Why Sister Jo From Supernatural Looks So Familiar
With 15 seasons and 327 episodes, "Supernatural" had a vast collection of guest stars and characters that rotated throughout the different plotlines. Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester had tons of different allies and antagonists, but some were more memorable than others. We can't blame you; recalling over 300 episodes worth of characters can get pretty difficult. However, one such character audiences may remember was Sister Jo.
Sister Jo was a pivotal character in Seasons 13 through 15 after she was used as a vessel by the fallen angel, Anael. After falling to Earth, Anael decides to give her life a new direction and gets the opportunity after she hears a prayer from Sister Jo. Desperate to save her dying husband, Sister Jo prays, and Anael answers ready to fulfill her request — but for a price. The price in question? For Sister Jo to allow Anael to use her body as a vessel so she can do her bidding. Sister Jo accepts, Anael heals her husband, and then she inhabits Sister Jo and becomes a well-known faith healer.
Sister Jo may look familiar to some, and for good reason. She is portrayed by Danneel Ackles, the wife of costar Jensen Ackles; the pair continue to work together as producers on "The Winchesters." Here are the acting roles she's had before and after "Supernatural" so you can pinpoint just where you've seen her before.
Danneel Ackles was on One Tree Hill
"Supernatural" isn't the first time Danneel Ackles had a television role. While her future husband Jensen Ackles was starting as Dean on "Supernatural" in 2005, Danneel Ackles arrived on the long-running series "One Tree Hill" that same year, where she was one of the main characters, Rachel Gatina. She arrived in Season 3 and stayed for Seasons 4 and 5, and then left and came back in Season 7.
Rachel arrives as the new girl, ready to replace Brooke (Sophia Bush) at the top of the food chain and on the cheer squad. She also doesn't hold back from flirting with Lucas (Chad Michael Murray), Brooke's boyfriend, either. Amazingly, the pair of cheerleaders eventually become friends when Rachel falls for Cooper Lee (Michael Trucco) instead. Life falls apart when Rachel gets fired from her job due to her unhealthy drug use, and when she later returns, audiences and her friends are left hopeful that she was finally able to stay sober and clean.
What was unfortunate about Rachel was that she never seemed to change her ways for good, and her affair with monetary values see her ultimate marriage with Dan Scott (Paul Johansson) crumble.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
She starred in Harold & Kumar
While the "Harold & Kumar" series has three installments detailing adventures with stoned best friends Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn), it isn't until the first film's sequel "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" that audiences see Vanessa (Danneel Ackles), Kumar's ex-girlfriend. In this first sequel, the friends embark on an adventure to Amsterdam so Harold can surprise his love interest Maria (Paula Garcés). When their makeshift bong is mistaken for a bomb, the pair are escorted to Guantanamo Bay, thus setting off the film's main storyline.
Before hell breaks loose, Vanessa is excited to see the two guys at the airport, calling out Kumar's name and giving both him and Harold a hug hello. Kumar is stunned by her appearance, tongue-tied and "flustered" as Vanessa points out with a giggle. The reunion is happy until her fiancé Colton Graham (Eric Winter) arrives and announces that "No, we're not dating anymore, we're getting married." Kumar hilariously interjects, saying, "You're getting f****** married?"
Eventually, Vanessa learns how Colton betrayed the pair and instead reconciles with Kumar after he recites a poem he wrote for her back in college. Ackles reprised the role of Vanessa again in the final film "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas," and while fans predictably saw them having relationship troubles, they were happily together again by the film's end.
She was a jealous ex-girlfriend in The Backup Plan
Danneel Ackles starred alongside Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin in the 2010 romantic comedy "The Back-up Plan." The film follows Zoe (Lopez), a single woman who decides that she doesn't want to wait for the right man and wants to have a baby before it's too late. After she is artificially inseminated, she meets Stan (O'Loughlin), and a flirtation begins as the pair keep running into each other. She at first struggles to tell him that she is pregnant, and despite her telling him a little late, Stan still wants to be with her, with plans to raise the child together.
Ackles lent her talent to the role of Olivia, Stan's ex-girlfriend. While she flirts with Stan the first time Zoe and Mona (Michaela Watkins) meet her at the farmer's market, she later seems apologetic when she discovers her ex's situation and admits that she didn't realize how serious their relationship was getting. The protagonists end up together in the end, and Olivia is sadly left in the dust.
Aside from her recognizable roles on-screen, Ackles is acting as a producer for the "Supernatural" spinoff "The Winchesters," so audiences will be sure to see her behind the camera plenty, too.