Riley O'Donnell

Riley O’Donnell is a Canadian actor, based in Toronto, ON. With an undeniable musical talent, she began her career singing in local competitions and music festivals. After receiving several scholarships and music awards Riley decided to expand her creative pursuits to include acting.

Riley landed her first role as ‘Young Fiona’ in a community production of Shrek The Musical, followed by the role of ‘Lavender’ in the US National Broadway tour of Matilda the Musical. Riley then found her way back to Canada to perform as ‘Ginette’ in the musical adaptation of the beloved Canadian children’s book, The Hockey Sweater. Riley earned two nominations for ‘Outstanding Supporting Performance’ from the Montreal English Theatre Awards and for ’Best Performance by a Female in a Featured Role’ from Broadway World, for her role as ‘Ginette’.

In 2018, Riley began her television career with a lead role in Big Top Academy; a show produced in partnership with Cirque du Soleil, for TVO Kids, and Discovery Kids. As a French immersion student, gymnast, singer, and actor, this role provided Riley with the perfect outlet to display and refine her diverse set of skills. Using her musical background, Riley also lent her voice to record most of the original songs on the show’s soundtrack.

After completing production on Big Top Academy Riley took on her first voice-over role as ‘Spark’ in Pup Academy. In the summer of 2019, Riley traveled to North Bay, ON to join the cast of When Hope Calls (Hallmark Movies Now) as ‘Helen’.

In the fall of 2019, Riley returned home to Toronto to play ‘Biff Hooper’ in The Hardy Boys (Hulu/YTV). In the short break after Season 1, Riley participated in two feature films and was excited to rejoin her cast mates on the set of Season 2 of The Hardy Boys in the summer of 2021.

In her spare time Riley loves reading, photography, hanging out with friends, and continues to study music.