Joanna García

Joanna Lynne García ( Tampa, Florida, August 10, 1979), also known professionally as  Joanna García-Swisher, [1]  is an American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Cheyenne Hart Montgomery on  The CW sitcom  Reba. She later starred as Mia Putney in the  ABC sitcom  Better with You. ==Early life ==

García was born in Tampa, Florida, where she was raised by her mother, Loraine, a homemaker and former elementary schoolteacher, and her father, Jay García, a gynecologist. Her father is of Cuban descent.[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[5]  at Florida's Tampa Catholic High School.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-sptimes_4-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">While attending Tampa Catholic High School, she was discovered by Nickelodeon and starred for three seasons as Samantha on Are You Afraid of the Dark?. She commuted from Florida toMontreal, Canada, where the show was filmed. ==Career<span class="mw-editsection mw-editsection-expanded" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;direction:ltr;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);"> ==

<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">While in Florida, García guest starred in seaQuest DSV, Second Noah, and Superboy and several movies of the week. After briefly attending college at Florida State University where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, she quit school to pursue acting full-time and moved to Los Angeles, California. She was cast on the 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).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-sptimes_4-2" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]

García at the Susan G. Komen Fundraiser at Mulberry, Melrose Place, Los Angeles, October 21, 2008<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">García went on to portray the character of Cheyenne Hart Montgomery, Reba's (Reba McEntire) oldest daughter on The CW sitcom Reba (2001–2007). 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-sptimes_4-3" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]  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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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 brunette, an irreverent evilMiss 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[6]  In December 2009, García guest-starred as Maggie, Ted Mosby's college buddy on How I Met Your Mother.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[7]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Better With You was cancelled on May 13, 2011.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[8]  Garcia guest-starred on The Penguins of Madagascar in the episode "The Officer X Factor/Love Hurts" episode, which aired on February 12, 2011. On September 7, 2011, it was announced that Garcia would be appearing in multiple episodes of the USA Network dramedy Royal Pains as a nephrologist treating Jack O'Malley (Tom Cavanagh).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-tvline.com_9-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[9] ==Personal life<span class="mw-editsection mw-editsection-expanded" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;direction:ltr;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);"> ==

<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In 2008, García became engaged to Trace Ayala, co-founder of clothing company William Rast with his childhood friend Justin Timberlake. (Ayala was Timberlake's former personal assistant.)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[10]  The couple dated for nearly two years before calling off their engagement.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In August 2009, People magazine reported that García was dating baseball player Nick Swisher.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]  They became engaged in May 2010,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[12]  and married on December 11, 2010 at the Breakers Hotel & Resort in Palm Beach, Florida.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13] Bridesmaids for García included friends and fellow actresses Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Melissa Peterman, and Reba McEntire.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[14]  Since her marriage, she has been credited as Joanna García Swisher.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-tvline.com_9-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[9]  The couple has one daughter, Emerson Jay Swisher, born on May 21, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Welcome_Baby_Girl_15-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[15] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Emerson_Jay_16-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[16] ===Causes and interests<span class="mw-editsection mw-editsection-expanded" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;direction:ltr;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);"> ===

<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">García volunteers as a teacher for children who are learning English as a second language. She is involved with the organization Make the Commitment, whose purpose is to raise awareness about cervical cancer.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mtc_17-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[17] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mtc-miami_18-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[18] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[19]  She has an organization called We Reach,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-pics_5-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5]  a charity which has assembled 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. ==Filmography<span class="mw-editsection mw-editsection-expanded" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;direction:ltr;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);"> ==