Torrey DeVitto Bio
Torrey Joël DeVitto (born June 8, 1984) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and former fashion model whose career spans television, film, music, and producing. She first gained public attention as Karen Kerr on the ABC Family drama series Beautiful People and later built a long screen résumé through recurring roles on Pretty Little Liars, One Tree Hill, The Vampire Diaries, Army Wives, and Chicago Med. Beyond acting, DeVitto is also a classically trained violinist, a producer of documentary projects, and a vocal advocate for hospice care, animal welfare, mental health awareness, and anti-trafficking work.
Early Life and Background
Torrey Joël DeVitto was born on June 8, 1984, in Huntington, New York, on Long Island, and was also raised in Winter Park, Florida. She is the daughter of Mary DeVitto and Liberty DeVitto, the longtime drummer for Billy Joel. Her parents met in 1983, when Liberty was playing drums on Stevie Nicks’s Wild Heart Tour and her mother was Nicks’s close friend. On the day DeVitto was born, Billy Joel was performing at Wembley Arena and dedicated a song to the new arrival, prompting a standing ovation for Liberty from the audience.
DeVitto is of Italian descent, with her paternal grandmother from Naples and her paternal grandfather from Sicily. She has two sisters, Devon and Maryelle, the latter of whom appeared in the television series Endurance. Growing up, she spent considerable time touring with her parents and celebrated holidays with Billy Joel and his family, including his daughter Alexa Ray Joel. She attended Fort Salonga Elementary School and Youngsville Elementary School, both part of the Kings Park Central School District in New York, before graduating from Winter Park High School in Florida.
A childhood surrounded by music shaped DeVitto’s early years. She began violin lessons at age six and by fourth grade was playing with her local high school orchestra. At twelve, she performed a solo violin piece at the wedding of Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook. She went on to play with the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra from 1995 to 1997 and with the Florida Youth Artist Orchestra from 1998 to 1999, while also studying dance at the Kings Park Dance Center in New York and taking acting classes at Zoe & Company in Orlando, Florida. Her first name, Torrey, comes from her mother’s maiden name.
Path to Acting
DeVitto started modeling at fifteen, appearing in commercials and signing with the Ford and Avenue One modeling agencies. She described modeling as a stepping stone toward television and film work. During her teen years, she split time between Florida, New York, and Chicago, and after graduating from high school she spent a summer in Japan working as a model.
Her first professional acting credit came in 1999 with a role on the WB drama series Safe Harbor, followed in 2000 by an appearance on the Nickelodeon comedy series Noah Knows Best. In 2002, she took a lead role in playwright Lee Blessing’s Eleemosynary at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, earning positive reviews in the Orlando Sentinel. She continued building her résumé with guest spots on series such as Drake & Josh, Scrubs, and Jack & Bobby, while also playing violin with the Tommy Davidson Band at Hollywood’s Sunset Room and contributing strings to Raphael Saadiq’s 2004 album Ray Ray.
Torrey DeVitto Career
Early Career (1999–2006)
DeVitto’s first starring role arrived in 2005 with the ABC Family drama series Beautiful People, where she played aspiring model Karen Kerr through 2006. That same year, she made her film debut in the dramatic short Starcrossed and went on to appear in the horror sequel I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer in 2006, playing Zoe Warner. She also played violin on Stevie Nicks’s 2011 album In Your Dreams, weaving her musical training into her early professional life.
During this period she balanced film, television, and music work, taking lead and supporting parts in projects such as the comedy film Heber Holiday (2007), the comedy-drama Green Flash (2008), and the horror comedy Killer Movie (2008), the last of which co-starred her future husband Paul Wesley. These roles helped establish her as a versatile performer comfortable across genres.
Breakthrough (2008–2021)
From 2008 to 2009, DeVitto had a recurring role on The CW drama series One Tree Hill, playing nanny Carrie, a performance that still draws strong reactions from fans. In 2010, she began a long run on the ABC Family mystery drama Pretty Little Liars as Melissa Hastings, a role she played through 2017. The following year, she appeared as Nina in Anthony Hopkins’s thriller The Rite, which earned favorable reviews and grossed more than $97 million worldwide.
In 2011, she joined The CW fantasy drama The Vampire Diaries in a recurring role as Dr. Meredith Fell, a physician fascinated by Alaric Saltzman. In 2013, she joined the final season of Lifetime’s Army Wives as Maggie Hall, a former soldier and mother of two. Her biggest television commitment began in August 2015, when she was cast in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med as Dr. Natalie Manning, the emergency department pediatrician. She played the role for six seasons and also crossed over into Chicago P.D. and Chicago Fire, exiting the series in the season six finale in 2021.
Notable Works and Milestones
DeVitto’s signature work remains her six-year run as Dr. Natalie Manning on Chicago Med, which cemented her standing as a leading dramatic actress on network television. Her earlier role as Melissa Hastings on Pretty Little Liars made her a fixture of the mystery genre, while her recurring turn as nanny Carrie on One Tree Hill remains one of her most recognized performances. She is also widely known for producing and starring in the thriller Divertimento (2020), which won Best Ensemble at the 2021 Seattle Film Festival, and for her Hallmark films, including Write Before Christmas, which was highlighted by The New York Times.
Torrey DeVitto Award Nominations
Across her television and film career, Torrey Joël DeVitto has earned recognition for her dramatic work, including a nomination circuit anchored by her long-running role on Chicago Med and earlier appearances on Pretty Little Liars and One Tree Hill. Specific tally totals are not fully verified in available sources, so individual nomination counts are not listed here.
Torrey DeVitto Awards Won
DeVitto’s most clearly verified honor is the 2013 Buchwald Spirit Award for Public Awareness from the National Hospice Foundation, awarded for her ongoing work as a Hospice Ambassador for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Her producing work on the thriller Divertimento also contributed to a Best Ensemble win at the 2021 Seattle Film Festival. Additional verified award totals are not confirmed.
Torrey DeVitto Family
DeVitto is the daughter of Mary DeVitto and Liberty DeVitto, the longtime drummer for Billy Joel. Her mother was Stevie Nicks’s best friend from the late 1970s onward and met Liberty while he was playing drums on Nicks’s Wild Heart Tour. She has two sisters, Devon and Maryelle, and grew up celebrating holidays with Billy Joel and his family, including his daughter Alexa Ray Joel.
She married actor Paul Wesley in April 2011, and the couple divorced in December 2013 after a two-year marriage. She later became engaged to director Jared LaPine in September 2023, and the pair married on September 14, 2024, in Pullman, Michigan. They welcomed their first child, a daughter named Lyle-Josephine, on November 21, 2024.
Personal Life
Outside of her screen work, DeVitto is widely known for her philanthropy and activism. She has served as a Hospice Ambassador for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization since 2011 and works with Rainbow Hospice while based in Chicago. She has supported organizations including IMAlive, the Kindred Foundation for Adoption, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Maddie’s Fund, and The Humane Society, and she is a member of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network’s National Leadership Council and an official board member of SafeBae.
She is an animal rights advocate with two rescued dogs, Beau and Homie, and has partnered with the Shelter Pet Project and the Humane Society’s Be Cruelty-Free campaign. She has described herself as vegan in her fashion choices and vegetarian in her food. DeVitto owns a 7.2-acre farm in Michigan and continues to use her platform to advocate for hospice care, mental health awareness, and anti-trafficking work.