Meet Hallmark star Bethany Joy Lenz’s daughter who co-stars on her new series Hope Valley: 1874

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Maria continues her family’s legacy when it comes to acting.

Bethany revealed to ET: “She does [want to act]. She’s one of us. That’s really hard for me because I was a kid actor and I know how difficult it is in this industry. Maybe when she’s 18.”

It looks like Bethany ended up changing Maria’s starting age to 15 after all. And who can blame her since Maria practically grew up attending industry events alongside her mother over the years?

During a girls night out in 2022, Bethany wrote online: “Date night with my girl to @janiesfund #grammy dinner hosted by founder @iamstevent. Another great org for girls in need! Go check them out!!!” 

Bethany had a blast on set with Maria. She revealed to People: “We’re having so much fun. It’s such a dream job.”

The actress initially turned down the role in Hope Valley: 1874 because she didn’t want to be away from Maria.

Unexpectedly, the show’s producer shared surprising news and let her daughter be a part of the journey.

Bethany recalled: “He goes, ‘I know you’re a single mom, and you have to work around your daughter’s school schedule, and I know she loves to act. What if we give her a role in the show and we’ll shoot around her school schedule?'” 

Without hesitation, both Bethany and Maria signed on.

Bethany and Maria aren’t the only actors in the family. Bethany shared a throwback picture of herself and her grandmother and captioned it: “This is my Grandma Doris. She was a musical theatre QUEEN and inspired me when I was young. I write about her in #dinnerforvampires as an anchor point in my childhood. She was always a warm, safe place for me.”

Motherhood has been a life-changing and fulfilling experience for Bethany.

She shared with Bustle: “Waking up, finding out there’s more to life, getting down to the bare-bones and finding out, ‘Actually I can survive without x, y, z.’ Making lunch for my daughter and sending her off to school…it makes me really happy. It’s really been great.”

Bethany was married to Michael for six years and she candidly spoke about their separation on her blog back in 2012.

She revealed: “As most of you know, as much as I love to share with you the magic of ordinary days, I am also very private about my personal life. In fact, the only reason I’m saying anything about this at all is because you’ll all be wondering soon why everyone is calling me ‘Bethany Joy Lenz’ again. I’m sorry to say that Michael and I have decided to divorce.”

The two have continued to successfully co-parent Maria.