Jocelyn "Josie" Loren Lopez Leinart (born March 19, 1987) is an American attorney and former actress, best known for the role of Kaylie Cruz in the ABC Family series Make It or Break It,[3] and as FBI Agent Michelle Vega in the TV series The Mentalist.[4]

Josie Loren
Born
Jocelyn Loren Lopez[1]

(1987-03-19) March 19, 1987 (age 37)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Other namesJosie Leinart
Occupation(s)Attorney, actress
Years active
  • 2006–2015 (actress)
  • 2021–present (attorney)
Political partyRepublican[2]
Spouse
(m. 2018)
Children2

Early life

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Loren was born in Miami, Florida, and is of Cuban descent. Her mother is Mercy Lopez, a middle school teacher at Zelda Glazer Middle School in Miami, Florida.[5] She has one older sister and two brothers. Her older brother, Javier Lopez, is a Harvard University graduate and a commercial litigator in Miami. In 2010, she was voted one of the 50 Sexiest Singles by OK! magazine.[6]

She attended high school at New World School of the Arts in Miami where she studied stage acting. Before becoming an actress, she cheered for an all-star cheerleading team in Miami called Top Gun All Stars.[7] She studied mass media communication, minoring in Spanish, at UCLA.[8][9]

Career

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Loren played the character Holly on Hannah Montana, working with the teen sensation Miley Cyrus on the episode "People Who Use People". Determined to make it big in show business, Loren then took on a role in Medium and later appeared on two episodes of the Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh as Maria. In 2007, Loren was cast on the Disney series Cory in the House, playing the character Jessica in the episode "Get Smarter".

Her next project was The Bill Engvall Show, which led her to be chosen for a role in the short comedy Hardly Married, written and directed by Diego Nunez. She followed it up with Christmas in Paradise, and then with 2008’s comic drama This Is Not a Test. She starred alongside Hill Harper, Robinne Lee, and Tom Arnold. Loren then obtained further popularity with a role in the hit film, 17 Again. The big screen comedy was directed by Burr Steers, and starred Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, and Michelle Trachtenberg.[10] In 2009, Loren was cast in the Disney TV movie Hatching Pete. Later that year, she appeared in a starring role on the ABC Family series Make It or Break It, a program which follows the adventures of a group of gymnasts hoping to make it to the Olympics.[11]

In July 2014, Loren was cast as a series regular in the seventh and final season of the crime drama series The Mentalist as rookie FBI agent Michelle Vega.[4][12]

Personal life

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On May 28, 2018, Loren married former NFL player Matt Leinart.[13] They have two sons, one born in January 2020[14] and the other on May 24, 2021.[15][better source needed]

On May 19, 2019, Loren graduated from LMU Law School.[16][17]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 Hardly Married Leti Short film
2007 Christmas in Paradise Blair
2008 This Is Not a Test Laline
2009 17 Again Nicole
2011 With Me Jayden Short film
2013 21 & Over Pledge Aguilar
2014 Everlast Adriana Short film
2014 Safe Jessica Short film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 Veronica Mars Chloe Episode: "President Evil"
2006 Hannah Montana Holly Episode: "People Who Use People"
2006 Medium Amanda's Friend Episode: "Blood Relation"
2007 Drake & Josh Maria Episode: "Battle of Panthatar"
2007 Cory in the House Jessica Episode: "Get Smarter"
2007 The Bill Engvall Show Marissa Episode: "Good People"
2009 Hatching Pete Angela Morrissey Disney Channel Original Movie
2009–12 Make It or Break It Kaylie Cruz Main role; 48 episodes
2010 10 Things I Hate About You Kaylie Cruz Episode: "The Winner Takes It All"
2011 NCIS Jane Episode: "Tell-All"
2011 Castle Bridget McManus Episode: "The Dead Pool"
2011 Drop Dead Diva Julia Campbell Episode: "Prom"
2013 Miles Across the Sea Jessie Episode: "Bed-Headed Fred"
2013 Annie Sunbeam and Friends Annie Sunbeam Episode: "Introduction"
2013 The Glades Hanna Koski Episode: "Gallerinas"
2014 Hit the Floor Kendall 3 episodes
2014 Honor Student Teresa Smith Television film
2014–15 The Mentalist Michelle Vega Main role (season 7); 10 episodes
2015 Young & Hungry Sam Episode: "Young & Doppelganger"

References

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  1. ^ "Jocelyn Leinart # 325823". apps.calbar.ca.gov.
  2. ^ "Josie Leinart". Twitter. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  3. ^ Lowry, Brian (June 21, 2009). "Review: 'Make It or Break It'". Variety. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Ausiello, Michael (August 18, 2014). "The Mentalist Casts Make It or Break It's Josie Loren as (Potential) Regular". TVLine. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  5. ^ Gandhi, Neha (May 27, 2011). "The Make It or Break It star spills on her college life, the pressure to party, and real-life romance!". Seventeen. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  6. ^ "Introducing OK!'s 50 Sexiest women alive !"[permanent dead link]. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  7. ^ Ghosh, Korbi (July 20, 2009). "Make It or Break It : Kaylie Cruz on gymnastics, Kaylie's jerk boyfriend & more" Archived December 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Zap2it. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  8. ^ Yan, Marjorie (June 4, 2011). "Josie Loren balances school with acting, including lead role on ABC Family's 'Make It or Break It'". Daily Bruin. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  9. ^ "Stunts and Circuses". UCLA Magazine. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  10. ^ del Mármol, Sebastian (March 18, 2011). "Josie Loren, Star of ABC Family's Make It or Break It, Back Home for Borscht". Miami New Times. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  11. ^ Hernandez, Lee (May 14, 2012). "Josie Loren Says She's 'Ready To Move On' From 'Make It Or Break It' (EXCLUSIVE)". HuffPost. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  12. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (February 4, 2015). "'The Mentalist' Postmortem: "Bittersweet" Twist Is "Catalyst" for Jane". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  13. ^ Rodriguez, Karla (May 28, 2018). "Former NFL Quarterback Matt Leinart Marries Actress Josie Loren". Us Weekly. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  14. ^ Gissen, Lillie (March 30, 2020). "Investigating:'Make It Or Break It' Cast: Where Are They Now?". J-14. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  15. ^ "Josie Leinart on Instagram: 'Cannon Asis Leinart. Born May 24, 2021. You may be my Number 2, but you'll never come second. My heart doubled in size the minute you were...'". Instagram.
  16. ^ "Leaders Of Influence: Minority Attorneys -Josie Leinart". Los Angeles Business Journal. January 24, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  17. ^ "Jocelyn L. Leinart - Munck Wilson Mandala". Munck Wilson Mandala. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
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