Joanna García

Joanna García
Garcia at the Entertainment Weekly/Revlon party, Beverly Hills post office, September 20, 2008
Born	Joanna Leanna[citation needed] García (1979-08-10) August 10, 1979 Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Other names	JoAnna Garcia Joanna García-Swisher
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992—
Spouse(s)	Nick Swisher (m. 2010)
Children	1

Joanna Leanna García (born August 10, 1979), also known professionally as Joanna García-Swisher, is an American television and film 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. 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 at Florida's Tampa Catholic High School.

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 to Montreal, Canada, where the show was filmed.

Career

García at the Susan G. Komen Fundraiser at Mulberry, Melrose Place, Los Angeles, October 21, 2008

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).

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. 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.

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 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. In December 2009, García 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.

Better With You was cancelled on May 13, 2011. She made a guest voiceover 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).

Personal life

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.) The couple dated for nearly two years before calling off their engagement.

In August 2009, People magazine reported that García was dating baseball player Nick Swisher. They became engaged in May 2010, and married on December 11, 2010 at the Breakers Hotel & Resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Bridesmaids for García included friends and fellow actresses Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Reba McEntire. Since her marriage, she has been credited as Joanna García Swisher. The couple has one daughter, Emerson Jay Swisher, born on May 21, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Causes and interests

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. She has an organization called We Reach, 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

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Not Another Teen Movie	Sandy Sue
2001	American Pie 2	Christy
2006	A-List	Naomi
2008	Extreme Movie	Sweetie Pie
2010	Revenge of the Bridesmaids	Parker Wald

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Clarissa Explains It All	Fiona	Episode: "Take My Advice... Please"
1994	SeaQuest DSV	Iris	Episode: "Playtime"
1994–1996	Are You Afraid of the Dark?	Samantha	37 episodes
1996	Step by Step	Chelsea	Episode: "We're Going to Disney World: Part 1"
1996–1997	Second Noah	Katherine Ortega	3 episodes
1997	Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder	Susie	Television movie
1998	From the Earth to the Moon	Julie Shepard	Miniseries
1998	Any Day Now	Martha Montgomery	Episode: "It's Who You Sleep With"
1998	Party of Five	Hallie	5 episodes
1999	Dawson's Creek	Girl #1 – Tracy	Episode: "Be Careful What You Wish For"
1999	Holy Joe	Joyce Cass	Television movie
1999	Pacific Blue	Leah Chandler	Episode: "Lucky 13"
1999	Providence	Gillian	Episode: "Heaven Can Wait"
1999	CI5: The New Professionals	Cadet Susan	Episode: "Glory Days"
2000	Freaks and Geeks	Vicki Appleby	5 episodes
2000	Opposite Sex	Cassie Schreiber	Episode: "The Homosexual Episode"
2000	Freedom	Sally Mueller	Episode: "Assassins"
2000	Boston Public	Susan Potter	Episode: "Chapter Four"
2001–2007	Reba	Cheyenne Hart Montgomery	Main Role; 125 episodes Nominated–Teen Choice Awards for Choice TV Actress: Comedy
2001	Go Fish	Amanda	Episode: "Go P.D.A."
2001	Going to California	Jennifer	Episode: "I Know Why the Caged Rhino Sings"
2001	Off Centre	Ramona	Episode: "Let's Meet Mike and Euan"
2004	What I Like About You	Fiona	Episode: "Three Little Words"
2005	Family Guy	LaDawn (voice)	Episode: "8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter"
2006	Initiation of Sarah, TheThe Initiation of Sarah	Corinne	Television movie
2008	Welcome to The Captain	Hope	5 episodes
2008	Very Merry Daughter Of the Bride, AA Very Merry Daughter Of the Bride	Roxanne	Television movie
2008–2009	Privileged	Megan Smith	Main Role Nominated–ALMA Awards for Actress in Television – Comedy
2009	Gossip Girl	Bree Buckley	4 episodes (season 3)
2009	How I Met Your Mother	Maggie	Episode: "The Window"
2010	Revenge of the Bridesmaids	Parker	Television movie
2010–2011	Better with You	Mia Putney	Main Role
2011	Penguins of Madagascar, TheThe Penguins of Madagascar	Shauna (voice)	Episode: Love Hurts
2012	Royal Pains	Dr. Nina Greene	Recurring role
2012	Animal Practice	Dorothy Crane	Main role

External links

• Joanna García at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview With García About Being Cuban