Matula was born in Fort Worth, Texas to David and Karin Matula. She is of Norwegian ancestry. Matula has always dreamed of acting and created videos of her acting. She studied film at the University of Texas at Arlington, but dropped out because her acting career was taking off. In 2008, Matula appeared in the Lifetime movie Queen Sized, and in next year moved to Los Angeles, then in 2010, she landed the role of Hope Logan in the CBS daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.