Naman Shrestha
Helmed by Brian Herzlinger, Lifetime’s ‘Pretty Hurts’ is a drama movie inspired by the short film titled ‘I Never Thought to Ask: A Mom’s Quest for Answers.’ Focusing on raising awareness about meningitis, the narrative follows Lauren, an ambitious teenager who participates in the same beauty pageant that her mother, Julie, took part in decades ago. Her objective is to raise scholarship money for her college education.
Blinded by the cutthroat competition associated with the pageant, she doesn’t pay attention to the deteriorating health of her best friend, Rae. When Rae gets diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening disease, meningitis B, Lauren decides to make the most of her pageant platform and raise awareness for the same. The dark and twisted nature of the manipulative pageant competition that Lauren enters serves as a complementary backdrop for the deadly disease that Rae suffers from, adding more depth to the narrative.
Where Was Pretty Hurts Filmed?
‘Pretty Hurts’ was reportedly filmed in its entirety in Georgia, particularly in Metro Atlanta. Principal photography for the drama movie got underway in the second week of April 2025 and continued for a couple of weeks before wrapping up within the same month. As the premiere of the Lifetime film approached, Rachael Markarian, who portrays Helena, took to social media and stated, “Had the pleasure of working with this talented and FUN cast & crew. Everyday was a blast and made special by the people who worked on this film, both in front and behind the camera.”
Metro Atlanta, Georgia
All the pivotal sequences for ‘Pretty Hurts’ were reportedly lensed across Metro Atlanta, which has five core counties — Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb, and Clayton. While most of the scenes were taped in the city of Atlanta, the cast and crew members also set up camp in Hiram. To be specific, the filming unit seemingly utilized the facilities of the ATL Film Studios at 110 Thompson Road in Hiram. The film studio consists of two 20,000 square feet sound stages, 30,000 square feet of Mill Space, 10,000 square feet of office space, and multiple standing sets of spaces like a courthouse, jail, police precinct, beauty salon, hospital room, and more.
Armed with these amenities, the ATL Film Studios serves as an ideal production location for all kinds of projects, including ‘Pretty Hurts.’ In Atlanta, the production team supposedly captured several establishing shots using the vast cityscape. Thus, it is likely that some of the landmarks of the city also feature in the backdrop, such as the Georgia State Capitol, the Centennial Olympic Park, Bank of America Plaza, Truist Plaza, One Atlantic Center, and more. Apart from the Lifetime production, Atlanta has hosted several other notable films and TV shows, including ‘Saturday Night,’ ‘Into the Wild,’ ‘The Six Triple Eight,’ ‘Grosse Pointe Garden Society,’ and ‘The Oval.’
During a conversation with TV Insider, Hailey Duff was asked about her experience working with Sarah Borne. She revealed, “I absolutely loved Sarah. I can’t speak more love and admiration for her. She is so talented and so special. She and I, really from the second we started working together, felt like family. It was funny, even our director Brian on set would say, ‘You really are funny. It feels like you are family.’ And she is not all that younger than me, which is kind of funny. She is just a really special actress and person.”
Pretty Hurts Cast Details
The powerful tale of ‘Pretty Hurts’ is brought to life with compelling performances from Sarah Borne, Haylie Duff, and Kaci Barker. When Sarah was cast as Emily in the play Our Town during her high school years, she realized that acting was her calling. While majoring in Psychology, she has also been pursuing acting professionally since her teens. Haylie Duff has experience working in different departments of the entertainment industry. Besides being an actor, the sister of Hilary Duff is also a producer and director.
Sarah Borne as Lauren
The Atlanta, Georgia, native, Sara Borne, essays the role of Lauren in ‘Pretty Hurts.’ Widely recognized for portraying Baby Doll in ‘Doom Patrol’ and Alison in ‘The Ms. Pat Show,’ she also features in several movies, including ‘Hot Guys Who Ghosted Me,’ ‘A Nashville Christmas Carol,’ ‘Newlywed Nightmare,’ and ‘Behind the Movement.’ Furthermore, she has a few credits in short films, such as ‘The Audition’ and ‘El Secreto.’
Haylie Duff as Julie
Haylie Duff portrays Julie, Lauren’s mother, in the Lifetime production. You might recognize the veteran actor from her pivotal roles in films like ‘Napoleon Dynamite,’ ‘Love Takes Wing,’ ‘Home Invasion,’ ‘The Costume Shop,’ ‘Sweet on You,’ and ‘Material Girls.’ Her TV credits include the likes of ‘7th Heaven,’ ‘Real Rob,’ ‘Blackout,’ and ‘Joan of Arcadia.’
Kaci Barker as Rae
In ‘Pretty Hurts,’ Kaci Barker essays the role of Lauren’s sick best friend, Rae. Many of you might recognize her from ‘The Family Plan,’ where she portrays the Pimply Kid. Besides that, she features in ‘ATL Homicide’ as Danica Boyd, ‘Swagger’ as Drea, ‘Found’ as the Barista, and ‘Popular Theory’ as Entrant. Kaci also has a few short film credits to her name, including ‘Possession,’ ‘Rookie,’ and ‘Plan It Out.’
Apart from the three lead cast members, Lifetime’s ‘Pretty Hurts’ also features other talented actors in supporting roles, such as Cyane Gan and Haley Gosserand.
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