Amelia Gray, the 24-year-old model and daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, has made her acting debut in Ryan Murphy's Hulu series 'The Beauty.' In a recent interview, she shared details about her brief but intense role and reflected on her mother's experience on 'The Traitors.' Gray also opened up about her cosmetic surgery history and her reluctance to pursue reality TV further.
Amelia Gray's entry into acting came through a Ryan Murphy production, a fitting choice given her family's fandom. 'My household was a real Ryan Murphy household,' Gray said, recalling weekly viewings of shows like 'Glee' and 'American Horror Story' with her parents. Her debut in 'The Beauty,' now streaming on Hulu, features her as a supermodel in the Conde Nast cafeteria who succumbs to the show's titular treatment—a sexually transmitted youth serum with deadly risks. In Episode 3, her character vomits, attacks figures played by Ben Platt and Megan Trainor, and ultimately explodes.
The role nearly eluded her. While in Paris for work, battling a fever, Gray received an audition email. The description—'Supermodel, extremely ill, but still looks good'—prompted her to film a self-tape in her hotel room despite inexperience. 'I set my iPad up... so sick, and just read the lines. I did one take [and] sent it in,' she recounted. Four months later, she landed the part without prior acting lessons, though her agent advised against them initially.
Filming a three-minute scene took over two days and 16 hours, a stark contrast to her modeling shoots. Gray performed her own stunts but opted out of one involving real glass, citing an upcoming Met Gala. She expressed admiration for actors, noting the role's demands, and mentioned consulting model-turned-actress Kaia Gerber.
Gray also addressed beauty standards, amid comparisons of 'The Beauty' to the Oscar-nominated film 'The Substance.' She clarified no lip fillers, only using SkinVive injections, and detailed procedures including a nose job, a breast reduction to avert sepsis from a nipple ring, and a botched augmentation requiring 14-hour reconstructive surgery. Influenced by a past relationship, she regretted the latter: 'I woke up in a state that I didn’t agree to.'
Firmly against reality TV after stints on 'Harry Loves Lisa' and 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' Gray dismissed further involvement. She viewed her mother Rinna's 'The Traitors' stint warily: 'Having to lie and deceive... does something to your brain.' Rinna required healing time post-show, Gray noted, respecting her privacy.