If you were a fan of late 90s cult movie She’s All That and rewatch it every year like we do, then you love to hate bully Taylor Vaughan, who terrorized main character Laney Boggs just for fun.
The actress behind the popular cheerleader, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe has been in some of your favorite movies and shows since then, from Two and a Half Men to Prison Break to The Vampire Diaries. Is she still gracing our screens with her range of performances? Let’s find out.
Background info
Born to parents Noreen and Jack O’Keefe in Cliffwood Beach, New Jersey on October 10th, 1978, Jodie Lyn O’Keefe was the youngest of three girls in the family. A natural talent in front of any camera, Jodie has been performing since she was a young child. Trained in ballet and tap, Jodi also knows how to work a runway as well as a camera.
For schooling, she attended St. John Vianney High School, which has produced quite a lot of professional athletes for a little co-ed Roman Catholic school. Since she began her career at such a young age, college was never the right fit for her.
Early Life
Like a lot of actors from the 80s and 90s, Jodi got her start in modeling. She watched her oldest sister Heather and one of her cousins having fun on the catwalk and thought she would give it a try.
At the young age of 8, Jodi began her modeling career. You would have seen her in ads for 90s staples DreamPhone and Gitano Jeans.
Acting career
Sure, modeling was a great gig for someone so young. Jodi used her time on the runway to walk on over to the movie lot.
When she was only a sophomore in high school Jodi snagged a spot on the daytime soap opera Another World. Not a bad first acting credit for a young teenager to have.
Her breakout big screen appearance was as Sarah Wainthrope in the 1998 slasher film Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, the seventh installment in the franchise.
However, the role we will always remember her for is the cheerleader with a heart of black, Taylor Vaughan, in the 1999 teen rom-com, She’s All That.
Packed with too many stars to list and a dance number to rival any high school prom, Jodi perfectly portrayed that mean popular girl we all knew when we were younger.
After She’s All That, Jodi played Lauren Randall in The Crow: Salvation in 2000.
After a couple of unmemorable movies, she landed a main role on the police hit show Nash Bridges from 1996 until the series ended in 2001. She played Cassidy Bridges in all 122 episodes of the show, and even dated her on-screen dad, Don Johnson, from 1996 to 1997.
Once Nash Bridges ended, Jodi found herself in various roles on various tv shows including Charmed, Boston Legal and Criminal Minds.
It wasn’t until 2007 that she found her way into a main role on the drama Prison Break from 2007 until 2009, as Gretchen Morgan/Susan B. Anthony during seasons 3 and 4.
More various guest spots on TV led to her sinking her teeth into a reoccurring role on teen drama The Vampire Diaries.
She portrayed Dr. Jo Laughlin for 22 episodes from 2014 until 2017. Jodi’s last main TV role took her back to her cheerleading days on the sport-themed drama Hit the Floor from 2014 until 2018 as Lionel Davenport. O’Keefe was in 31 of the 41 episodes the show aired.
Two And A Half Men
Jodi reached a whole new audience with a smaller but definitely memorable reoccurring role as Isabella on the popular 2000s comedy Two and a Half Men for four episodes. She played the character Gail for one episode in 2004.
In 2005 she was brought back to the show as main character Charlie’s Satanist ex-girlfriend Isabella for three episodes spread out across 2005, 2010, and 2011.
She rocked that Goth look of Isabella while trying to use Charlie for her coven’s dark purposes.
Fans absolutely loved the way Jodi brought Isabella and her witchy ways to life.
The fandom generally agrees that Jodi’s appearance in the 2005 episode “Hi, Mr. Horned One” is one of the best and funniest episodes of the series.
What is Jodi Lyn O’Keefe doing now?
Jodi is still acting these days, but not as much. Her last movie role was in 2018s Edge of Fear and her last TV appearance was in 2021 as Vivian in the television movie Hip Hop Family Christmas.
Other than acting, Jodi has been getting her power suit on and taking on other business ventures. She sits on the board for the brand Heretic Parfum, a completely all-natural fragrance brand.
If you want to see more of Jodi, you can always find her on Cameo. Though she’s fairly new to it, her personalized videos are a hit. You can even ask for a cameo from one of her adorable bulldogs.
Personal Life
While Jodi has never walked down the aisle, that doesn’t mean she isn’t blissfully happy. Mixing business and pleasure together a little bit, she’s been dating Heretic Parfum founder Douglas Little since 2015
While she has no human children, she has plenty of four-legged ones. Between bulldogs and sphynx cats, she has quite the full house.
Just because she has decided to slow down on the acting front for now doesn’t mean we won’t see more of Jodi in years to come.
We can’t wait to see what kinds of roles she takes in the future, and we hope she doesn’t forget why the fans love her.
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