Miami teenager to appear on Army Wives

3/5/2013

Give it up for a local who is making it big in Hollywood. Ella Wahlestedt, 14, of Miami, was recently cast as Caroline Hall on Lifetime’s “Army Wives.” Her role is described as a bratty pain in the neck. She comes from a broken family and has a lot of anger. Caroline takes it all out on her stepmom (The Vampire Diaries vet, Torrey DeVitto), because she blames her for her parents' divorce. This is opposite of her real life situation. Ella's mother, Lisa, a doctor, travels with her between multiple cities for casting opportunities and spends her time overseeing her daughter’s career. “I was sitting at my computer when Ella came to me and said, ‘Mom, I think I want to be an actor.’ My heart dropped,” Lisa says. “It was not because she chose acting. It was because being a doctor, I didn’t know how to help her.” Her dad, Claes, an M.D. and Ph.D., is a drug discovery pioneer on University of Miami’s Miller School faculty. A professor who runs the epigenetics lab, he would have preferred Ella to study math and science. “But I get queasy around blood,” Ella says. “It’s not for me.” Season Seven premieres on March 10.