This 'Riverdale' Star Was Low-Key In 'Gossip Girl' & You Definitely Forgot Until Now
Talk about a prolific TV career. Mädchen Amick has been featured in so many buzzy WB/CW teen dramas of the last few decades and you might not even remember all of her appearances. Yes — Alice Cooper from Riverdale was in Gossip Girl. And Dawson's Creek. And Gilmore Girls. Amick is such a recurring television staple that she deserves some sort of honorary award.
Mädchen's Gossip Girl stint was somewhat short-lived, but she did get a scandalous arc involving Nate Archibald. In Season 2, she played Catharine Beaton, a Duchess — who happened to be married — and had an affair with Nate. She portrayed the role for four episodes.
Ten years later, Amick is now a major part of another super popular CW show with Riverdale, and she definitely recognizes its similarities to her past television work.
"I'm also hearing it's a comparison to Gossip Girl, so, hey it's three for three," she told TooFab in 2017 prior to Riverdale's release. "I think the combination is fairly accurate. When I just hear the comparison to Twin Peaks, I think there's definitely an homage or a nod, but it just has a very different rhythm. When you bring in Dawson's Creek or Gossip Girl, I think it's more accurate. I think it’s a good combination of both."
Mädchen's breakout part was teenage waitress Shelly Johnson in the early '90s David Lynch mystery drama Twin Peaks. She reprised the role in 2017's Showtime revival, but has nearly seventy credits to her name in between the projects.
Amick starred on Darren Star's (Melrose Place, Sex and the City) 1995 primetime soap C.P.W., which only ran for two seasons. She went on to land another leading role on 1998's failed Fantasy Island reboot before playing Capeside teacher and Mitch Leery love interest on Dawson's Creek for three episodes. Her next WB stint was as Christopher's fiance Sherry on Gilmore Girls. After that she had recurring roles on shows like ER, Joey, Californication, Damages, My Own Worst Enemy, and Witches of East End. Last year, she was featured in three episodes of Netflix's Love. Her resume is seriously just a never-stopping list of impressive shows.
"I’m proud to say that I’ve always sought out and have been blessed with playing strong, complicated female roles. My favorites are Shelly from Twin Peaks, Wendy from Witches of East End and now the very complex Alice Cooper in Riverdale. I love it when the character challenges my own natural instincts," she revealed of her fave projects.
Amick is set to return to Riverdale's third season, which is expected to premiere in the fall.
"Season two was so crazy with the murder mystery and black hood and dead bodies and these poor kids running around. I think maybe season three, let’s just calm it down a second and really flush out how the characters are reacting to each other. I want to give them a breather. Then we ramp it back up again,” she told The Hollywood Reported of what she would like to see on the series moving forward.
And she's as much of a #Falice fan as everyone.
"I really do want to see her finally get with FP, because that’s a big thing. They have a lot of history together, so I’d like to see that," she added.
While Mädchen has been working almost non-stop for decades, don't expect her to slow down anytime soon. In an interview with CBS last year, the actress described her approach to taking on roles:
I'm such a hustler! I'm not at that level of an Angelina Jolie or a Cate Blanchett, where I can sit back and pick and choose an amazing movie every other year. I'm just not. I've got to keep working. I'm very optimistic, so sometimes I take things that maybe I shouldn't have. Maybe they weren't as good as they were in my head, but no — I'm all about grabbing!
