Overview of Madelaine Petsch: From Riverdale to Scream Queen
In this episode of Not Skinny But Not Fat, Amanda Hirsch sits down with Madelaine Petsch for a wide-ranging conversation about her Riverdale breakthrough, her South African roots, growing up vegan with “hippie” parents, and how she’s built a career that now spans horror, producing, and self-defined creative choices. Madelaine opens up about anxiety, divine alignment, body image, Halloween obsessions, and why she’s still deeply proud to be a “CW girl” — even as she moves into new projects like American Horror Story and multiple horror films.
Riverdale, Fame, and the Timing of a Cultural Moment
Why Riverdale became such a phenomenon
- Amanda notes that Riverdale felt like a true “cult show,” especially for people who watched it live on the CW.
- Madelaine agrees the timing was ideal:
- Instagram was at its peak.
- TV fandoms were still heavily invested in weekly episodes.
- The show arrived during a moment when long-season network TV could still create massive audience attachment.
- She points out that the show later got a huge second life on Netflix, where the cast suddenly saw the social-media explosion firsthand.
What made the show work
- Madelaine says Riverdale was successful partly because it gave viewers a lot of time with the cast — 22 episodes a season.
- She credits the CW for the show’s original identity and says she’s proud to have been a “CW girl.”
- She and Amanda discuss how modern TV has become shorter and more binge-driven, which can make it harder for audiences to get equally invested.
Growing Up: South African Roots, Veganism, and Feeling Different
Her family background
- Madelaine’s parents are both from South Africa, and she has a strong connection to that heritage.
- Her family was very “hippie”:
- Plant-based/vegetarian upbringing
- Lots of homegrown produce
- A very natural, unconventional household
- She jokes that she was never really meant to “fit in”:
- Red hair
- Nonreligious upbringing
- Vegan childhood
- South African family identity
Being a redhead before it was cool
- Madelaine says it was not easy being a redhead as a child.
- She recalls her brother being mocked at school and even having stones thrown at him.
- She says red hair is now embraced in a way it wasn’t before, which she finds gratifying.
Vegan from birth
- She was raised vegan after her mother couldn’t breastfeed and Madelaine projectile-vomited dairy formula as a baby.
- She’s literally never had meat, aside from accidentally biting into a ground-beef samosa once as a child.
- She laughs that her Riverdale castmates used to joke that she “eats nothing.”
Career Path: Early Auditions, Moving to L.A., and Landing Cheryl Blossom
Starting young
- Madelaine got into dance around age 4 and theater around age 7.
- She was a very performative kid — making up plays, wanting attention, and wanting to be in the spotlight.
- Her parents signed her up for community theater and activities to channel that energy.
Moving to Los Angeles
- She decided very young that she wanted to move to L.A. and told her parents around age 12.
- She eventually moved at 18 with her childhood best friend.
- She worked multiple jobs after moving and describes that period as intense, but also formative.
How she got an agent
- She booked an early entry program called iPOP (International Presentation of Performers), where performers audition for agents and managers.
- She signed with representation at 16.
- She also attended an arts high school and came to L.A. during pilot season.
The Riverdale audition
- She originally auditioned for a different show and was then brought in for Riverdale.
- Casting director David Rapaport asked her to read for Betty, but “like the most villainous bitch on planet Earth.”
- She ended up being pinned for Cheryl before being officially cast.
- She says the role of Cheryl Blossom was a gift because it stayed challenging and layered for seven seasons.
Working on Riverdale: Creative Freedom, Chaos, and Friendship
Cheryl as a dream role
- Madelaine loved Cheryl because she was:
- Villainous
- Secretive
- Vulnerable
- Complex
- She says she was never bored playing her.
- She recalls that the “crazy” storylines could be hilarious, but the cast and showrunner were in on the joke.
The team behind the show
- Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa trusted the cast’s instincts.
- Madelaine says he would ask the actors if their characters would actually do certain things.
- He would even tailor storylines to the cast’s interests, like when she asked to do archery and it became part of Cheryl’s arc.
The cast bond
- She says she, Lili, Camila, and Vanessa were very close and often lived in the same building.
- Their friendship became a genuine family dynamic.
