Riley Voelkel

About Riley Voelkel

Born on April 26, 1990, Riley Emilia Voelkel is an actress who holds citizenship in both America and Canada. She gained widespread recognition for her portrayal of Freya Mikaelson across The CW's television series The Originals and Legacies. Prior to these prominent roles, Voelkel also inhabited the character of Jenna Johnson in the HBO series The Newsroom. In 2013, she took on the role of a younger Fiona Goode, the witch played by Jessica Lange, in the FX series American Horror Story: Coven. The trajectory of her career began unexpectedly when, just a month before commencing her college education, a modeling scout discovered her in her hometown. This encounter led her to Los Angeles, where her striking looks quickly caught the attention of numerous agents. While her initial move was driven by a desire to pursue a modeling career, an agent soon suggested she explore acting, prompting her to enroll in an acting class.

Voelkel's initial foray into acting was as a club girl in the film The Social Network, a part she secured through an audition. Following this, she signed with representation and landed her first leading role as Carrie in the independent film The Secret Lives of Dorks, which was released in 2013. Her involvement with the HBO series The Newsroom began with the pilot episode in 2012, but her role as Jenna Johnson eventually developed into a recurring capacity. In 2014, she was cast in the Amazon pilot for Point of Honor, slated to be one of the lead characters. Later that same year, Voelkel joined the cast of The CW's The Originals in a recurring, yet-to-be-named role during its second season. Her character, Freya Mikaelson, was significantly expanded and elevated to a series regular status for the show's third season and beyond.

Her filmography includes roles such as a Club Girl in The Social Network (2010), Claire in Prom (2011), Christine Brighton in Hidden Moon (2012), a Club Girl in the short film Synthesizers (2013), Carrie Smith in The Secret Lives of Dorks (2013), and Cristina in Scrambled (2016). On television, Voelkel has appeared as Caroline in Glory Daze (2010), Tristan in The Mentalist (2012), Jenna Johnson in The Newsroom (2012–14), Young Fiona Goode in American Horror Story: Coven (2013), Sam in Glee (2014), Freya Mikaelson in The Originals (2014–18), Lorelei Sumner in the unsold pilot Point of Honor (2015), Alison Sinclair in the TV movie Advance & Retreat (2016), Jenna Cameron in Roswell, New Mexico (