Early life

García was born in Tampa, Florida, she is of Spanish and Cuban descent and was raised by both her mother, Loraine, a homemaker and former elementary school teacher, and her father, Jay García, a gynecologist. 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 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.

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 the University of Florida 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 hails 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 The Little Mermaid.

Personal life

In 2008, García became engaged to Trace Ayala, co-founder of the clothing company William Rast with his childhood friend Justin Timberlake. (Ayala was Timberlake's former personal assistant.)

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, Melissa Peterman, and Reba McEntire. Since her marriage, she has been credited as Joanna García Swisher. The couple has a daughter, Emerson (born 2013). In February 2016, the couple announced that they were expecting their second child.

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

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Superboy	Girl	Episode: "Obituary for a Superhero"
1992	Clarissa Explains It All	Fiona	Episode: "Take My Advice... Please"
1994-1996	Are You Afraid of the Dark?	Sam	Main role (37 episodes)
1994	seaQuest DSV	Iris	Episode: "Playtime"
1996, 1997	Second Noah	Katherine Ortega	3 episodes
1996	Step by Step	Chelsea	Episode: "We're Going to Disney World: Part 1"
1998	From the Earth to the Moon	Julie Shepard	Miniseries; episode: "For Miles and Miles"
1997	Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder	Susie	Movie
1998	Party of Five	Hallie	5 episodes
1998	Any Day Now	Martha Montgomery	Episode: "It's Who You Sleep With"
1999	Holy Joe	Joyce Cass	Movie
1999	Dawson's Creek	Girl #1 - Tracy	Episode: "Be Careful What You Wish For"
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	Go Fish	Amanda	Episode: "Go P.D.A."
2001	Going to California	Jennifer	Episode: "I Know Why the Caged Rhino Sings"
2001-2007	Reba	Cheyenne Hart-Montgomery	Main role (126 episodes)
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	Liddane (voice)	Episode: "8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter"
2006	Initiation of Sarah, TheThe Initiation of Sarah	Corinne	Movie
2008	Welcome to The Captain	Hope	Main role (all 5 episodes)
2008	Very Merry Daughter of the Bride, AA Very Merry Daughter of the Bride	Roxanne	Movie
2008-2009	Privileged	Megan Smith	Main role (all 18 episodes)
2009	Gossip Girl	Bree Buckley	4 episodes
2009	How I Met Your Mother	Maggie	Episode: "The Window"
2010	Revenge of the Bridesmaids	Parker Wald	Movie
2010-2011	Better with You	Mia Putney	Main role (all 22 episodes)
2011	Penguins of Madagascar, TheThe Penguins of Madagascar	Shauna	Voice only; episode: "Love Hurts"
2012	Royal Pains	Dr. Nina Greene	4 episodes
2012	Animal Practice	Dorothy Crane	Main role (all 9 episodes)
2013-2015	Once Upon a Time	Ariel	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2014	The Mindy Project	Sally Prentice	3 episodes
2015	The Astronaut Wives Club	Betty Grissom	Main role (10 episodes)
2015	Grandfathered	Sloan	Episode: "Edie's Two Dads"

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	American Pie 2	Christy
2001	Not Another Teen Movie	Sandy Sue
2006	A-List	Naomi
2008	Extreme Movie	Sweetie Pie
2010	Revenge of the Bridesmaid	Parker Wald
2013	Internship, TheThe Internship	Megan
2016	Fist Fight

Accolades

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
2005	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress - Comedy	Reba	Nominated
2009	ALMA Awards	Actress in Television - Comedy	Privileged	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]