Riley Emilia Voelkel, a talented individual, was born in Elk Grove, California, and later relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, as a child. Her upbringing in Sacramento, California, played a significant role in shaping her personality and interests. As a youth, Riley was deeply involved in various athletic pursuits, balancing her family and school responsibilities with ease.
Riley's entry into the entertainment industry was marked by a successful modeling audition, which led to her relocation to Los Angeles. She promptly immersed herself in the acting world, leveraging her natural aptitude for the arts. With her talent and dedication, she began booking commercials and acting full-time, setting the stage for a promising career.
Riley's breakthrough role was as a club girl in the Academy Award-nominated film The Social Network, directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. This opportunity paved the way for her to secure roles in popular TV series such as The Mentalist, Glee, and American Horror Story.
Riley worked with Aaron Sorkin once again when she was cast as Jenna Johnson, a student turned assistant, in the critically acclaimed HBO series The Newsroom, opposite Jeff Daniels. Her performances in subsequent roles culminated in her most notable role to date, Freya Mikaelson, in The CW's The Vampire Diaries spin-off, The Originals. Voelkel portrayed Freya for four seasons, from 2014 to 2018, and reprised her role in the second season of Legacies.
Riley's impressive resume continued to grow, as she took on the recurring role of Jenna Cameron in The CW's science fiction drama series Roswell, New Mexico. Her most recent and challenging role to date is that of Renee Segna, a former exotic dancer and fiancée to a drug kingpin, in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Starz series Hightown.
