Younger Melanie

Kailee

Patty

Jaclyn Hales was born on September 4th, in Syracuse, New York to Julie Lea Hales, a homemaker and real estate agent, and James Rulon Hales, a retired pharmaceutical district sales manager. She is of Scottish, Italian, and English descent. At age six, Hales made her stage debut as "The Shrunken Alice" in a production of Alice in Wonderland, at the Seacoast Repertory Theater in Portsmouth, New Hampshire where she grew up. She appeared in many more productions throughout her childhood until her family moved to North Salt Lake, Utah at the age of fourteen. There she decided it was time to try TV/Film.

It was at a Janet Jackson Concert that she was first scouted by a modeling agent. The modeling didn't pan out due to her not wanting to quit the swim team, leave her friends behind, or lose the extra inch off her waist they wanted. However, at sixteen she was able to meet a talent agent in an office down the hall and quickly booked her first television role on The WB called Everwood. This was the beginning of her professional quest to be a full-time actress.

Hales studied acting at Utah Valley University and graduated with a BS in theater performance. She was awarded "Best Actress 2009" and "Best Student Director 2009" by the theater department.

Her career truly began when she was offered the lead role in the Indie feature 'Unicorn City' (Jon Gries, 2011) winning her the Best Actress award at the LA Comedy Festival (2012). This led to her appearing in several more films and TV shows including FX's 'Legion' (Jean Smart, Jemaine Clement), HBO's 'Mosaic' (Garrett Hedlund, Sharon Stone), and 'Christmas Eve' (Patrick Stewart). She has played two series regular roles; Lynn in 'Extinct' (2017), which aired on BYUTV, and Claire in 'Cypher' (2021) which aired on The Roku Channel as their first exclusive series. This year (2025-26) she landed a Top of Show Guest Star role on Apple TV's 'Imperfect Women' (Elizabeth Moss, Kerry Washington, Kate Mara), directed by Leslie Linka Glatter.

In 2020, Hales co-wrote with Ash Lendzion, a scripted dark comedy podcast called 'The Bystanders'. Producers Heather Morris (Glee) and Black Label Media (La La Land, Sicario) helped them bring it to life.

The Bystanders, Season 1 (2021) starring, Jane Lynch (Glee), Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked), Oscar Nunez (The Office), Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl), and Michael Hitchcock (Best in Show), took off with rave reviews, landing them another season.

The Bystanders, Season 2 (2023) stars, Jane Lynch (Glee), Kathleen Turner (Romancing the Stone), Margaret Cho (PsyCHO), Beth Dover (Orange is the New Black), Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite), Luke Cook (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Darren Chris (Glee), and Wayne Knight (Jurassic Park).

Now a writer, producer, and director, as well as actor, Hales keeps busy with a well-rounded career that brings many hats to the table.

See photos of celebrities before they hit the big-time.

#	Name	Score	Year	Known	★	Noms	Votes
1	Legion	10.00	2017	•	8.1	1	103556
2	The Sinister Surrogate	2.60	2021	•	4.7	0	348
3	Imperfect Women	2.50	2026	•	6.2	0	3821

Jaclyn Hales

Director

Writer

Actress

Producer

Self

Credit Score: Jaclyn Hales