Jodi Lyn OKeefe's Brutally Honest Thoughts About Shes All That And What Happened To Her Career
Highlights
- Jodi Lyn O'Keefe has positive memories of starring in "She's All That" and considers it a beautiful moment in her life.
- The prom scene in the movie felt repetitive and tiring for the cast due to multiple takes and hearing the same song over and over again.
- O'Keefe did not continue to play characters similar to Taylor Vaughan after "She's All That".
It's true that some romantic comedies are tough to watch today. That definitely isn't the case with She's All That. When people first saw the movie in theaters in 1999, they liked the message at the core of the story: that no one should feel that they need a makeover because it's what's on the inside that counts. Sure, this is a little corny, but it's still a nice thing to think about.
While fans have kept up with Rachael Leigh Cook's acting roles since the hit movie, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe isn't quite as famous as she once was. Here's what the actress who played Taylor Vaughan in She's All That actually thinks about the '90s movie and what her career has been like.
What Does Jodi Lyn O'Keefe Think About She's All That?
Just like some bands absolutely hate playing that one fan-favorite song at every single concert, some actors wish that they could move on from that one movie or TV show that people love them for. Does Jodi Lyn O'Keefe feel that way, or does she love the film that put her in the public eye?
While she starred in She's All That, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe liked Paul Walker, and she shared some other memories and thoughts on the beloved movie. The actress played Taylor Vaughan, a cruel character who dumps Freddie Prinze Jr.'s character Zack Siler for the hilarious and immature reality star Brock Hudson. Matthew Lillard did a great job with that goofy character, and O'Keefe was also memorable as a teenager who only wants to be popular.
In a 2019 interview with Page Six, the actress talked about She's All That and had only positive comments about it. It was an exciting time in her life since she had only starred in one film beforehand.
She said, “It just seemed like such a beautiful moment for all of us. We had such a good time." She continued, "be present and stay in the moment because it’s gone in a blink, it’s over before you know it.”
Of course, shooting a scene more than once can get old fast, and O'Keefe was honest about one moment from She's All That. Fans love the part of the movie when the characters head to their senior prom since it's the climax of the story. It's also the moment when Laney Boggs stands up for herself and lets Zack Siler know that she isn't going to change for anyone.
She told Page Six, “[The prom scene] felt like ‘Groundhog Day,’ like we never actually left a prom because we were there for so many days in a row. I think by the time we were all done with that scene, if we never heard ‘Funk Soul Brother’ again, we’d be OK. By the end of it, not one of us could stand hearing that song anymore because we just heard it over and over and over and over again for the longest time.”
Back in 1999, when She's All That was released, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe was interviewed by Combustible Celluloid and she talked about her own teenage years. She said that she began attending a Catholic high school and there were some awful people there who treated her badly. Instead of being her She's All That character Taylor, she was more like Laney.
O'Keefe opened up about playing such a harsh character and said that it wasn't always easy. She said, "It didn't feel that great. I had fun doing the movie, but I'm just not very good at being that mean. During that one scene, where I had to spill that drink on Rachel, my hands were just shaking. They had to do the take like ten times. And of course the whole time I just kept apologizing to her over and over again. And she kept saying, 'it's in the script, don't worry about it, don't worry about it.'"
What Did Jodi Lyn O'Keefe Do After She's All That?
While Jodi Lyn O'Keefe might have been pigeonholed in Hollywood, she didn't actually keep playing characters similar to Taylor Vaughan from She's All That. Although she starred in the 2000 comedy Whatever It Takes as Ashley Grant, who was just like Taylor, she played different people after that.
The actress landed a great part in The Vampire Diaries and played Jo Laughlin from 2014 to 2017. Jo is a witch who is twins with Kai. She falls in love with Alaric Saltzman, played by Matthew Davis. In one of the most gut-wrenching episodes of the beloved show, Kai murders Jo, who is expecting twin daughters. Candice King's character Caroline Forbes then becomes pregnant with the twins and later raises them.
O'Keefe also landed the role of Lionel Davenport on the TV drama Hit The Floor. The show is about a basketball team, and Lionel is a fairly regular character who has an acting career. Recently, O'Keefe also starred in the movie Hip Hop Family Christmas.
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe also started her own jewelry company and put out t-shirts as well. She spoke to The Huffington Post about it and said, "I have always loved being creative and I painted, which eventually turned into my t-shirt line Queen George, which was the jumping off point for my sketches of jewelry. I stumbled onto the thing I love most in this world, designing jewelry."
O'Keefe continued, "In the beginning I had a lot of help from various people in the industry. It was trial and error, I had to make a lot of mistakes before the line came together. Expensive mistakes. It's all manufactured here in Los Angeles, painstakingly one piece at a time."
Now 44, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe seems to be pleased with her career. She praises any project that she is part of and appears to have a genuine love for the business, even all of these years later.
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