- She describes the end of Riverdale as emotional, with the cast and crew giving speeches and crying together after seven years.
- Her favorite memory from the show is the final group goodbye — seeing how much the experience meant to everyone.
Body Image, Beauty Standards, and Mental Health
Pressure on CW actresses
- Amanda brings up body-image pressure on CW shows.
- Madelaine says the standards were definitely intense — “hot, young, and fit” was the expectation.
- She says she had highs and lows during that period.
Anxiety and therapy
- She talks candidly about anxiety that lives in her body and manifests physically.
- She’s been using somatic therapy, which combines:
- breath work
- eye movement
- body-based processing
- CBT elements
- She says it’s helped her a lot and improved over time as she’s spent more time away from the industry pressure cooker.
Divine alignment and intuition
- Madelaine is very focused on “divine alignment.”
- She sees a healer in Colorado several times a year and values being grounded.
- For her, career choices are not just about what is good for her résumé — they have to feel truly aligned.
- She says fear often enters decision-making, but she tries not to operate from fear.
New Projects: Horror, Producing, and Expanding Her Range
A horror fan from the start
- Madelaine says she has loved horror since childhood.
- Favorites include:
- The Conjuring
- Saw
- Black Sheep
- She’s very motivated by the genre and calls horror one of her favorite creative spaces.
American Horror Story
- This is a major bucket-list project for her.
- She says she’d publicly asked Ryan Murphy to call her in interviews, and then the opportunity eventually came through.
- She was starstruck meeting Murphy and loved getting to work with him directly.
- She plays Joey Pollari’s girlfriend on the season.
- The season involves a plane and a “13” shirt, with something ominous happening onboard.
- The first three episodes premiere on September 24.
The Strangers films
- She shot the Strangers films in a compressed, cross-cut way, sometimes working on different installments on the same day.
- She also had a producer-like role in the process, giving script notes and working closely on revisions.
- She says the project benefited from that creative flexibility, especially because the story takes place over a short in-world timeline.
Other upcoming films
- Pretty Babies
- Premiered at Edinburgh.
- She plays part of the dark underbelly of the sex industry, opposite a cast including Sadie Stanley.
- She did extensive prep, including pole training and shadowing a stripper/DP who taught her authentic club movement.
- Chasing Red
- Already shot, currently in unknown status.
- I Wish I Never Had Sex With Him
- Recently shot and currently in the editing phase.
- She describes it as a wish-fulfillment movie with a time-jump structure.
Personality, Style, and Fun Details
Halloween queen
- Madelaine says she has always loved Halloween and other costumes/characters.
- She is the clear leader of a possible annual Halloween group costume with her friends.
- She works with a costume designer and sends sketches to her group, making it easy for everyone else to approve and participate.
On her name and Instagram handle
- Her Instagram handle is Madelaine, not “Madeline,” because a boy in high school used to call her that.
- She likes keeping it because it feels playful and not overly formal.
- She says she doesn’t want her social media to feel like a work page.
Humor and public perception
- She thinks people may be surprised by how funny she is.
- Her humor is very dry and self-deprecating.
- Amanda and Madelaine bond over the idea that people sometimes misread who they are online.
Beauty and self-presentation
- She hasn’t had Botox and likes having facial movement because she needs expression as an actor.
- She’s very sun-averse and prefers the beach with a full setup, shade, and protection.
- She jokingly embraces an “Anne Hathaway at the beach” level of sun caution.
Key Takeaways
- Madelaine Petsch is intentional: she wants projects that feel aligned, not just career-advancing.
- Her Riverdale era was unusually special: long seasons, close cast bonds, and real creative input made it a formative experience.
- She’s evolving into a horror-driven multi-hyphenate: acting, producing, and shaping material more actively.
- She’s deeply self-aware: about anxiety, industry pressure, beauty standards, and social media perception.
- Her values are rooted in grounding and authenticity: family, intuition, humor, and creative freedom.
Notable Quotes and Moments
- “I’m proud to say I was a CW girl.”
- “Divine alignment.”
- “I want to feel aligned with what I’m doing.”
- “People are obsessed with other people’s lives in a way that’s toxic.”
- “I love Halloween. Always.”
- “Saw 11 is my dream role.”