MADELAINE PETSCH Red-hot streak

STRAYING FROM HER TEEN DRAMA ROOTS, THE STAR MAKES A NAME FOR HERSELF IN ACTING AND PRODUCING

-  Olivia Harrowell

For seven seasons, Madelaine Petsch embodied Cheryl Blossom, Riverdale's sharp-tongued, scarlet-lipped queen bee, with a cutting one-liner always at the ready. Fiery, theatrical and unpredictable, her character strutted through the chaos of the show's wilder storylines with impeccable style. And while Petsch lived in Cheryl's world for nearly a decade, more recently she's been writing herself a new chapter - far from the small-town melodrama that made her a star.

"I don't think there will ever be a character that I love more than Cheryl Blossom," she told People magazine in September. "I spent my entire twenties with her. She was so much fun and such a challenge. What a blessing to be on a show like that."

The series, which ran from 2017 to 2023, brought the 31-year-old both stardom and lasting friendships. Recently on the Call Her Daddy podcast she recalled to host Alex Cooper that when she, Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes first hung out as a trio, they "all became best friends immediately".