Growing up in a small town, this little girl dreamed big and knew from the start that she wanted to be a star.
But panic attacks, isolation, depression, and eating disorders nearly derailed her dreams. Luckily, she landed a role in an iconic TV series that changed everything.
Today, she’s a superstar with 34 million social media followers and uses her platform to raise awareness about mental health struggles.
Keep reading to learn more about this A-list star who has been privately navigating a mysterious medical condition for years.
Driving 8 hours for open casting calls
She won our hearts as Betty Cooper, Riverdale’s own teen sleuth-in-training, but Lili Reinhart is so much more than mysteries, ponytails, and cozy pink sweaters.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Lili Reinhart grew up in the nearby town of Bay Village, where she discovered a passion for singing, dancing, and acting by the age of 10.
”I was always a performer kid, like annoyingly so. I would put on shows for my family and direct my friends in little plays, and my little sister, I’d make up dances with her,” Reinhart told V Magazine.
Determined to pursue her dreams, she asked her mom to drive her all the way to New York City for auditions – an eight-hour trip one way.
“I just felt like this young girl with a big dream that was nearly impossible,” Reinhart recalled while talking to Self.
“I was surrounded by people who just didn’t get me. I also think people knew that I was an actor, and it made me feel like an outcast because there was, I think, a perception of, ‘Oh, she must think she’s better than us,’ because I’m trying to be an actor, which is this glitzy and glamorous thing in my small town.”
First panic attack in eighth grade
Breaking into acting is tough enough — it’s like threading a needle, and it takes a lot of luck along the way. For Reinhart, there were even more obstacles standing in the way of her dreams: panic attacks, depression, cystic acne and anxiety.
The first signs appeared in her teenage years. She had her first panic attack in eighth grade. School was often unbearable for the aspiring actress.
Being there triggered her anxiety, and she would sometimes hide in the bathrooms, struggling through the panic and trying to breathe. When she wasn’t in school, and an attack hit, she would look up at the sky or try to blink the tears away.
Eventually, it got so bad that she asked her parents if she could stay home or be homeschooled. Understanding her suffering, her parents made sure she got professional help, including therapy and psychiatric care, and she also started taking antidepressants.
So how did chasing an acting career while dealing with mental health struggles go?
Not so well, as it turned out.
“When I would tape auditions, the note would be like, ‘Can you have more energy?’” she says. “I’m, like, 16, I should have energy, and I didn’t. I think it was definitely due to the depression. But it was also, looking back, due to the medication,” the Ohio native said.
Leaving Hollywood
Riverdale was clearly Reinhart’s breakout role, but she’s candid about how long it took to truly “make it” in the industry. She moved to Los Angeles at 18 with no connections, but her first attempt at Hollywood life was short-lived.
“I was living in a shared house with a bajillion people, which is really hard,” she recalls.
“I was kind of secluded in my little bedroom, and I didn’t have a car here. I was so depressed and anxious, I was throwing up every night and having panic attacks…. That was really where my depression and anxiety was starting to affect my physical health,” she notes. ”Then, years later, it would get a hell of a lot worse.”
Reinhart left Hollywood just five months after she arrived.
After returning home, going to therapy, and saving up some money, she decided to give Los Angeles another shot.
“I told myself I was going to go back to L.A. and try again. After a year, if nothing happened, I was going to go to makeup school because that seemed like the only other thing I was passionate about,” she told Teen Vogue.
And just a month after returning, at 19, her persistence paid off. She landed her breakout role as Betty Cooper on Riverdale, a TV series inspired by the Archie Comics universe that would go on to develop a devoted fanbase.
The beloved series first aired in 2017, and was well-received during its early seasons. Later seasons faced criticism for their writing, direction, and confusing storylines. But the show ran for a total of seven seasons, in 2023.
Sleeping 13 hours on weekends
Lili Reinhart nearly missed out on the role after her initial video audition, but once she moved to LA and attended the in-person casting, she was ultimately chosen to play Betty Cooper.
”I spent three hours on my first audition tape, and I felt like I could not get it right. I sent it in, and wasn’t the girl. It doesn’t surprise me, because I was in a sh*t place when I taped that,” she admitted.
