An accomplished American actress and producer is Hilarie Burton. She had also worked as a VJ for “Total Request Live” on MTV. She became well-known for playing Peyton Sawyer, a high school student, in the television series “One Tree Hill.” She is well known for her work in “Our Very Own,” “Normal Adolescent Behavior,” and “The Secret Life of Bees” in addition to her TV career. She played Dr. Lauren Boswell in the wildly successful medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” which was one of her more well-known roles. She also had a recurring part on the USA Network’s White Collar. She most recently played Molly Dawes in the ABC drama “Forever.” She also appeared in the sci-fi program “Extant” on CBS. Some of her best-known pieces are “The Summer Villa,” “Surprised By Love,” “Christmas on the Bayou,” and “The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend & Girlfriend.” In the 2017 television adaptation of the movie series “Lethal Weapon,” Hilarie was praised for her performance as Sara Ellis. She is also active in a number of charitable organizations and supports topics including the battle against breast cancer and equal pay for men and women.
Early Childhood & Life
Hilarie Burton was born in Sterling, Virginia, on July 1, 1982. Her mother is a real estate agent, while her father served in the United States Army Special Forces. She was raised in a devout home and has three younger brothers.
She graduated in 2000 from Park View High School, where she had attended. Since an early age, she has worked to set an example for others, and in her sophomore year, she was elected treasurer of the student council. When she was chosen as the vice president during her junior year, her unique high school experience continued.
Burton showed no signs of slowing down as she went on to become the homecoming queen, president of the student council, and captain of the cheering squad during her senior year. She continued on to complete her studies at Fordham University and New York University.
Career of Hilarie Burton
Hilarie Burton relocated to New York to pursue her acting goals. In the year 2000, she began working as a VJ on MTV’s “Total Request Live,” where she had her first significant break. Additionally, MTV asked her to host the MTV Video Music Awards and its “Iced Out New Year’s Eve” that same year.
On April 17, 2002, she appeared in a minor role in the Warner Bros. drama series “Dawson’s Creek.” Her acting career began when she appeared as a VJ in the episode “100 Light Years from Home.”
WB execs were drawn to her performance in “Dawson’s Creek” and gave her the character of Peyton Sawyer in the show “One Tree Hill.” From 2003 through 2009, she portrayed an independent, musically, and artistically oriented high school cheerleader. The series premiered on September 23, 2003, and quickly rose to the top spot among network programming.
Hilarie Burton’s portrayal of Peyton Sawyer propelled her to fame, and she appeared on the covers of publications like Maxim, American Cheerleader Magazine, and People. ‘One Tree Hill’ she left in 2009. She claimed that it was time to move on despite allegations that her departure was due to pay issues.
On June 22, 2005, she made her acting debut in the film “Our Very Own,” which also starred Alison Janney, Cheryl Hines, and Keith Carradine. Her acting in the film earned rave reviews, and it depicted the life of American kids who aspire of living better.
Hilarie Burton appeared in the movie “The List” on April 22, 2007, alongside Chuck Carrington and Malcolm McDowell. She made her television debut as Ryan in the acclaimed Lifetime drama “Normal Adolescent Behavior” in September of the same year.
She had a successful year in 2008 thanks to her co-starring role in the slasher film “Solstice” alongside Shawn Ashmore and Amanda Seyfried. Hilarie was cast in the movie “The Secret Life of Bees” in October 2008 as Deborah Owens, opposite Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, and academy award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson. In the same year, she also appeared in the comedy series “Little Britain USA” in a minor part as a lesbian college student.
In December 2009, she and fellow “One Tree Hill” co-star Austin Nichols made an appearance in the film “The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend & Girlfriend.”
Regarded favorably for her portrayal of Hazel in the 2010 drama-romance film “Bloodworth,” which was adapted from William Gay’s book “Provinces of Night,” She shared the screen alongside seasoned actors like Val Kilmer, Kris Kristofferson, and Hilary Duff, and the movie had its world premiere the same year at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
In the 2010 season of the USA Network criminal drama “White Collar,” she played a recurring role. On August 10, 2010, she made her acting debut in the episode “Unfinished Business.” In 2011, she received a promotion to series regular. On March 5, 2013, she made her final appearance on the program in the episode “In the Wind.”
