Joanna Garcia

At 44 years old, Joanna Garcia has this physical status:

JoAnna Garca Swisher (born JoAnna Garcia on August 10, 1979) is an American actress.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? She is best known for her role as Sam in Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1993–96), Vicki Appleby in Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), and Cheyenne Hart-Montgomery on The WB/CW sitcom Reba (2001–07).

She has also gained attention in her appearances in Privileged (2008–09), Better with You (2010–11), Animal Care (2012), Once Upon a Time (2013–18), and The Astronaut Wives Club (2015).

Early life

Garca was born in Tampa, Florida, to Loraine Garca, a homemaker and former elementary school counselor of Spanish descent, and Jay Garca, a Cuban gynecologist. Michael Garca, her one brother, is also a member of the New York Times. She auditioned for a local theater company at age ten and landed the lead.

She was discovered on Disney Channel, but her parents learned first and she performed in local plays to keep up with her passion. She was the homecoming queen at Tampa Catholic High School in Florida. Garcia is a devout Catholic.

Personal life

Garca became engaged to Trace Ayala, a clothing company founded by William Rast with his childhood friend Justin Timberlake in 2008. (Ayala was Timberlake's former personal assistant)

Garca was dating baseball player Nick Swisher, according to People magazine in August 2009. They became engaged in May 2010 and married at the Breakers Hotel & Resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 11, 2010. Jennifer and fellow actresses Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Melissa Peterman, and Reba McEntire were among the bridesmaids for Garca. Joanna Garca Swisher has been identified as Joanna Garca Swisher since her marriage. They have two daughters, one born in 2013 and the other in 2016.

Garca volunteers as a tutor for children who are learning English as a second language. She is a member of Make the Commitment, whose aim is to raise cervical cancer concerns. We Reach, a charity that has created an advisory board in the entertainment industry, helps young girls around the country plan charitable activities in their communities. The charity also aims to empower young women.

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Career

While in Florida, García guest starred in seaQuest DSV, Second Noah, and Superboy and several movies of the week. While attending high school, she was re-discovered by Nickelodeon and starred for three seasons as Samantha on Are You Afraid of the Dark?. She commuted from Florida to Montreal, Canada, where the show was filmed. She was cast at the age of fifteen on the 1994 television drama Party of Five, playing the recurring 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). She then briefly attended college at Florida State University where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, but later quit school to pursue acting full-time, moving to Los Angeles, California.

García went on to portray the character of Cheyenne Hart-Montgomery, Reba's (Reba McEntire) oldest daughter on The WB/CW sitcom Reba (2001–07). She was featured on the short-lived CBS comedy Welcome to the Captain. Beginning in the fall of 2008, she starred as Megan Smith in the 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. 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. She had a leading role in the ABC Family TV movie Revenge of the Bridesmaids.

In 2009, García had a recurring role on The CW drama Gossip Girl playing the role of Bree Buckley, an irreverent evil Miss America-type who is politically progressive but from a conservative Southern family. She appeared in four episodes in season three. In December 2009, she guest starred as Maggie, Ted Mosby's college buddy on How I Met Your Mother.

García starred in the ABC sitcom Better with You. The show centers on two sisters who were at different points in their romantic relationships: one was unmarried and in a long-term relationship, and the other (García) got married after getting pregnant from a one-night stand. It was canceled on May 13, 2011.

Garcia guest-starred on The Penguins of Madagascar in the episode "The Officer X Factor/Love Hurts", which aired on February 12, 2011. In 2012, Garcia appeared in four episodes of the USA Network dramedy Royal Pains as a nephrologist treating Jack O'Malley (Tom Cavanagh). In 2013, during season three of the series Once Upon a Time she began playing the recurring role of the Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

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