Actress and country music singer Jana Kramer is a name you've no doubt seen around if you're a fan of Christmas movies or shows like "Friday Night Lights." The Nashville local has been working in Hollywood for years, kicking off a storied, multi-faceted career that includes both catchy tunes and memorable movies and TV shows. In a word, she's a multi-hyphenate, and she's still going strong.
While her music fans might remember her hit songs "I Got the Boy," "Whiskey," and "Why Ya Wanna," throughout her eclectic career, the Detroit, Michigan native has appeared in numerous TV shows as well, including "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "CSI: NY," "All My Children," "Grey's Anatomy," "Private Practice," HBO's "Entourage," and "Dance Moms." But her fruitful career as an actress didn't end there. Kramer was even a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" and appeared in a couple of horror films like "Blood Games" and "Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis." Truly, is there anything she can't do?
She even has a new Christmas movie in the works that you'll be seeing soon enough: Lifetime's "A Cowboy Christmas Romance," in which Kramer takes on the role of Lexie Crenshaw, a professional real estate "closer" who heads back to her hometown of Tubac, Arizona to close on a massive ranch ahead of Christmas. What does she find there? A difficult (but sexy!) ranch owner who isn't interested in moving. It's set to debut on the network on Dec. 9, and it'll bring Kramer back to what seems like one of her comfort zones in terms of movies: holiday hijinks. And this time around, it looks like she'll be up to some particularly sexy business with the hunky ranch owner.
Want to get to know Kramer a little better through some of her works? We've rounded up some of our favorite roles from Kramer's lengthy filmography. You'll see how her career has evolved over time as she's tackled a number of different characters. She'll always be our country queen, but we love and appreciate her as an actress, too.
Under the 'Friday Night Lights'
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Kramer played Noelle Davenport in "Friday Night Lights,", the girlfriend of Smash Williams for 7 episodes of the popular teen show. Though she was in her mid-twenties at the time, the young actress played a convincing high school student in the show's second season.
Emotions Run High in 'One Tree Hill'
IMDB
In potentially one of her most well-known roles to date, Kramer joined the cast of popular teen drama "One Tree Hill" as Alex Dupre, the actress/singer who becomes the face of Brooke's (Sophia Bush) clothing line Clothes Over Bro's in season 7. Initially meant to be a small recurring role, Alex became a main character and stayed on through season 9. Though she starts out as a mean girl wreaking havoc among the friends of Tree Hill, she eventually becomes accepted as one of their own.
Spending 'Christmas in Mississippi'
IMDB
In this Lifetime Christmas movie, photographer Holly Logan (Kramer) returns to her small hometown in Mississippi to help with a traditional light show that's taking place for the first time since a tragic hurricane struck the town. Sparks fly when she reconnects with her old high school sweetheart.
Another 'Christmas in Louisiana'
IMDB
In another Lifetime Christmas movie, Kramer stars as Sarah Winter, who comes home to celebrate her hometown's Sugarcane Christmas Festival. With some added cajun flair (it is Louisiana), she'll discover what Christmas is really about.
Celebrating 'A Welcome Home Christmas'
IMDB
It's another Lifetime Christmas movie! This time, Kramer plays Chloe Marquee, a woman who gets paired up with a handsome veteran to promote her town's Army Christmas toy drive.
Becoming a 'Soccer Mom Madam'
Lifetime
In this Lifetime film, Kramer plays Anna, a single mother who puts together an escort service to support herself and her children. Despite her ability to keep things under wraps while servicing the most prominent men in town, she soon becomes a suspect of the FBI.
She's Got a 'Country Crush'
IMDB
In this 2016 film, Kramer plays aspiring country artist Katherine Bishop (Kat) who falls for a handsome small-town mechanic. Once her career starts growing she finds herself in a tough place juggling her music and her relationship.
It Was 'Love at First Bark'
Hallmark Channel
In this fun Hallmark movie, Kramer plays Julia Galvins, a single woman who decides to adopt a German Shepherd. When her new dog starts acting out, she turns to a dog trainer for help, but feelings start to develop as they spend more time together.
Sparking Up 'A Cowboy Christmas Romance'
Lifetime
Kramer is breaking the mold once more with her upcoming Lifetime Christmas movie, "A Cowboy Christmas Romance." While it's your run-of-the-mill holiday love story where Kramer's character Lexie meets and falls for a rancher whose land she's supposed to buy from him, this movie is actually a landmark for the genre with the first Christmas movie sex scene. Leave it to Kramer to find something innovative to do with the classics.
