Childhood & Early Life
Jodie Sweetin was born on January 19, 1982, in Los Angeles, California, US, while her biological parents were in prison. She was brought up by her uncle, Sam, a handyman and his second wife, Janice.
Although Sam and Janice adopted her when she was nine months old, they could legalize the adoption only when she was around two years of age as Jodie’s biological father was one-fourth Native American.
Amazed by the acting skills of Jodie Sweetin at a young age, Janice was requested by family friends to take Jodie’s talent further, which encouraged Janice to contact a talent agent.
Jodie embarked on her career with a hot dog commercial at age four. She was gifted a Lhasa Apso named Lacey by the producers of a Sizzler ad that she featured in as a child.
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Career
In 1987, at age 5, she made her television debut with the American sitcom Valerie. She featured as Pamela in the 11th episode of its season 2 titled Boston Tea Party that was aired on January 4 that year.
She drew the attention of producers, Thomas Miller and Robert Boyett, who at that time were on the verge of creating the sitcom Full House. Thereafter, the creator of the series Jeff Franklin cast her in one of the main roles in the series as Stephanie Tanner that turned out to be the most remarkable role played by Jodie thus far.
Her role as Stephanie was that of the intelligent, inquisitive, and sarcastic middle child of news anchorman Danny Tanner. She essayed the role from the very outset of the series on September 22, 1987, till its end on May 23, 1995. and was the only performer to feature on each of its episodes.
She reprised the role of Stephanie in 1989 in Walt Disney Productions variety TV show The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, in its Guest Day episode.
The 36th prime-time animated TV special It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown, based on Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts, saw her giving voice-over as Sally Brown, the younger sister of the character of Charlie Brown. The TV short was aired on November 27, 1992, on the CBS network.
In 1996, she featured in one of the episodes of the American sitcom Brotherly Love titled Downtown Girl, playing Lydia Lump.
She performed with actor Matthew Morrison in musical theatre during her high school days. In 1999, she graduated from Los Alamitos High School located in Los Alamitos, California.
In 1999, she appeared in the American television teen drama series Party of Five as Rhiannon Marcus in two of its episodes titled Bye, Bye, Love and Fate, Hope and Charity.
Following high school studies, she enrolled at the Chapman University in Orange, California and despite holding an academic scholarship, Jodie Sweetin hardly showed up during classes. During those times, she partied hard that eventually affected her studies earning her a .9 GPA, as a result of which her scholarship was stanched. She finally earned a Liberal Arts degree from the university.
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She appeared in the episode Sorority Girl from the American sitcom Yes, Dear in 2003, where she portrayed the role of Maryanne.
In 2006, she gave voice-over in Bob Saget directed American direct-to-video parody, Farce of the Penguins that released on January 30, 2007.
She remained the host of the Fuse TV dance contest show Pants-Off Dance-Off in its second season in 2007.
The 2008 short comedy film Small Bits of Happiness saw her essaying the role of Margaret Williams. The film grabbed the Best Comedy Award at the third Annual Independent Television Festival held in Los Angeles.
In 2009, she featured in two films: Redefining Love, a romantic comedy released on February 14, and Port City, another comedy flick that released on October 11 that year.
She featured as Jodie, one of the main characters of the internet show Can't Get Arrested, appearing in five of its episodes in 2011.
Her TV films include Singled Out (2012), where she featured as Leia, and Defending Santa (2013) where she appeared as Beth.
The independent biographical drama film Walt Before Mickey, which released on August 14, 2015, saw her essaying the role of Charlotte Disney.
Her Full House fame led her to return to the series’ spin-off, Fuller House reprising the role of Stephanie Tanner. The sequel, that aired as a Netflix original family sitcom series, was premiered on February 26, 2016. It ran for five seasons until June 2, 2020.
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Jodie appeared in several episodes of Fuller House and is credited with contributing immensely to the success of the series.
She took part in the American dance competition TV series Dancing with the Stars in its 22nd season in 2016. Her dance partner was Keo Motsepe and the pair got eliminated in the sixth position on the eighth week of the season. That year, she also featured in one of the episodes of the American TV series Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry.
Personal Life & Legacy
Jodie became a victim of alcohol and drug abuse at an early age, experiencing alcohol abuse at fourteen just after Full House ended. For the next one-and-a-half decades, Jodie used drugs like crack, ecstasy, and methamphetamine.
She married Shaun Holguin, a Los Angeles Police officer in July 2002. Her drug addiction, which led her to undergo treatment by hospitalization and later a rehab program, started affecting her marriage which resulted in divorce in 2006.
From May 2007, Jodie Sweetin dated a film transportation coordinator named Cody Herpin, whom she married on July 14, that year in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jodie and Herpin were blessed with a daughter named Zoie, who was born on April 12, 2008. The couple filed for legal separation on November 19, 2008, and got divorced on April 20, 2010.
On November 3, 2009, she released her memoir unSweetined that gives an account of her struggle with drug and alcohol abuse.
She had her second daughter Beatrix, born on August 31, 2010, from her boyfriend Morty Coyle. She later got engaged to Coyle in January 2011 and tied the knot on March 15, 2012. However, this marriage also culminated in divorce in September 2016.
She announced her engagement to Justin Hodak on January 22, 2016, but broke up later on March 24, 2017. Jodie Sweetin officially announced her engagement to Mescal Wasilewski on January 17, 2022. In July 2022, the couple got married.
Facts About Jodie Sweetin
Jodie Sweetin is an accomplished dancer and has even competed on the reality show "Dancing with the Stars."
She is a published author and has written a memoir titled "unSweetined," where she candidly shares her life experiences.
Jodie Sweetin is a strong advocate for mental health awareness and has spoken openly about her struggles with addiction and recovery.
In addition to her acting career, Jodie Sweetin is also a talented singer and has performed in musical theater productions.