Katelyn Tarver

Katelyn Tarver, born November 2, 1989, is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is widely known for her recurring television roles, including Jo Taylor on the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush, Natalie Poston on the ABC show No Ordinary Family, Mercedes on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and Jesse on the HBO series Ballers. As a musical artist, she has independently released several EPs, including Tired Eyes and Kool Aid, and co-wrote a chart-topping single for British singer Cheryl.

Tarver first gained national attention in 2003 as a contestant on the reality television competition American Juniors, where she reached the Top 10 finalists before being eliminated in August 2003. She made her professional acting debut on January 29, 2010, appearing on Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush as Jo Taylor. Her introductory episode aired in February 2010, and she continued to perform in key storylines across the series, returning for subsequent episodes in 2011 and 2012.

Following her acting debut, Tarver continued to build her presence on television. From 2010 to 2011, she appeared as Natalie Poston in five episodes of the ABC series No Ordinary Family. In 2012, she performed as Mercedes in ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Tarver later returned to premium television in 2018, portraying the character Jesse across eight episodes of HBO's Ballers, and was cast as Cydney Walker in the 2021 ABC Signature pilot None of the Above.

In tandem with her acting career, Tarver independently released her debut EP, A Little More Free, produced by Matt Grabe, on June 14, 2011. She toured as the opening act for Honor Society during their 2011 tour and joined the bands The Cab and Parachute for concert dates in summer 2012. Tarver achieved major international songwriting success in 2014 when she co-wrote Cheryl's single "Crazy Stupid Love," which reached the top spot on the UK Singles Chart.

Over the following years, Tarver expanded her solo music discography. In 2015, she released the singles "Weekend Millionaires" and "Nobody Like You" on SoundCloud, followed by original songs produced by BURNS and a featured spot on Lost Kings' track "You." Her second EP, Tired Eyes, was released on March 10, 2017, and contained the viral track "You Don't Know," which amassed over 50 million views on YouTube by mid-2021. She released her third EP, Kool Aid, in 2018, followed by an acoustic version titled Kool Aid: Sugar Free (Acoustic) in 2019.

Tarver continued releasing music into the 2020s, issuing nine singles in 2020 and winning the Old Dominion episode of Songland, which led to her song "Young" being featured in a Jeep commercial that she starred in. In 2021, she formed the side-project REAVES with Will Anderson, releasing The First EP. In 2025, it was announced she would join her former Big Time Rush cast members as a supporting act on the In Real Life Worldwide Tour. In her personal life, Tarver married musician David Blaise on July 19, 2014, and later announced her divorce in July 2025.