She was a regular in theatrical productions and regional dance competitions throughout the Southwest. From 2001 to 2011, she was a leading dancer in Phoenix's Cannedy Dance Company.[4] In 2011, she moved to Hollywood, California.[citation needed]
In 2013, Richardson began a recurring role as Tess in the ABC Family series Ravenswood.[5] She appeared as a guest on Disney Channel's Shake It Up and co-starred in ABC's pilot production "Adopted". She played Julina in the Lifetime original movie Escape from Polygamy alongside Jack Falahee.[6] In 2016, she had a recurring role as Ellie in the Freeform drama series Recovery Road.[7] Her early film career included a leading role in The Last Survivors and supporting performances in The Edge of Seventeen and Split.[6]
Her breakthrough came in 2017 when she starred opposite John Cho in Columbus. For her work in the film, she was nominated for the 2017 Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress. Reviewing Columbus in The New Yorker, Richard Brody wrote: "Richardson in particular vaults to the forefront of her generation’s actors with this performance, which virtually sings with emotional and intellectual acuity."[8]
In 2019, Richardson starred in the romantic drama Five Feet Apart opposite Cole Sprouse. In the film, she plays a cystic fibrosis patient who falls in love with a boy with the same disease.[9]
In 2022, she played Portia in the second season of the HBO comedy-drama anthology series The White Lotus.[10]
She starred in the video for the Jonas Brothers' song "Wings" in February 2023.[11]
She will publish her first collection of poetry, I'm Sad and Horny, in November 2025 with Simon & Schuster.[12]
Richardson has been crocheting since the age of eight,[13] and has an Etsy shop where she sells accessories and crocheted clothing made from her own designs.[14][15]
Richardson began dating Brett Dier in 2012, after they met on the set of Ravenswood.[16][17] Richardson proposed to Dier in 2019. On the television program Busy Tonight, she said that she and Dier were not "romantic" people, and she had asked him to marry her casually over pizza. In 2022, Richardson announced that they had broken up two years earlier.[18][16]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Meanamorphosis | Cameron | Short film |
| Christmas Twister | Kaitlyn | ||
| 2014 | The Last Survivors | Kendal | |
| The Young Kieslowski | Leslie Mallard | ||
| 2015 | The Bronze | Maggie Townsend | |
| Follow | Viv | ||
| 2016 | The Edge of Seventeen | Krista | |
| Split | Claire Benoit | ||
| 2017 | Columbus | Casey | |
| 2018 | The Chaperone | Louise Brooks | |
| Operation Finale | Sylvia Hermann | ||
| Support the Girls | Maci | ||
| 2019 | Five Feet Apart | Stella Grant | |
| 2020 | Unpregnant | Veronica Clarke | |
| 2021 | After Yang | Ada | |
| Montana Story | Erin | ||
| 2023 | Love at First Sight | Hadley Sullivan | Also executive producer |
| 2026 | Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die † | TBA | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Up in Arms | Dancer / Choreographer | Episode: "Flash Mob Parody Special" |
| Christmas Twister | Kaitlyn | Television film | |
| 2013 | Adopted | Destiny | Unaired television pilot |
| Shake It Up | Shake It Up, Chicago! Dancer | Episode: "Quit It Up" | |
| Escape from Polygamy | Julina | Television film | |
| 2013–2014 | Ravenswood | Tess Hamilton | 5 episodes |
| 2014 | Awkward | Mackenzie | Episode: "Sophomore Sluts" |
| 2015 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Jenna Davis | Episode: "Decaying Morality" |
| Your Family or Mine | Maya | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2016 | Recovery Road | Ellie Dennis | 6 episodes |
| 2019 | Jane the Virgin | Charlie | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | The White Lotus | Portia | Main role (season 2) |
| TBA | Ponies † | Twila | In-production |
| Year | Title | Artist | Album | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | "Wings" | Jonas Brothers | The Album | [19] |
