Jodie Lee Ann Sweetin is an American actress and television personality. She is known for her role as Stephanie Tanner in the ABC comedy series Full House and its Netflix spin-off series Fuller House.
Early life and career
Sweetin was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were both in prison at the time, and she was adopted and raised as an only child by her uncle Sam Sweetin and his second wife Janice when she was nine months old. The adoption was not finalized until she was two years old because her birth father was one-fourth Native American. Years later, she said she was told not to talk about her adoption publicly out of fear that people would think she was forced into acting. While in high school, Sweetin and fellow actor Matthew Morrison performed in musical theater together. After appearing in several national commercials, she was cast in a guest role in the 1987 sitcom Valerie as Pamela, the niece of Mrs. Poole. Jeff Franklin cast her as Stephanie Tanner in the ABC comedy series Full House in 1987, and she played that role until the show ended in 1995. This has become her most famous role to date. After the series finale, Sweetin graduated from Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California in 1999, and attended Chapman University in Orange, California. Sweetin returned to television by hosting the second season of the Fusedance competition show Pants-Off Dance-Off. She starred in the television pilot, Small Bits of Happiness, a dark comedy centered around a suicide prevention specialist; it won Best Comedy at the 3rd Annual Independent Television Festival, in Los Angeles. In 2009, Sweetin focused on independent films and appeared in two films: Port City and Redefining Love. In 2011, she appeared in five web episodes in the Internet show Can't Get Arrested. In 2012, she appeared as Leia in the television film Singled Out. In 2015, it was announced Sweetin would reprise her role as Stephanie Tanner on the Netflix spin-off series Fuller House, which ended after five seasons in 2020. On April 12, 2017, she starred in Hollywood Darlings, an unscripted docu-comedy series for Pop where she plays an exaggerated version of herself. In 2019, Sweetin started a podcast called Never Thought I'd Say This on parenting alongside Celia Behar, a licensed mental health counselor, and Sweetin's best friend.
''Dancing with the Stars''
On March 2, 2016, Sweetin was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on Dancing with the Stars for season 22. Her professional dance partner was Keo Motsepe. Sweetin and Motsepe were eliminated on week eight of competition and finished in sixth place.
Personal life
As a child, Sweetin took dance lessons. She studied ballet and tap dancing when she was three years old. In 2002, at age 20, Sweetin married her first husband, Los Angeles Police officer Shaun Holguin. Fellow Full House castmate Candace Cameron served as her matron of honor; Cameron's daughter, Natasha, served as a flower girl. Sweetin and Holguin divorced in 2006. Sweetin met Cody Herpin, a film transportation coordinator, through friends, and they started dating in May 2007. They were married in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 14, 2007. Together they have one daughter, Zoie. On November 19, 2008, Sweetin filed for legal separation from Herpin. Their divorce was finalized on April 20, 2010. On April 30, 2010, Sweetin's representative confirmed that she and her boyfriend of one year, Morty Coyle, were expecting a baby. Their daughter Beatrix was born in 2010. Sweetin and Coyle became engaged in January 2011, and married on March 15, 2012, in Beverly Hills. Sweetin filed for legal separation from Coyle in June 2013. The divorce was finalized in September 2016. On January 22, 2016, she announced her engagement to Justin Hodak, who, like Sweetin, is a recovering drug addict. On March 24, 2017, Sweetin announced the couple's separation, after he violated a restraining order against her. He was sentenced on related charges a few weeks later.
Substance abuse
Sweetin started drinking alcohol when she was 14 years old, shortly after Full House ended. Over parts of the next 15 years, she used ecstasy, methamphetamine, and crack, among others, stating that she turned to drugs because she was "bored". In 2009, Sweetin wrote a memoir called unSweetined, which chronicles her downward spiral of alcohol and drug abuse that began with the ending of Full House. In one passage of the book, Sweetin discusses breaking into tears while addressing a crowd at Wisconsin's Marquette University while coming down from a two-day methamphetamine, cocaine, and ecstasy binge. She spoke about growing up on television and about how much her life had improved since getting sober. She says she got sober for good in December 2008. She then began working as a clinical logistics coordinator at a Los Angeles drug rehab center and completed her degree as a drug and alcohol counselor. Sweetin became a public advocate for addiction and recovery.
