Madelaine Petsch

Madelaine Petsch is an American actor and producer best known for playing Cheryl Blossom in Riverdale, a role that made her one of the show’s most recognisable and talked-about characters across its seven-season run. Since then, she has expanded into producing and film work, including a leading role in The Strangers trilogy from 2024 to 2026, where she also became an executive producer for the third film.

Why Madelaine Petsch is vegan

Madelaine Petsch is vegan for the animals, health and the planet.

Petsch has spoken about growing up with environmentally conscious parents who taught her about recycling, and a home life centred on food from the garden.¹Drell, C. 2020. Madelaine Petsch Thinks We Should be More Radical. Elle. Available: https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a31754101/madelaine-petsch-interview/ [Accessed 8 September 2021]. She says she’s been plant-based her whole life but other sources say she committed fully to veganism as a teenager, so it may be that she was raised vegetarian. She has linked her plant-based choices to both values and day-to-day wellbeing, especially the practical reality of keeping energy steady during long shoot days.²Trainor, M. W. 2018. ‘Riverdale’ ‘s Madelaine Petsch Shares Her Vegan Diet: What She Eats in a Day. People. Available: https://people.com/health/riverdale-madelaine-petsch-what-i-eat-in-a-day/ [Accessed 11 August 2026].

When she was 22 she promoted veganism wearing a dress made from bok choy, encouraging people to “turn over a new leaf” by adopting a plant-based diet.³Thompson, A. 2017. Madelaine Petsch: ‘Riverdale’ Star Channels Poison Ivy In Fierce PETA Ad — Watch. Hollywoodlife.com. Available: https://hollywoodlife.com/2017/02/28/madelaine-petsch-peta2-ad-video-vegan-riverdale/ [Accessed 8 September 2021]. Petsch is also a board member of the Environmental Media Association, a non-profit that encourages the entertainment industry to make eco-friendly choices.⁴Drell, C. 2020. Madelaine Petsch Thinks We Should be More Radical. Elle. Available: https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a31754101/madelaine-petsch-interview/ [Accessed 8 September 2021].

“People make it seem like it’s so difficult. I want to teach people how positive and easy it is to be vegan—I don’t want to make it seem like it’s this big feat.”⁵Drell, C. 2020. Madelaine Petsch Thinks We Should be More Radical. Elle. Available: https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a31754101/madelaine-petsch-interview/ [Accessed 8 September 2021].