Bethany Joy Lenz’s Daughter: All About Maria March, Her Hope Valley: 1874′ Debut & More
What To Know
- Bethany Joy Lenz stars in the Hallmark+ prequel Hope Valley: 1874.
- She is joined onscreen by her real-life daughter, Maria.
- Lenz divorced Michael Galeotti in 2012 after her daughter was born.
Bethany Joy Lenz‘s new Hallmark+ When Calls the Heart prequel is a mother/daughter story, so it’s no surprise that Lenz is joined by her real-life daughter, Maria Rose Galeotti.
Lenz stars in Hope Valley: 1874, as Rebecca Clarke, a widowed mother traveling to the Canadian frontier to start a new life with her daughter (Mila Morgan) at their new boarding house. Set on the land of Hope Valley long before it was the town Hearties know and love, the series features growing tension between local ranchers and gold-seeking prospectors. Lenz’s only child plays the teenage daughter of one of these prospectors.
Below, we’re breaking down everything you need to know about Hope Valley: 1874 star Bethany Joy Lenz’s family, including her daughter, and how she’s bringing her experiences detailed in her memoir Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult!) into her character in the series.
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Who is Bethany Joy Lenz’s daughter?
Bethany Joy Lenz’s daughter is Maria Rose Galeotti, who goes by the stage name Maria March on screen. At just 15 years old, March followed in her mother’s footsteps, making her first onscreen appearance in Hope Valley: 1874. However, this wasn’t always the plan. Lenz revealed to People that she originally turned down the role of Rebecca in the series because she didn’t want to uproot March’s high school life.
She explained, “In total honesty, I had told my manager, ‘Look, my daughter’s in high school. She’s happy. I don’t want to go anywhere, so take me out of the running for all series.'” In return, production told Lenz, “I know you’re a single mom, and you have to work around your daughter’s school schedule, and I know she loves to act. What if we give her a role in the show, and we’ll shoot around her school schedule?” Of course, Lenz still made March audition.
Who does Bethany Joy Lenz’s daughter play in Hope Valley: 1874?
March plays Vivian Doyle, the teenage daughter of prospector Archie Doyle (Ryan Robbins) in Hope Valley: 1874. Finding herself on the gold-seeking side of the prospector versus rancher tension, March’s character opposes locals like Tom Moore (Benjamin Ayres) and Clayton (Jedidiah Goodacre). Lenz told People, “She’s doing a great job. I’m really proud of her.”
Who is Bethany Joy Lenz’s ex-husband?
Lenz’s ex-husband and her daughter’s father is Michael Galeotti. They were married from 2005 to 2012.
In her memoir, Dinner for Vampires, Lenz took readers inside her marriage, which lasted from 2005 to 2012. According to Lenz, it was only after her daughter was born in 2011 that she found the courage to leave her marriage and the cult she had found herself in.
Relating her experience as a mother to that of her character in the series, Lenz told Swooon, “I know what it’s like to raise a daughter on your own and to be trying to keep her safe on your own from an environment that would actively destroy her.”
Hope Valley: 1874, Season 1, New Episodes Thursdays, Hallmark+
