The Transformation Of Torrey DeVitto From Childhood To Chicago Med
Torrey DeVitto, who has been working in the entertainment industry for two decades, is best known for portraying Dr. Natalie Manning on the NBC drama "Chicago Med." From 2015 to 2021, she starred as the Physician of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the Gaffney Chicago Medical Center.
DeVitto recently exited the series, with Manning getting fired after stealing trial medication in an attempt to treat her mother's heart failure. Fans were split over her departure, though most agreed that it was finally time she faced consequences for her impulsive actions.
While DeVitto isn't a troublesome ER worker, she has years of experience working in hospice care. She explained that this helped her feel connected to her character's devotion toward caring for others. In an interview with The Nerds of Color, she said that she "went into the audition feeling like, 'Wow, I really feel my hospice work wanting to merge with this role.'"
"Natalie is probably the one character I share the most characteristics with," she told Glitter in 2020. "Sometimes with certain storylines of hers, I wonder, 'is art imitating life or is life imitating art?' which gets a little scary, but I like it. I like that I have let myself blend with this character more than ever before."
Before she was known as Dr. Manning, Torrey DeVitto rose to fame by starring in teen dramas and had a particularly star-studded upbringing.
She grew up touring with Billy Joel
With Stevie Nicks as her "fairy godmother" and childhood memories of watching her father play the drums for Billy Joel, it isn't surprising that Torrey DeVitto found herself drawn to performing. Her mother, Mary, met her father, Liberty, while he was drumming on tour with her best friend, Nicks. While her father has worked with various bands in his career, he's best known for his work with Joel.
In fact, her birth was announced on stage by Joel as her father was drumming with him that night. Her middle name, Joël, is an homage to the Piano Man, as well as a portmanteau of her grandmother's names, Josephine and Eloise (via Glamour). Growing up on the road, she found a passion for playing the violin and began to take dance classes to fuel her love of performing.
As a teenager, DeVitto began modeling but struggled to connect with it. She was encouraged to take acting classes to help her open up as a model, but this ended up changing the trajectory of her life. "After I went to my first acting class, I knew modeling was out, and (acting) was what I wanted to do," she told Glitter.
One Tree Hill and other early 2000s TV roles
Torrey DeVitto's first acting credit was Girl #1 in a 2003 episode of "Dawson's Creek." Ironically, she wasn't allowed to watch the coming-of-age series because her mother overheard an inappropriate joke in the series premiere (via Glamour).
Following this, she had one-time appearances in shows like "Scrubs," "The King of Queens," and "Jack & Bobby." She also starred in three episodes of the Nickelodeon series "Drake & Josh" before being cast in the ABC drama "Beautiful People."
For two seasons, she portrayed Karen Kerr, a model who moves from a small town to New York City with her academically gifted little sister and their recently divorced mother. She told Glitter that she felt "so connected" to the character while filming.
One of DeVitto's most memorable roles is Carrie, the Scott family's deranged nanny, in "One Tree Hill." Nanny Carrie attempts to seduce Nathan Scott (James Lafferty), then goes on to kidnap his son, run his father over, kidnap his father, and try to murder his wife and mother. Her vicious plan fails, and she is shot to death by his father in Season 6.
DeVitto revealed to Glitter that this is the role she'd be most interested in revisiting. "If we picked up 15 years later, she might be a serial killer by now," she said. "Who knows. It could be good material for a horror film or an 'American Horror Story' type show!"
She made a name for herself on teen dramas
Before executing Dr. Manning's questionable behavior on "Chicago Med," Torrey DeVitto portrayed Meredith Fell, a doctor who injected human patients with vampire blood in "The Vampire Diaries." She starred in the supernatural teen drama for two seasons between 2012 and 2013.
Her best-known role in a teen drama came with "Pretty Little Liars." DeVitto starred as Melissa, the competitive older sister of Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario), from 2010 to 2017. She told Glitter that this was her most challenging role.
While it pushed her to become more confident on set, she struggled to keep up with the never-ending twists and shifting character motives. "I think it ended up working for the show, but for me as an actor, I always felt all over the place and like I wasn't doing my job well as far as getting to fully understand who (Melissa) was as a character went," she admitted.
In 2013, she joined the final season of Lifetime's "Army Wives" to branch out into a more adult series. She told TV Fanatic that, at the time, Maggie Hall was "the most realistic character" she had played on TV.
DeVitto made similar comments to NOC about landing her dream role on "Chicago Med" two years later. "As much as I'm so grateful for those (teen) shows because they got me where I am today and I love them, I was really ready to step into a very adult, more mature show, genre, and audience," she said.
Perhaps in the future, Dr. Natalie Manning will reappear somewhere in the "One Chicago" franchise.