Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (born October 10, 1978) is an American actress, model, and fashion designer. She came to prominence as Cassidy Bridges on the television series ''

Nash Bridges ''Nash Bridges'' is an American police procedural television series created by Carlton Cuse. The show stars Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). The se ...

'' (1996–2001) and played

Gretchen Morgan This is a list of characters in the American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits. Overview : = Main cast (credited) : = Recurrin ...

on ''

Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows ( Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller); Burrows has been sentenc ...

'' (2007–2009), Jo Laughlin on ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 1 ...

'' (2014–2017), and Lionel Davenport on '' Hit the Floor'' (2014–2018). Her film credits include '' Halloween H20'' (1998) and ''

She's All That ''She's All That'' is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Robert Iscove. It stars Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Matthew Lillard, and Paul Walker. After being dumped by his girlfriend, Zack Siler boasts he could ...

'' (1999).

Early life

O'Keefe was born in the Cliffwood Beach section of

Aberdeen Township, New Jersey Aberdeen Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located within the Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's popul ...

, the daughter of Noreen, a homemaker, and Jack O'Keefe, a director of labor relations for Merck. She graduated from St. John Vianney High School.

Career

Jodi-Lyn O’Keefe GCCDORTMUND 2016 (cropped)

O'Keefe started her career as a model at the age of eight, and she modeled 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 ''

'' playing Cassidy, the daughter of

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime ...

's title character. She and her mother moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

so O'Keefe completed her schooling by mail. Her film debut was 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 ''

'' (1999) as Taylor Vaughan alongside

Freddie Prinze Jr. Frederick James Prinze Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American actor, television & film producer and screenwriter. He has starred in films such as ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1997) and its sequel ''I Still Know What You Did Last Summer' ...

and Rachael Leigh Cook. When asked if it was hard to play her character of 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 A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

named Layla Simmons and ''Venice Underground''. On the small screen, she has appeared in various shows including '' Dharma & Greg'', ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004 ...

'', ''

Two and a Half Men ''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, the ...

'', '' Charmed'', '' The Evidence'', ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...

'', and ''

Tru Calling ''Tru Calling'' is an American supernatural drama television series that aired on Fox. Original episodes aired between October 30, 2003, and April 21, 2005; however, the final episode was shown in other territories before it was aired in the Unit ...

''. In 2007, O'Keefe starred in the series ''

''; in its third and fourth seasons. She said that she "truly loved" playing

, 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 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

's TV series '' Hit the Floor'', and appeared in the film ''Merry ExMas''. That year, she had the recurring role of Jo in the sixth season of

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

series ''

''. She reprised her role of Jo in the first season of Legacies. In 2009, she appeared in the video game '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising''. On June 22, 2011, she started a clothing line, Queen George Clothing. In 2012, she launched a jewelry line, Q. O'Keefe is a licensed

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outs ...

together with her friend Victoria Pratt, with whom she starred in the movie ''A Nanny's Revenge''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

* '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3: Uprising'' (2009), as Kelly Weaver

References

External links

* *
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe
as Lionel Davenport on

Hit the Floor (TV series) ''Hit the Floor'', originally titled ''Bounce'', is an American sports drama television series that debuted on VH1 on May 27, 2013. Created by James LaRosa, the series chronicles the off-the-court drama surrounding the Los Angeles Devil Girls, th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okeefe, Jodi Lyn 1978 births Actresses from New Jersey American child actresses American female models American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Living people People from Aberdeen Township, New Jersey St. John Vianney High School (New Jersey) alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses