Hailey Nichol

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Hailey Nichol
Amanda Righetti as Hailey Nichol
First appearance	The Countdown (episode 1.14)
Last appearance	The Dearly Beloved (episode 2.24)
Cause/reason	Left for a new job in Japan
Created by	Josh Schwartz
Portrayed by	Amanda Righetti
Episode count	13
Information
Gender	Female
Age	26 (last appearance) 29 (series end)
Occupation	Sales rep
Family	Caleb Nichol (father, deceased) Rose Nichol (mother, deceased) Lindsay Gardner (half sister) Kirsten Cohen (sister) Seth Cohen (nephew) Sophie Rose Cohen (niece) Julie Cooper (step-mother)
Spouse(s)	Jimmy Cooper (ex-boyfriend)

Hailey Nichol is a fictional character on the FOX television series The O.C., played by Amanda Righetti. Seen as something of a black sheep of the family, Hailey is the younger daughter of Caleb Nichol and Rose Nichol, younger sister to Kirsten Cohen, and older half-sister to Lindsay Gardner. It is not known if she ever met her half-sister Lindsay since they never appeared in an episode together. Nichol was not seen in either season three or four, though it can be assumed that she is living in Japan working still in fashion retail. Righetti is five years younger than Benjamin McKenzie and three years younger than Adam Brody and, even though her character is nine years older than them.

Life before season one

Hailey is well known to have done little with her life, leaving home at seventeen, squandering her trust fund and traveling around the world at the expense of her father, Caleb Nichol.

Season one

Hailey makes her first appearance in Ryan's pool house wearing nothing but her underwear and a top and quickly announces that she'll be staying for a while. It also revealed that Hailey owes money to people. She settles in, and meets her old friend Jimmy Cooper, reconnecting instantly. Kirsten, knowing that Hailey has come for more money, talks to Caleb which leads him to cut her off completely. Hailey decides to leave and tells Kirsten she's got a new job as an aerobics instructor, but Ryan, Marissa, Seth and Summer discover Hailey is working as a stripper in a Los Angeles nightclub. Hailey refuses to go back but is eventually fired and Jimmy convinces her to return to Newport. Hailey and Jimmy spend more time together and start dating. During this time, her father proposes to Julie and she accepts. Hailey makes it clear that Julie is marrying Caleb for his money and they end up getting into a fight at her bachelorette party.

Season two

Jimmy and Hailey are trying to figure out where their relationship would or could lead. With a lucrative job offer in the Tokyo fashion scene, Hailey accepted the position. She tells Jimmy but he begs her to stay and proposes to her. Hailey refuses and leaves Newport. Soon after, Jimmy also left Newport for Hawaii, leaving behind his daughters. At her father's funeral, Hailey briefly returned to visit, with her new career apparently having stabilized her formerly wild ways. A newly responsible Hailey aided in the intervention to combat her sister's alcoholism. When Hailey returned for the second season finale, Jimmy said to her, "You would not believe the North Shore". This was a reference to Amanda Righetti's departure from the series to star in North Shore.