The new Netflix hit “Woman of the Hour” features a standout performance from actress and St. George native Autumn Best, who got her start at the Tuacahn High School for the Arts and played a vital role in the creation of the Utah Arts Academy.
“Woman of the Hour” is a crime thriller which uses the real-life appearance of serial killer Rodney Alcala on a 1970s television gameshow, “The Dating Game,” as framing for a narrative that explores how misogynistic behavior in society enabled Alcala’s string of murders and assaults on women and children.
Best stars in the film as Amy, a character based on the real-life woman Monique Hoyt, who was just 15 when she encountered Alcala in February of 1979. Television fans may also recognize Best from her role in the sci-fi series “4400,” a recent reboot of a series from the 2000s.
Rising star
St. George News covered the the art academy’s origins back in 2021. That multi-faceted story unfolded while Best was Tuacahn High School’s student body co-vice president and current UAA Principal Drew Williams’ former job at Tuacahn was in jeopardy.
While recently thinking back on that period, Williams called Best “a rockstar” and said she “was a big reason that we exist here.” He said that she and then-student body president, Gabriela Merida, “were really the student leaders in that process of coming over here.”
Read the full story at StGeorgeUtah.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.