Viewers were pleasantly pleased to see her in a guest role as Kay Cappuccio in the season 4 episode “An Embarrassment of Bitches” of ABC’s massively popular drama Castle on January 23, 2012.
In 2013, Hilarie had a recurring part on the ABC medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” She originally appeared on May 2 in the episode titled “Do You Believe in Magic,” and then on May 9 and May 16 in the episodes titled “Readiness is All” and “Perfect Storm.”
She portrayed Samantha in the TV show “Hostages” in 2013. On September 30, 2013, “The Invisible Leash,” her debut episode, aired. She later appeared in the episodes “Power of Persuasion,” “2:45 PM,” and “Off the Record” as the same character.
She played Katherine in the 2013 television film “Christmas on the Bayou.” In 2014, she also appeared in the film “Black Eyed Dog.” The main character of Josie Mayfield in the 2015 Hallmark Channel film “Surprised By Love” was played by Hilarie Burton.
She also made two appearances in the Warner Bros. crime, drama, and fantasy series “Forever,” as Iona Payne in the 2014 episode “The Ecstasy of Agony” and Molly Dawes in the 2015 episode “Memories of Murder.” Growing Up Smith, a 2015 PG-13 film, featured Hilarie Burton as Nancy Brunner.
Hilarie Burton had a busy year in 2015 because of her recurring role as Anna Schaefer in the CBS science fiction series “Extant.” On July 8, 2015, she made her television debut in the episode “Morphoses.” The next episodes she appeared in included “Empathy for the Devil,” “The New Frontier,” “You Say You Want an Evolution,” “The Other,” and “Don’t Shoot the Messenger.” In the film “Last Chance for Christmas,” she also played Annie.
She appeared in the TV movies “Summer Villa” and “Togetherness” in 2016. In the iconic blockbuster TV series “Lethal Weapon,” she played DEA agent Karen Palmer.
Hilarie Burton made appearances on the 2017 episodes of “Dancing in the Streets,” “As Good as It Gets,” “Unnecessary Roughness,” “A problem like Maria,” and “Born to Run.”
Bigger Works of Hilarie Burton
‘One Tree Hill’ actress Hilarie Burton is most known for playing Peyton Sawyer. She portrayed a self-reliant young woman who is fundamentally a contradictory character. She portrayed the talented yet disillusioned American kid whose persona developed into one of the show’s most powerful female characters.
Recognition & Achievements
Hilarie Burton has received numerous nominations for her acting work. She first received a nomination for Choice Breakout TV Star – Female in 2003. She then received nominations for Choice TV Actress: Drama in 2005 and 2008 for her work in “One Tree Hill.”
She and the cast of “Our Very Own” shared the 2006 Sarasota Film Festival’s Outstanding Ensemble Acting prize.
She followed up on this achievement by winning Ensemble Acting of the Year at the 2008 Hollywood Film Awards for “The Secret Life of Bees.”
Personal Legacy & Life
‘One Tree Hill’ assistant directors Ian Prange and Hilarie Burton were wed from 2004 until 2009.
She began dating actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan after getting divorced. The couple welcomed their first baby, Augustus, in March 2010. They are expecting a girl as their second kid.
She is the owner of Southern Gothic Production (SoGoPro), a production company. The actress was listed as number 77 on Maxim’s Hot 100 List for 2007. Additionally, she was pictured on the cover of Maxim in November 2006. Burton was ranked second on Femme Fatales’ list of “The 50 Sexiest Women of 2005.” The ’20 Hottest Women of 2003′ list compiled by Much Music placed her at number 12 overall.
The actress has supported the National Breast Cancer Foundation by using her character Peyton to promote breast cancer awareness.
She was groped by Ben Affleck in 2003 while anchoring MTV’s “Total Request Live,” which left her looking clearly shocked. Ben Affleck issued an apology for his egregiously inappropriate actions in October 2017.
Facts of Hilarie Burton
Hilarie Burton plays Peyton Sawyer in the Jack’s Mannequin music video for “The Mixed Tape.”
Her favorite musicians include David Bowie, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Elvis Presley.
Her favorite films are “Funny Lady” (1975) and “Coal Miner’s Daughter” (1980).
She claims that her favorite television program is “Freaks and Geeks” (1999).