The verifiability of the claims made in this article is disputed. (May 2020) |
Riley Weston (born August 25, 1966)[1] is an American actress and writer. Weston became embroiled in a debate about ageism in Hollywood after it was discovered that she lied about her age to get work in the entertainment industry.
Riley Weston | |
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| Born | August 25, 1966 |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1987–present |
| Website | www.rileyweston.com |
Early life
editWeston graduated from Arlington High School outside of Poughkeepsie.[2]
Career
editEarly work
editBeginning in 1987, Weston carved out a career as a film and television actor, working steadily throughout her twenties in a series of mostly small bit parts. Her credits included the sitcoms Growing Pains, Who's the Boss? and 3rd Rock From The Sun, and the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Through about 1996, she was credited in her appearances as "Kimberlee Kramer".
Age deception and Felicity
editIn May 1997, and by now using the name Riley Weston, she began claiming her date of birth as 1979 in order to be considered for further acting roles.[3] The deception was assisted by her slight build, at 4 feet 11 inches (1.50 m) tall and weighing 93 pounds (42 kg).[4]
In 1998, she began drafting screenplays and marketing herself to television studios as a recent high school graduate. She was soon hired by the WB Network as a writer for the show Felicity after they saw one of her scripts about teenage sisters.[4] Hailed as a child prodigy and "wunderkind", by publications such as Entertainment Weekly,[5] which included her in its October 1998 list of the "100 Most Creative People in Entertainment", which described her as an up-and-coming 19-year-old. Shortly thereafter, she was offered a half-million dollar screenwriting deal with Disney.[6] Series co-creator Matt Reeves cast her as a teenage character in one episode.[5]
After Entertainment Tonight began working on a segment about Weston, her real identity and age emerged[7][8] This occurred after Daily Variety published an October 15, 1998 article reporting that it had obtained court documents showing that Weston had changed her name in 1997 from Kimberlee Elizabeth Kramer, and had been born in 1966 rather than 1979. The day the report was published, Weston admitted that she lied to nearly every individual and entity she interacted with professionally, including her agents, attorneys, colleagues, Disney, and the media. Only her family and manager/ex-husband knew her true identity, a ruse she was able to maintain for as long as she did because, as she explained, "I don't have a lot of friends." She also created false identification documents, wore baggy clothes typically worn by teenagers at the time, brought her mother to meetings, and made comments more common to teens, such as working as a babysitter and having a crush on popular teen idol Jonathan Taylor Thomas.[9]
Weston apologized for her deception, telling Daily Variety, "I take full responsibility. I'm completely sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone." She also explained her rationale for lying about her age, stating that it was "accepted practice for actresses to lie about their age", owing to "age bias" in the entertainment industry. Weston elaborated:[9]
"I wanted to have a job. I wanted to work as an actor, but if I'd go into a casting office to play a 15-year-old, and they’d say, 'How old are you?' and I said 30, they’d laugh. No one believes I'm 32...If they based (the deal) on my age, there’s an age problem in Hollywood. They bought into this, and there's something hugely wrong with it. Look at what I had to do. Someone has to put a stop to it. If I were getting a job in any other industry, do you think anyone would care how old I am or how I look?"[9]
She also stated that she changed her name partially for "security reasons" due to harassment by a stalker she had faced beginning in 1993.[9]
Weston left Felicity in the middle of the first season after her contract had expired and was not renewed. Series co-creator Matt Reeves explained during a 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, "People thought that we let her go because of it. None of that was true at all. The story was blown so crazy out of proportion from the perspective of our relationship with Riley. We did discover that she was not telling us the truth, but it was after she had already finished her term. When you sign somebody on as a staff writer in those days, you had a number of scripts that you signed them to do. We just put her on the show because we thought, 'Well, let's just let her do what we know she really wants to do as well, which is to be an actor.' It got turned into a scandal that I'm not sure ever was. We liked her writing. That's all."[5]
1998 - present
editWeston settled in Tennessee, where she writes and performs country songs, often at the Nashville's Bluebird Café.[5] She also continues to work as an actress, voiceover artist,[citation needed] and author. Weston's first novel, Before I Go, was published in September 2006. The book earned Weston a 2007 Independent Publisher (IPPY) award for Storyteller of the Year.[10] Her debut novel received the 2007 New York Book Festival Grand Prize and was named Best Fiction.[11]
She wrote the television film Apples, Orchards & Romance, which would air in September 2023 on Great American Family. She also wrote a song for the film, and at the time, was working on her first Christmas album.[5]
References
edit- ^ Winn, Katy. "Birthday: Riley Weston". madison.com.
- ^ Barry, John W. (September 26, 2014). "Riley Weston: Los Angeles, Nashville, Montgomery Gentry". Poughkeepsie Journal. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ Hontz, Jenny Hontz (October 15, 1998). "Old enough to know better: Writer created new teen ID for herself". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- ^ a b Joe Flint (October 30, 1998). "The Life Of Riley". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 30, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Rice, Lynette (June 20, 2023). "Former 'Felicity' 'Wunderkind' Riley Weston Pens Movie For Great American Family; Trevor Donovan, Jessica Lowndes To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- ^ Elber, Lynn. "Teen Wunderkind TV Writer Unmasked". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- ^ Bernard Weinraub (October 17, 1998). "TV Writer, 32, Passed for 19; Bloom Is Off Her Contract". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- ^ Lowry, Brian (October 16, 1998). "32-Year-Old Actress-Writer Admits Lying About Being 19". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Hontz, Jenny (October 16, 1998). "Older, chastened Weston speaks out". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- ^ "Announcing 2007 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results – Part 2". Independent Publisher – feature.
- ^ "2007 New York Book Festival Names Winners". New York Book Festival. June 16, 2007. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2023.