Who is Merritt Patterson? Wiki Bio
Merritt Patterson was born in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, on 2 September 1990 – her zodiac sign is Virgo, and she holds Canadian nationality. She is an actress who gained recognition after she portrayed Olivia in the supernatural teen drama “Ravenswood” in 2013 and 2014, which starred Nicole Gale Anderson, Tyler Blackburn and Steven Cabral, and is about five people who are cursed by a spell which has been haunting Ravenswood for decades. The series is a spin-off from the teen drama mystery thriller series “Pretty Little Liars”, and although it was expected to become popular, “Ravenswood” didn’t attract many viewers, and ended after only 10 episodes.
Childhood and education
Merritt was raised an only child in Whistler by her father who is a small store owner, and her mother who is teaching at a local elementary school. Merritt became interested in acting at the age of seven, when her parents took her to the theatre to watch her first play.
She attended a public high school where she was physically active, as she played soccer and tennis, and after being motivated by her teacher, she appeared in her first school play and then joined the school’s drama club. Upon matriculation in 2008, she moved to Los Angeles in California to pursue her acting career, and studied theatre at a college, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2013.
Roles in TV series
Merritt made her debut TV series appearance in 2006, when she portrayed Ashleigh Redmond in the episodes “Diving In” and “Endgame” of the science fiction series “Kyle XY”, which starred Matt Dallas, Marguerite MacIntyre and Bruce Thomas, and is about a teenager who cannot express anger, joy or love, and who is being taken in by a foster family. The movie won two awards, and was nominated for 11 others.
In 2009, she was invited to guest star in the episode “After School Special” of the dark fantasy series “Supernatural”, about two brothers who are hunting supernatural creatures such as monsters and gods, – the series was a huge hit, winning 38 awards and being nominated for 121 others, including three Primetime Emmys.
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Merritt then appeared in single episodes of the series “Life Unexpected” in 2010, and “The Troop” in 2011, while she was then invited to star as Ashley Brouillette in the drama series “The Selection” in 2012, but the pilot episode wasn’t picked up by any network. She became somewhat famous in the US after she portrayed the main character Ophelia Pryce in the primetime soap opera “The Royals” in 2015, which also starred Joan Collins, Williams Moseley and Alexandra Park, and which is about a made-up British royal family living in modern London.
Two of Merritt’s most recent roles in TV series have been in the 2016 episode “Natural Selection” of the Canadian police procedural crime drama “Motive”, in which she portrayed Liz Kerr, and in the American web series “The Art of More” in the lead character Olivia Brukner in 2016 as well.
Appearances in movies
Merritt made her debut film appearance in 2009, when she played Jessica in the 3D dark fantasy horror movie “The Hole”, which starred Teri Polo, Chris Massoglia and Haley Bennet, about two brothers who find a hole in the basement of their new house which leads to their darkest fears and nightmares. The film’s director, Joe Dante was awarded a 3-D Award at the Venice Film Festival for his work on the movie.
The following year saw Merritt make a cameo appearance in the critically acclaimed fantasy movie “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”, which starred Logan Lerman and Kevin McKidd and is about a teenager who learns that he is the son of a Greek god. In 2011, she starred in the short movie “The Schoolgirl”, before being cast to portray the supporting character Claire in the science fiction movie “Iron Invader”, directed by Paul Ziller. In 2012, she starred in the short film “Revel” as Hera, and in the Canadian horror movie “Rufus” as Tracy before playing Maddie in the drama film “The Pregnancy Project” in 2012 which passed unnoticed.
Merritt also portrayed Stacy DeBane in the teen drama movie “Radio Rebel”, which aired on the Disney Channel.
The year 2014 saw her play supporting characters in the biographical comedy crime film “Kid Cannabis”, and the crime mystery thriller film “Primary”, before she was invited to star alongside Lucas Till and Jason Momoa in the Canadian action horror movie “Wolves”, about a teenager who, while trying to learn about his family, finds a city filled with lycans. In the following year, Merritt appeared in the drama film “Damaged” which follows a friendship born under difficult circumstances, and she went on to appear in three films in 2017 – the French romantic comedy “Bad Date Chronicles”, the family fantasy drama film “A Royal Winter”, and the romantic comedy drama “The Christmas Cottage”.
Merritt then starred as Cynthia Zamperini in the Christian drama movie “Unbroken: Path to Redemption” which the real story of Louis Zamperini, who was an Olympian and who fought in World War II. The movie was nominated for five awards, while Merritt was nominated for a Grace Award for Most Inspiring Performance in Movies.
Some of Merritt’s most recent appearances in movies have been in the romantic film “Christmas at the Palace” in 2018, the romantic drama “Picture a Perfect Christmas” and the romantic comedy “Forever in My Heart” both in 2019.
Love life and boyfriend
Merritt has been keeping the details of her love life hidden from the media’s attention, but she has recently uploaded a picture with the man known as J. R. Ringer onto her Instagram account.
According to the rumors circulating around the internet, Merritt and J. R. have been together since 2018, introduced by a mutual friend at a party. J. R. is working as a talent agent, and has received special thanks for his contribution to the making of the comedy drama movie “5 Years Apart”. It is also believed that the two are living together but are not planning to marry nor to have children anytime soon, as they are focused on their careers.
There are rumors that Merritt was in a long-term relationship with her college sweetheart before meeting J. R.
The two were allegedly dating for over two years before deciding to split as they were planning to live in different states, and didn’t want to maintain a long-distance relationship.
Hobbies and other interests
Merritt likes to listen to music, and two of her favorite genres are pop and rock while some of her favorite bands and performers are Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and AC/DC – she knows how to play the guitar and the piano. She practiced dance while attending high school, but quit after a year. She enjoys reading books, with two of her favorite writers being Nicholas Sparks and Guillaume Musso and their books “Dear John” and “Will You Be There”.
Posted by Merritt Patterson on Sunday, September 15, 2013
Merritt’s main hobby is travelling, and she has been to many US states, mostly to shoot for her movies and TV series, but has also been to Europe on two occasions, visiting London in England and Paris in France, which she believes are the two most attractive European destinations.
Some of her personal favorite Hollywood actors and actresses are Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lopez, while some of her favorite movies are “Titanic”, “Notting Hill”, and “The Wedding Planner”.
Appearance and net worth
Merritt is 29 years old. She has long brown hair and blue eyes, is 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, and weighs around 128lbs (58kgs). As of May 2020, her net worth is estimated at over $1.5 million.