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Living on Joypiter
By Angela Lee
Haley James Scott is a much loved, unique character on One Tree Hill, but her portrayer Bethany Joy Galeotti is just as awesome! Portrait gives you lowdown on all things Bethany Joy!
Sitting Pretty - Bethany Joy Galleotti
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“Her name is Joy – we call her Joypiter. She’s from somewhere very far away and we thank God every day that they sent her here because she is so unique and so just from any other person I’ve ever met,” declares Bethany Joy’s One Tree Hill co-star Hilarie Burton, who plays Peyton. Just to set the record straight, Bethany – or rather Joy, as her friends call her – is not actually an alien or from another planet. That’s just Hilarie’s way of expressing how much of an individual Bethany is. In fact, Bethany was born on April 2, 1981 to Bob and Cathi Lenz in Hollywood, Florida, before moving to Arlington, Texas, at the age of four. She moved again in 1992 to Wildwood, New Jersey. Prior to moving to Wilmington, North Carolina for One Tree Hill, Bethany lived in Washington. Her parents are currently divorced and Bethany has a younger step-sister.
Bethany in her Soap Opera days
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If you’re a long time fan of Bethany’s, you may be aware that during her younger years – more specifically during her soap opera days (Bethany had a guest stint on the American soap opera Guiding Light in 1998 for nine episodes. Producers were so impressed by her that she was offered a full time role a year later where she played Michelle Bauer for two years) – that Bethany used to go by the name Joie. “I changed it to J-o-i-e when I was 13. I did it to make myself special in some way. In that time I was struggling with feeling like I wasn’t standing out,” explains Bethany. “Going back to Bethany was a statement for me personally – it was saying that I choose to be who I was born as. This is who I am.”
Unique Individual
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Other interesting facts that you may not know about Bethany is that she has a hummingbird tattoo on her right foot that says “beloved”. Bethany got it when she was 19 on her graduation day in 2000. Dedicated One Tree Hill viewers may also notice that Bethany is always wearing a pinky ring. “It’s from a really, really close friend of mine at a really pivotal moment in my life and it’s a reminder of who I am to sort of never lose sight of that so I carry that around with me,” explains Bethany.
Bethany and Michael on their wedding day
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What makes Bethany so popular is that she knows who she is and isn’t afraid to show it. It’s her little quirks that make her the unique individual that she is. As a child, Bethany did gymnastics, took dancing and acting classes, played guitar and piano, liked to draw, paint and write poetry and music. Today in her spare time, Bethany is learning Italian, loves fashion, making stationary, knitting, cooking, horseback riding, and of course music. Her husband, Michael is also a musician and part of the band “Enation”. Bethany’s music is a representation of the person Bethany is. “My music is a little more folksy, kind of folk-rock so, and a little more dramtic,” divulges Bethany, likening her style to artists such as Patty Griffin, Bonnie Raitt, and Fiona Apple. “My music is somewhere between breezy, sitting on the porch in a rocking chair drinking lemonade (kind of music) and passionate, dark, intense (music).”
Bethany's passion for music is evident in the way she sings
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For all you new Bethany fans out there reading this, music is just as an important part of Bethany’s life as acting is. “I wrote my first song when I was maybe like four years old. I was always wandering around the house making things up,” reveals Bethany. “Back then, I learned a lot about singing from listening to Mariah Carey. I would sing to her (albums) and try to get all her rifts and stuff. I would be in my room for hours until I could get it right.” As a child, Bethany attended the Creative Arts Theatre School in Arlington, Texas, where she took tap and dance classes, acting classes, and participated in theatre programs. She has a four octave range after being vocally trained by the Director of the Brooklyn College of Opera.
Enjoying the simple moments in life
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In 2002, Bethany released an independent album called “Preincarnate”, and while on the One Tree Hill tour in 2005, released the five track CD “Come On Home”. She was soon signed to the Sony label “Epic” where she recorded an album called “The Starter Kit”. Unfortunately in the later half of 2006, Bethany and Epic parted ways and it doesn’t look like “The Starter Kit” will be released anytime soon with Sony holding the rights to it. In 2007, Bethany recorded a couple of songs for the soundtrack of the yet to be released film “Ten Inch Hero”, so fingers crossed we’ll get to hear those tracks! In the meantime, Bethany and her producer are working on “quite a bit of music for a Broadway musical that’s set in the 1940s.”
Haley and her son James
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As well as the Broadway musical, there are many other things in life that this ambitious young woman would like to pursue. “I love acting. I would love to be an English teacher. I would love to be a housewife and have a Chateau in the South of France. I would love to be a singer that travels to cafes around different towns or open a boulangorie or patisserie near my family and ride horses, have kids, and just enjoy living,” declares Bethany.
Will Haley and Nathan get their happy ending?
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But One Tree Hill fans needn’t fret – Bethany won’t be leaving the show anytime soon. “I love Nathan and Haley and James [Lafferty] has just been so amazing to work with. So it’s been really fun to sort of create these characters and navigate the crazy waters that are Nathan and Haley,” says Bethany. Now with the four year jump and young son James thrown into the mix, fans are hanging out for the new season of One Tree Hill to start and to see how Bethany has adapted to transforming the sweet tutor-girl Haley into young woman with a job and family. “I love playing a mother on the show. It’s actually been really fun for me. I have a real maternal instinct, and um, I’ve got some really close friends who are moms so watching them and seeing the little things they do to interact with their kids has been really fun for me to try and incorporate. So it’s been good and I enjoy it,” says Bethany.
One Tree Hill returns for its 5th season to The CW Network on January 8.
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