Garcia was born on March 23, 1987, in Orlando, Florida.[2] Garcia's father is of Mexican descent, while her mother is of Cuban descent.[2] At the age of 19, Garcia moved to Los Angeles.[2] Before pursuing acting, she worked at Olive Garden and a restaurant called The Counter, a job she continued while appearing on the show Liv and Maddie.[3]
Career
Garcia began acting in 2010, making her professional debut starring as Sierra, a recurring role, on the ABC Family drama series Huge,[4] and in the same year starred as Lucero in the independent film Las Angeles. Following this, from 2012 to 2014, she starred as Becky in the ABC sitcomThe Middle.[5] During her appearances on The Middle, Garcia began appearing on the Disney Channel series Liv and Maddie as Willow Cruz, a role she played until 2017.[6] Despite her character being a teenager, Jessica was 26 years old when the show began and 30 years old when it wrapped up. In 2017, she starred as Peaches in the film Avenge the Crows.[7]
From 2015 to 2019, Garcia starred in and co-wrote episodes for the comedy sketch show Betch.[8] In 2018, Garcia began appearing in the Netflixdrama series On My Block as Jasmine Flores.[9] Originally cast in a recurring role, Garcia was promoted to a series regular from the second season.[10] For her performance, she was nominated for Choice Summer TV Actress at the 2019 Teen Choice Awards.[11] In the same year, she portrayed Rhonda Navarro on the thriller series How to Get Away with Murder, a role she held until 2019.[12] In 2020, Garcia began appearing in the Disney+ series Diary of a Future President as Camila.[13]
Personal life
In 2013, Garcia discovered that she was pre-diabetic, and to prevent getting diabetes, she lost over 70 pounds, stating that her career was her "biggest motivation to start living a healthier life."[3]
In January 2016, Garcia became engaged to actor Adam Celorier,[14] whom she married two years later in October 2018.[14] She announced her first pregnancy in November 2021, and their daughter, Selena Grey, was born in February 2022.[15]
