Natalie Alyn Lind Reveals Mom Barbara Alyn Woods ‘Made Me Audition’ as 5-Year-Old for First Job on “One Tree Hill” (Exclusive)

Julia MooreSat, June 27, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Barbara Alyn Woods and Natalie Alyn Lind attend the 2026 Women In Entertainment Summit at the Skirball Cultural Center on June 9, 2026Credit: Amanda Edwards/Getty -

Dutton Ranch star Natalie Alyn Lind's first-ever acting job was on One TreeHill when she was 5

Lind tells PEOPLE what it was like growing up on the show's set, as her mom, Barbara Alyn Woods, spent five years playing Deb Scott, mom to Nathan Scott (James Lafferty)

She also reveals her mom made her audition for the role, which she recently watched back and was less than impressed by

Natalie Alyn Lind's first fictional home was Tree Hill.

The actress, 26, now stars as Oreana in Dutton Ranch, but her first-ever acting job was on One Tree Hill, in which her mom, Barbara Alyn Woods, starred for five years as Deb Scott, mom to basketball prodigy and bad boy Nathan Scott (James Lafferty).

"There was a role on the show that came up for a 5-year-old, and my mom knew about it, but she was so anxious that I wouldn't be a good actress that she made me audition," Lind tells PEOPLE. She was 5 at the time. "I ended up booking it, and we have different last names, so they didn't put the two together."

Lind is rewatching the series, which ran for nine seasons from 2003 to 2012, right now, so she revisited her season 4 episode. "I'm terrible," she says. "I have so many notes. I am so happy that my skills have progressed since then."

"I think I walk into a room and one of my lines is, 'Dirt and water.' And I'm like, oh my God, who is your acting coach? I blame my mother," she jokes.

Watching the scene back, Lind says she is "so shocked I booked this." She's convinced her mom "must have said something, because my skills in that episode are not great." She admits that "5-year-old Natalie was not impressive."

Natalie Alyn Lind on 'One Tree Hill'Credit: Disney +

Lind says she was "so close" with the show's cast, which also included Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton, Chad Michael Murray and Bethany Joy Lenz. "They were so cool, and they were always so kind."

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"When Chad and Sophia got married, I was their flower girl," she recalls, referring to the actors' 2005 nuptials. (They've since split.)

"I was so close with Hilarie. I've always loved Halloween. So Hilarie was always so cool because she used to throw this Halloween party and kids weren't invited, but she invited me."

"It's just so bizarre that I'm older now than they were when they started the show," she continues. "But we've stayed so close on and off throughout the years, and my mom's really stayed close [with them]. Being able to see how close that cast has stayed, it's kind of a goal that you have in life."

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Natalie Alyn Lind visits the Morning Mash Up show at SiriusXM Studios on May 13, 2026 in New York CityCredit: Gary Gershoff/Getty

Lind credits her mom — who shares Natalie, plus daughters Emily, 24, and Alyvia, 18, with ex-husband John Lind — for inspiring her to join the industry.

"Growing up with my mom, I mean, when she used to go to set, it was just so glamorous," she recalls. "To see her and these characters that she creates, and hair and makeup, and the fact that there was a craft service table and you just get to go there anytime you want and get snacks — as a kid, I was like, what is better in life?"

New episodes of Dutton Ranch drop Fridays on Paramount+. One Tree Hill is streaming on Hulu.

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Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”