For the third time in less than a month, the daughter of a beloved Hallmark actress is making her acting debut with the network. On March 26, 2026, Bethany Joy Lenz’s 15-year-old daughter, Maria Rose Galeotti, can be seen in the just-released second episode of her famous mom’s new series, “Hope Valley: 1874,” available exclusively on Hallmark+.
Going by the stage name Maria March, Lenz’s daughter debuts in the “All In A Dream” episode as Vivian Doyle, the daughter of a prospector during the Gold Rush era. Her first scene is brief, with series lead Benjamin Ayres as rancher Tom Moore and Jedidiah Goodacre as local blacksmith Clayton, but March will be back in additional episodes, in a role her mom made her audition for.
Bethany Joy Lenz Reveals How Daughter Maria March Auditioned for Her 1st Onscreen Role
GettyMarch attended the “Hope Valley: 1874” premiere in LA alongside her mom, who has gushed in recent days about how “proud” she is of her girl.
Lenz, who plays single mom Rebecca Clarke — a widowed pioneer who travels by covered wagon with her daughter Sarah, played by Mila Morgan, from Chicago to Canada’s western frontier — told People of March’s first TV role, “She’s doing a great job. I’m really proud of her. It’s a beautiful story, and I’m so happy.”
The “One Tree Hill” alum, who’s starred in Hallmark hits including 2023’s “A Biltmore Christmas” and 2018’s “Royal Matchmaker,” told the outlet that she initially turned down “Hope Valley: 1874,” not wanting to uproot March from her high school. But the deal sweetened when the producer said they’d work around the teen’s school schedule and offer her a role in the series. That combined with a script Lenz loved — and the chance to do a gritty period piece about women in the 1800s — made it a clear yes, she told People.
Lenz told KATU on March 24 that although it sounded like “the most amazing opportunity,” she insisted that her daughter audition for her role to earn it fair and square. March had loved acting in school productions, with her famous mom helping behind-the-scenes, but Lenz said she wanted to “make sure it was all done on the up-and-up.”
“I said (to her), ‘Look, you have to actually audition because nobody’s just going to give you a free part, and it wouldn’t be right for them — like, they need to know that you can actually act,'” Lenz told KATU. “So, she did Haley Steinfeld’s scene from ‘True Grit’ and she did one of her scenes from ‘Little Women,’ which was the play she was in at the time. And she did great, I’m just so proud of her. And so many people on set didn’t even know she was my daughter for the first few weeks (of filming).”
Ayers chimed in during the interview to say, “And day one for her, she was like knee-deep in the mud, it was raining, and t was a lot. And I was like, ‘If she doesn’t like this, then she’s going to know quite quickly if this is something she wants to do.'”
Laughing, Lenz said, “Oh yeah, she walked off set and looked at me and went, ‘I love this!’ (She was) soaking wet. Great, kid — family business it is!”
Two Other Hallmark Moms Brought Their Daughters to Work This Year
HallmarkInterestingly, this is the third time in a month that the daughter of a Hallmark fan-favorite has made her onscreen debut alongside their famous moms.
In late February, Alison Sweeney’s 17-year-old daughter, Megan Sweeney, made her acting debut alongside her mom in the Hallmark rom-com “Romance at Hope Ranch.” Days later, Brooke Shields’ daughter, Rowan Henchy, made her onscreen debut in “When Calls The Heart,” while her mom reprised her role as Charlotte Thornton.
While March may be pumped to follow in her mom’s footsteps, Sweeney’s not so sure that her daughter will do the same. After the movie wrapped, Sweeney told EntertainmentNow, “I asked her how she felt about it, if she was interested in doing it again, and she sort of was like, ‘No,’” Alison laughed. “She loved it, she’s really glad she did it, but I think she has other ambitions for herself and her career, and I mean, to be honest, I have tried hard to help her not want to be an actor her whole life!”
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Henchy graduated from Wake Forest University in May 2025 with a degree in Communications and Journalism. According to her LinkedIn profile, she now works as a booking producer at ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
