Joanna García

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Joanna García
at the Susan G. Komen Fundraiser at Mulberry, Melrose Place, Los Angeles, October 21, 2008
Born	Joanna Leanna García August 10, 1979 (1979-08-10) (age 30) Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Other name(s)	JoAnna Garcia
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present

Joanna Leanna García (born August 10, 1979) is an American television and film actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Cheyenne Hart-Montgomery on The CW sitcom Reba, her leading roles on short-lived series Welcome to The Captain and Privileged.

Early life

García was born in Tampa, Florida, where she was raised by her mother Lorraine, a Spanish-American homemaker and former elementary schoolteacher, and her father, Cuban-born Jay García, a gynecologist.^[1][2][3][4] She has one brother, Michael García. She first started performing at age 10 when she auditioned for a local theater production and landed the lead. She was discovered by the Disney Channel, but her parents put school first and she continued to feed her passion by acting in local plays. She was the homecoming queen^[4] at Florida's Tampa Catholic High School.^[3]

While attending Tampa Catholic High School, she was discovered by Nickelodeon and starred for two seasons as Samantha on Are You Afraid of the Dark?. She had to commute from Florida to Montreal, Canada, where the show was filmed. She then attended Florida State University for a year before dropping out to pursuing acting full-time. García is a sister of Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Acting career

While in Florida, García guest starred in seaQuest DSV, Second Noah, and Superboy and several movies of the week. After leaving college, García moved to Los Angeles, California. She was cast in a recurring role on the acclaimed drama series Party of Five, playing the character Hallie. She had a recurring role on Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000) portraying the character of Vicki Appleby the popular freshman cheerleader who spent seven minutes in heaven with the ultimate geek, Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr).^[3]

García went on to portray the character of Cheyenne Hart-Montgomery, Reba's (Reba McEntire) oldest daughter on The CW sitcom Reba (2001-2007). Most recently, she was featured on the CBS comedy Welcome to the Captain. In the fall of 2008, she began her role starring as Megan Smith in the new CW series Privileged (originally known as How to Survive the Filthy Rich). On the big screen, García was seen in the comedy spoof Not Another Teen Movie.^[3] She has also appeared in the original television movies From the Earth to the Moon (1998) and Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder (1997). She also appeared in the ABC Family original movie The Initiation of Sarah, which premiered in October, 2006. In 2008, she had a role in A Very Merry Daughter of the Bride, playing Roxanne.

It was announced on June 25, 2009 that she will have a recurring role on The CW drama Gossip Girl playing the role of Bree Buckley who is described as a fun, sexy blonde, an irreverent evil Miss America type who is politically progressive but hails from a conservative Southern family. She will appear in the first four episodes of the show's third season, and will be involved with the character of Nate Archibald.^[5]

Personal life

García speaks Spanish fluently.^[4] When she's not working, García, who currently resides in Los Angeles, is a volunteer English as a Second Language teacher for children in Los Angeles, California. She is also involved with the organization "Make the Commitment", whose purpose is to raise awareness about cervical cancer.^[6][7][8] She also has an organization called "We Reach".^[4] The goal of this charity is to assemble an advisory board in the entertainment industry to help young girls around the country organize charity events in their hometowns. The charity also has the goal of empowering young women.

García dated Jaron Lowenstein of the music group Evan & Jaron, from 2002-2004 and tennis doubles star Bob Bryan in 2004.^[9] In 2008, after dating for two years, García became engaged to Trace Ayala, Justin Timberlake's personal assistant and childhood friend.^[10]

She has reportedly broken up with Trace Ayala and, as of February 2009, briefly dating Robert Buckley.^[11] People magazine reported as of August 2009 that she is dating New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher.^[12]

Filmography

References

External links

• Joanna García at the Internet Movie Database
• Joanna García at TV.com
• Interview With García About Being Cuban
• Interview With García @ Seat42f