Jodi Lyn O'Keefe Biography

Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (born October 10, 1978) is an American actress and model, who at age 17 began portraying Cassidy Bridges on Nash Bridges. She is also known for her role on Prison Break as Gretchen Morgan, a.k.a. "Susan B. Anthony", and as Josette "Jo" Laughlin in The Vampire Diaries.

Early life

O'Keefe was born in Cliffwood Beach, New Jersey, the daughter of Noreen, a homemaker, and Jack O'Keefe, a director of labor relations for Merck. She has Czech, Irish, Polish, Swedish and Austrian ancestry. O'Keefe has two older sisters, Jenna and Heather.

Career

O'Keefe started her career as a model at the age of 8 years old, and she did some modeling work for a Jeans company. Midway through her junior year of high school, O'Keefe left school to star on the soap opera Another World, playing Marguerite "Maggie"? Cory. She then got a role on Nash Bridges playing Cassidy, the daughter of Don Johnson"?s title character. She and her mother moved to Hollywood so O'Keefe completed her schooling by mail.

O'Keefe made her big screen debut in 1998 in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and later starred in such films as The Crow: Salvation, Whatever It Takes and Devil In The Flesh 2. In 1999, she co-starred in the teen film She's All That (1999) as Taylor Vaughan alongside Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook. When asked if it was hard to play her character, a high school prima donna, she replied, "Everybody knew a Taylor Vaughan in high school. Working in show business, you meet girls like that every day."?

O'Keefe kept on filming both movies and Nash Bridges until the series ended in 2001. Later films have included Out for Blood, in which she played a vampire named Layla Simmons and Venice Underground. On the small screen, she has appeared in various shows including Dharma & Greg, Boston Legal, Two and a Half Men, Charmed, The Evidence, The Big Bang Theory, and Tru Calling.

In 2007, O'Keefe was cast in a starring role on the series Prison Break; she was a part of the show's cast through its third and fourth seasons. O'Keefe has said that she "truly loved" playing the part of her Prison Break character Gretchen Morgan, because it "challenged" her, and because Gretchen was the "polar opposite of her" and "was badass".

In 2014 O'Keefe was cast in a recurring role in VH1's TV series Hit the Floor, and appeared in the film Merry ExMas. The same year, she was also cast in the recurring role of Jo in the sixth season of The CW series The Vampire Diaries.

Other appearances

In 2009 she appeared in the stand-alone add-on of the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3: Uprising.

In June 2013, O'Keefe did a photoshoot for NOH8 campaign.

O'Keefe was in 3 Doors Down's video for "Let Me Go", alongside Jesse Metcalfe of Desperate Housewives.

Other ventures

On June 22, 2011, O'Keefe started her own clothing line, Queen George Clothing.

In 2012, O'Keefe launched her own jewelry line, Q.

O'Keefe is also a licensed bounty hunter together with her friend Victoria Pratt, with whom she starred in the movie A Nanny's Revenge.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1998	Halloween H20: 20 Years Later	Sarah Wainthrope	Film debut
1999	She's All That	Taylor Vaughan
2000	The Crow: Salvation	Lauren Randall
2000	Whatever it Takes	Ashley Grant
2000	Devil in the Flesh 2	Debbie Strand / Tracy Carley	aka. Teacher's Pet
2002	Falling in Love in Pongo Ponga	Shawnee	Short film
2003	Red Rover	Kylie Logan
2004	Out for Blood	Layla Simmons	aka. Vampires: Out for Blood
2004	Mummy an' the Armadillo	Jackie
2005	Venice Underground	Tyler
2007	American Identity	Lyndsey Simpson	Short film
2013	Frozen Ground	Chelle Ringell
2014	Merry ExMas	Ashley Williams

Television

Year	Series	Role	Episodes
1995	Another World	Maggie Cory #4	6 episodes
1996-2001	Nash Bridges	Cassidy Bridges	Main role, 76 episodes
1999	Happy Hour	Herself	1 episode
2002	Dharma & Greg	Simone	Episodes: "She's with the Band", "Mission: Implausible"
2002	George Lopez	Campbell	Episodes: "Who's Your Daddy?", "The Wedding Dance"
2003	The Pool at Maddy Breaker's	Maddy Breaker	Television movie
2004	Tru Calling	Candace Aimes	Episode: "Reunion"
2004	The Help	Becky Wiggins	Episode: "Maggie Chicken"
2004	Charmed	Spider Demon	Episode: "Spin City"
2004-2005	Boston Legal	Nora Jacobs	4 episodes
2004	Two and a Half Men	Gail	Episode: "Last Chance to See Those Tattoos"
2005	Eve	Rita's stepmother	Episode: "If the Shrew Fits"
2005, 2010-2011	Two and a Half Men	Isabella	3 episodes
2005	Adopted	Rachel Rabinowitz	Television movie
2005	Three Wise Guys	Mary Ann Davidson	Television movie
2006	Halloween: 25 Years of Terror	Herself	1 episode
2006	The Evidence	Officer Jackie Kazaris	Recurring role, 5 episodes
2006	Criminal Minds	Agt. Amanda Gilroy	Episode: "P911"
2006	The 12th Man	Lindsay	Television movie
2007	CSI: NY	Melodee Constanza	Episode: "The Ride In"
2007	Raines	Angelina Billings	Episode: "Closure"
2007	The Call	Jenna "Kinky" Kincaid	Unsold television pilot
2007-2009	Prison Break	Gretchen Morgan	Main role (seasons 3-4), 32 episodes
2009	The Big Bang Theory	Mikayla the Prostitute	Episode: "The Vegas Renormalization"
2009	Prison Break: The Final Break	Gretchen Morgan	Television movie
2010	Lost	Ava	Episode: "Recon"
2010	Soul Fire Rising	Lilith Reborn	3 episodes
2010	Class	Kylie Burch	Television movie
2011	Law & Order: LA	Jenn Mackie	Episode: "Angel's Knoll"
2011	Exposed	Emily Bennett	Television movie
2012	The Finder	Lisa / Mandy	Episode: "A Cinderella Story"
2012	Castle	Kristina Coterra	Episode: "Cloudy with a Chance of Murder"
2012	A Nanny's Revenge	Gina Wright	Television movie
2013	The Exes	Employee	Episode: "Toy Story"
2013	Stalkers	Julia Winston	Television movie; aka. Whisper of Fear (based on the book of the same name)
2014	Untitled Wall Street Project	Riley Simms	Unsold television pilot
2014-2015, 2017	The Vampire Diaries	Josette "Jo" Laughlin	Recurring role (seasons 6-7); guest role (season 8); 22 episodes
2014-present	Hit The Floor	Lionel Davenport	Main role, 24 episodes
2016	Lucifer	Ronnie Hillman	Episode: "The Would-Be Prince of Darkness"

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3: Uprising	Kelly Weaver