Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (born October 10, 1978[1][2]) is an American actress, model, and fashion designer. She came to prominence as Cassidy Bridges on the television series Nash Bridges (1996–2001) and played Gretchen Morgan on Prison Break (2007–2009), Jo Laughlin on The Vampire Diaries (2014–2017), and Lionel Davenport on Hit the Floor (2014–2018). Her film credits include Halloween H20 (1998) and She's All That (1999).
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 Nash Bridges playing Cassidy, the daughter of Don Johnson's title character.[4] She and her mother moved to Hollywood so O'Keefe completed her schooling by mail.[citation needed]
In 2007, O'Keefe starred in the series Prison Break;[13] in its third and fourth seasons. She said that she "truly loved" playing Gretchen Morgan, because it "challenged" her, and because Gretchen was the "polar opposite of her" and "was badass".[14]
In 2014, O'Keefe was cast in a recurring role in VH1's TV series Hit the Floor,[15] and appeared in the film Merry ExMas. That year, she had the recurring role of Jo in the sixth season of The CW series The Vampire Diaries.[16] She reprised her role of Jo in the first season of Legacies.
^Henderson, Helen. Matawan and Aberdeen: Of Town and Field, p. 151. Arcadia Publishing, 2003. ISBN0738524034. Accessed March 21, 2020. "One of the latest performers who at one time called Matawan or Aberdeen their home was Jodi Lyn O'Keefe... A graduate of St. John Vianney High School, O'Keefe's modeling experience led her to Los Angeles and an audition in 1995 for a part on the daytime television program Another World, where she was cast at the age of 17 as Marguerite Cory, a role she held for approximately six months before leaving."