See which of her most famous roles you recognize the actress from, including ‘Suits’ and ‘Pretty Little Liars’
Vanessa Ray has portrayed a wide array of characters, from a sociopathic manipulator that majors in blackmail and torture on Pretty Little Liars to the girlfriend of a fake lawyer on Suits and a police officer that protects and serves NYC on Blue Bloods. But ahead of the series finale of Blue Bloods on December 13, we take a look at what makes the actress so memorable is how convincing she is in every role she’s held.
Best known for her roles in these drama series, Ray has also had a longstanding part on the soap opera As the World Turns, on which she portrays culinary chef Teri Ciccone. Keep reading to learn more about Ray’s most memorable roles.
Vanessa Ray becomes a soap star
Vanessa Ray Liptak was born on June 24, 1981, in Livermore, California, to Valerie and James Liptak. The actress began her journey in the entertainment world in 2003, when she booked her first project The Sparky Chronicles: The Map. It wasn’t long before she would land a recurring role on the soap As the World Turns in 2006, which was her first time in a soap opera.
In a 2009 interview, Ray shared what it has been like learning how to act in a soap, which she says is very different from acting on stage or in a regular TV show. “There’s memorizing, then doing it and just trusting that your instincts are right,” Ray shared. “I’m really impressed by all the actors on the show. They take it so seriously. They really force you to up your game.”
Ray continued to score parts towards the end of her time on As the World Turns, appearing in episodes of Bored to Death (2009), The Battery’s Down (2008-2009) and Damages (2010). She also starred in the Broadway musical Hair in 2009. In 2011, she scored a role on the hit legal drama Suits as Jenny Griffith, alongside Patrick J. Adams and Gabriel Macht.
Ray transitions into ‘Pretty Little Liars’ Characters Cece Drake/Charles/Charlotte/A
Just a year later, she booked the recurring role of Cece Drake on Pretty Little Liars. Although she only appeared in a total of 19 episodes, Ray’s role is pivotal to the show, as it changes throughout: Her character is eventually revealed to be Charles/Charlotte DiLaurentis, also known as Big “A.” But Ray wasn’t in the know on who her character would become from the get-go.
“When I first got the role, we had lots of conversations,” Ray shared. “We would have these long phone conversations about how she was a sociopath and how there was more to her than just being a villain. When did she become victimized? How did she become a villain? Cece was not the villain then, she was kind of this larger-than-life, all about herself [figure]. I found all these conversations that I would have with [series creator] I. Marlene King make sense.”
Vanessa Ray joins the force as Eddie Janko in ‘Blue Bloods’
Following the reveal of her character, Ray continued to make sporadic appearances on the show until 2017, while continuing her acting career elsewhere. In 2013, she was cast in the role of Officer Eddie Janko on Blue Bloods, where she remains today as a series regular.
Throughout the seasons, Eddie has tied the knot with Jamie Reagan (Will Estes) and become an official member of the Reagan family, even being able to pull up a chair at Sunday dinners.
“We have this anchor of this family dinner that I think is the heart, that’s the bread and butter of the show,” Ray shared in an interview. “That’s what makes people keep coming back, because they’re, like, ‘I know that no matter what chaos is happening, I can see these people sit down, fight it out, make a joke, tell funny stories about their first kisses,’ like all those kinds of things that you have as a family.”
Since scoring her spot on Blue Bloods, Ray has stuck mostly to roaming the NYC streets as Eddie, but has appeared in a few movies as well, including Are You Joking? (2014), All in Time (2015) and Serialized (2016).
Vanessa Ray’s personal life
Throughout her acting career, Ray has been married twice: the first time to actor Derek Baynham, from 2003 to 2009, and currently to Landon Beard, whom she wed in 2015. The couple recently welcomed a son, Isaac Ray Beard, via adoption in November 2023.
“We’re just so focused on him right now,” Ray explained. “And just showering him with love and trying to absorb every single moment we can of his just littleness, his little life.”