For someone who identifies as an introvert, the whirlwind of life changes brought on by landing her role on Riverdale was overwhelming for Reinhart. She credited her co-stars with helping her come out of her shell, but admitted that the fame she’s gained from the hit series can still feel like a lot to manage.
Eventually, the pressures of the spotlight and celebrity came with a cost. During the filming of later seasons, her body began signaling that it couldn’t keep up.
While filming Riverdale’s fifth season, Reinhart experienced a severe case of COVID-19 that left her completely drained. Her fatigue worsened to the point that her doctor grew concerned, noting she was sleeping 13 hours on weekends and taking multiple naps.
Over time, the actress tested positive for COVID three times, with each infection intensifying her exhaustion. She underwent countless blood tests as doctors attempted to rule out autoimmune diseases, but no definitive answers emerged.
By early 2022, during the sixth season of Riverdale, the star also began experiencing unexplained digestive issues and weight gain.
She was tested for conditions like Celiac and Crohn’s disease, but the root cause remained elusive. Around this period, she also developed an eating disorder, struggling with her body image and feeling disconnected from herself while filming.
Her health challenges grew more complex when she noticed hair loss. A dermatologist diagnosed her with alopecia, likely autoimmune-related.
Reinhart described some of her experiences with doctors as dehumanizing, including one who suggested she go off birth control and get pregnant to encourage hair growth.
Her rare disorder
In July 2024, while filming in Germany, Reinhart developed symptoms resembling a UTI. Despite multiple hospital visits, tests revealed no infection, leaving her symptoms unresolved.
Back in Los Angeles, she sought a urogyno specialist who diagnosed her with interstitial cystitis (IC), a chronic bladder disorder that causes inflammation and severe discomfort. According to the CDC, IC affects roughly 1% of people in the U.S., primarily those with vaginas.
Diagnosing it can take years because its symptoms are often confused with urinary tract infections. There’s currently no cure, and treatment can be challenging, as symptoms may flare up and subside over time. Reinhart now receives weekly bladder instillations to help manage her symptoms, she told Self.
Reinhart’s decision to speak openly about her struggles has been influenced by her grandmother’s delayed cancer diagnosis in 2024. After visiting a doctor for bloating and constipation, her 85-year-old grandma’s symptoms were initially dismissed as typical age-related digestive issues.
“She started showing symptoms in March and April and wasn’t diagnosed until September,” Reinhart explained. “I’ve faced a lot of health challenges over the past few years, but I hadn’t really felt motivated to speak about them publicly — until this happened.”
Sadly, Reinhart’s grandmother died i early 2025. Her story highlighted for the Riverside star the importance of advocating for women’s health and not ignoring persistent symptoms.
“She knew something was wrong and kept insisting, ‘Run tests,’” Reinhart said. “I think that experience is part of why I feel so driven to advocate for women’s health.”
Looking at what Reinhart has done beyond the TV screen, there’s much more to discover than acting alone.
Lili Reinhart today
A few years ago, she released a poetry collection titled Swimming Lessons: Poems, offering an intimate and unfiltered exploration of themes such as young love, anxiety, depression, fame, and heartbreak.
In 2024, the 29-year-old expanded into a new creative space by launching her own skincare brand, Personal Day, designed to address real skin concerns and shaped by lived, personal experience rather than unattainable ideals.
When it comes to her future in TV and film, Reinhart has been deliberate about the roles she chooses.
She emphasizes that her iconic role as Betty Cooper is just one facet of her work. Speaking to Teen Vogue, she explained that despite receiving direct offers without auditions thanks to her fame, she still feels the need to prove herself.
“It’s weird to get direct offers now, rather than having to audition. But it also makes me feel kind of suspicious, like, ‘Why don’t you want me to audition?’ I still feel like I need to prove myself, very much so. You’ve seen me do Riverdale, but that’s basically all anyone’s ever seen,” she said.
“I want to show you that I can do more, rather than just get something handed to me.” She sums it up perfectly: “You actually haven’t seen what I’m capable of.”
Her most recent project is Hal & Harper, a 2025 American comedy-drama series created, written, and directed by Cooper Raiff, starring Raiff, Reinhart, Betty Gilpin, and Mark Ruffalo.
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