Ashley Benson began paddling her own in the showbiz arena at a very young age. She started taking part in dancing competitions at the age of three while taking up lessons in hip hop, ballet, tap, and jazz. By the time Benson hit age 4, she had already distinguished herself as a singer, taking part in choir ministrations and musicals. This beautiful lady also appeared in several print adverts as a model at the age of eight after signing a contract with Ford Models. Young Ashley displayed her acting skills on the screen for the first time in the year 2002 when she bagged the role of Melissa Howell for an episode (Explicit Activities) of the 2002 TV series, The District. Today, Ashley Benson’s filmography is a clear indication that her career has been on the upward side from that year till now.
Ashley Benson has continued to win numerous roles as well as the hearts of filmmakers in the industry with her unique acting skills. She has played the lead and supporting roles in numerous projects in different genres. She has also made appearances in films and TV shows alongside other prominent actors and actresses in Hollywood. Selena Gomez, Chad Michael Murray, Vanessa Hudgens, Christina Milian, and James Franco are some of the notable thespians she has shared screen time with.
An assessment of Ashley Benson’s filmography shows the actress has delivered more roles in television shows than in films. She has also had a handful of recurring roles in television, with Pretty Little Liars being the only TV show she invested over five years in. Other TV projects she had recurring roles in are Eastwick (2009–2010), Days of Our Lives (2004-2007), and Ravenswood (2013-2014; 2 episodes).
Generally, Benson has starred in over eighteen projects in television and ten films ever since she debuted. Most of her films and TV shows are quite impressive and stunning, however, a few of them are not so good enough as a result of one or two shortcomings. If you’ve been longing to know her best and worst films and TV shows, you are on the right page. You will find them below.
Ashley Benson Filmography, Movies List and TV Shows From Best To Worst
1. Spring Breakers
In this crime thriller, Benson played the role of a rebellious girl called Brit, the girlfriend of Candy (Vanessa Hudgens). Ashley featured in the film alongside A-listers like Selena Gomez, James Franco, Rachel Korine, and Venessa, who was an irresponsible and uncaring girl in college.
Spring Breakers is a story of four college-aged girls who came across an eccentric local drug lord called Alien on their spring break in Florida. From helping them in a moment of desperation, Alien became close to them, playing a role in their subsequent descent into a world of violence, drugs, and all manner of crimes.
This 2012 project is both a critical and commercial success. It received positive reviews generally on several film review sites and also grossed $31.7 million from a budget of $5 million at the box office. This 93 minutes long film, which was directed by Harmony Korine, occupies an impressive position on Ashley Benson’s filmography and is believed to be one of her best projects.
2. Her Smell
Directed by Alex Ross Perry, Her Smell tells the story of a fictional rock star called Becky Something whose self-destructive practices led to the breakup of her band after experiencing brief fame. Narrated with 5 distinct scenes, the film was produced by Elisabeth Moss, Matthew Perniciaro, Alex Ross Perry, Adam Piotrowicz, and Michael Sherman and produced by Alex Ross Perry.
Critical-wise, Her Smell met the expectations of critics and viewers. Although the exact amount that was spent on its production is yet to be published, records have it that it grossed $255,600 at the box office. In addition to Benson, who starred as Roxie Rotten, other members of the cast are Elisabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne, Dan Stevens, Gayle Rankin, Amber Heard, Virginia Madsen, and Dylan Gelula.
3. Elvis & Nixon
Directed by Liza Johnson, this comedy-drama film stars Hollywood heavyweights Michael Shannon, Alex Pettyfer, Kevin Spacey, Evan Peters, Johnny Knoxville, Colin Hanks, as well as Ashley as Margaret. It chronicles the meeting between singer Elvis Presley (Michael) and President Richard Nixon (Kevin) at the White House on December 21, 1970.
Though a critical success, Elvis & Nixon underperformed at the box office, earning a disappointing $1.8 million from a $4 million budget. It was written by Joey Sagal, Hanala Sagal, Cary Elwes, and is considered to be a critical hit even though it flopped commercially.
The 86 minutes long movie was released on April 18, 2016, at Tribeca Film Festival and on April 22, 2016, in the United States.
4. Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017)
Pretty Little Liars holds the record as the most-watched series on ABC Family, showing it was generally accepted by viewers for the number of seasons it aired. The series documents how five high school girls named Emily Fields, Spencer Hastings, Aria Montgomery, Alison DiLaurentis, and Hanna Marin began to lose it all as friends after the leader of their group, Alison, went missing. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series is a critical success and a thriller that represents everything a mysterious project should be. It is one of the best TV series on Ashley Benson’s filmography, having won several awards from numerous nominations.
5. Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019)
Widely adjudged one of the best TV projects of Ashley Benson, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists is everything you need in a mystery thriller drama. Adapted from Sara Shepard’s The Perfectionists and Pretty Little Liars, the series is the 3rd project in the Pretty Little Liars TV series. Unlike in other series, Benson worked behind the camera in The Perfectionists as a director in one of the episodes. Though it was her first stint behind the filming camera, it turned out that she did a nice job and was able to connect with her Pretty Little Liars co-stars.
The Perfectionists is a critical hit, scooping a %100 rate approval on Rotten Tomatoes and very decent scores on other film review sites.
6. Ravenswood (2013-2014)
Ravenswood is a teen drama horror-thriller that follows five strangers as they dig into Ravenswood, Pennsylvania’s dark past to find a solution to the town’s mysterious curse after their lives got intertwined by a deadly curse that has plagued the town for generations.
The supernatural, mystery drama, unfortunately, ran for only one season following its cancellation by ABC network due to low rating. Ashley appeared in the series as a guest, playing the role of Caleb’s ex-girlfriend (Hanna Marin), a role she earlier played on its parent show Pretty Little Liars. Although the series received a 75% rating score on Rotten Tomatoes, it bagged a poor rating generally and the project’s financial statement is unavailable.
7. Pixels (2015)
Though a commercial success, Pixels was welcomed with generally negative reviews by film critics despite the presence of notable Hollywood stars such as Peter Dinklage, Adam Sandler, Jane Krakowski, Kevin James, Brian Cox, Josh Gad, Sean Bean, and Michelle Monaghan. Produced by Adam Sandler, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Allen Cover, Pixels starred Ashley Benson as a beautiful called Lady Lisa, a warrior from Dojo Quest (the fictional 1982 video game). The 106 minutes project occupies a disappointing position on the list of films Benson has taken part in.
8. Ratter (2015)
Yet another lowly rated project on Ashley Benson’s filmography, Ratter tells the story of a graduate student named Emma Taylor (Ashley) as she embarks on a fresh journey in New York City after calling it quits with her boyfriend called Alex. Featuring Karl Glusman as Brent, Matt McGorry as Michael, Michael William Freeman as Alex, Rebecca Naomi Jones as Nicole, and Kalli Vernoff as Emma’s Mom, Ratter was produced by the trio David Bausch, Jamie H. Zelermyer, and Ben Browning. It featured Ashley as the lead character but failed to meet the expectations of people both commercially and critically. The 80 minutes long movie was directed by Branden Kramer.
9. Chronically Metropolitan (2016)
Ashley Benson starred as Jessie in this comedy-drama film alongside Shiloh Fernandez, Addison Timlin, Mary-Louise Parker, Chris Noth, and Josh Peck. The 90 minutes project which was shot in New York and Brooklyn was directed by Xavier Manrique and produced by Jamin O’Brien, Chuy Hernandez, and Daniel Blanc. Chronically Metropolitan is considered one of Ashley Benson’s worst films because it received generally unfavorable reviews on most film review sites while the audience is yet to air their views on its performance. At the time of writing, there is no information yet on its performance at the box office. Though Benson apparently gave her best in the film, it appears her best was not good enough.
10. Eastwick (2009)
Eastwick is a dramedy, fantasy, and supernatural comedy-drama TV series that was adapted from The Witches of Eastwick, a novel written by author John Updike. The series ran from September 23- December 30, 2009, on ABC and stars Ashley (Mia Torcoletti), Jon Bernthal, Rebecca Romijn, Veronica Cartwright, Paul Gross, Jaime Ray Newman, Lindsay Price, Sara Rue, Johann Urb as its main characters.
The series follows three dissatisfied women residing in Eastwick, New England, named Roxanne Torcoletti, Katherine Gardener, Joanna Frankel, as they desperately yearn for a change in their lives. They ended up making a wish for “something to change”, leading to the appearance of a secretive and mysterious stranger called Darryl Van Horne. Eastwick is a critical flop as it performed below par on some film review sites.
