Who Is Jocelyn Hudon? 5 Things to Know About Chicago Fire Actress

By Nathan Johnson Posted:
Jocelyn Hudon, Chicago Fire

Many are eager to learn more about the newest addition to the Chicago Fire cast, Jocelyn Hudon.

Season 12 of Chicago Fire is still underway, and fans were recently introduced to a brand new character - paramedic Lyla Novak, played by Hudon.

Hudon's character was introduced in Episode 9 of the current installment, where she was forced to take heroic action by disarming a child with a gun who had accidentally shot his brother.

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5 Interesting Facts About Jocelyn Hudon

Jocelyn Hudon
Jocelyn Hudon

Jocelyn Hudon Originally Graduated in Communications & PR

29-year-old actress Jocelyn Hudon can now be seen on-screen (such as in Chicago Fire Season 12), but she previously earned a collegiate degree in communications.

The Toronto, Ontario, Canada native also completed a post-graduate degree in PR, further expanding her expertise.

However, wanting to pursue a career in acting, Hudon also studied basic and intermediate improv (improvisation) at The Groundlings School in Los Angeles, California in 2019 and 2020.

Hudon then continued her improv studies at the Upright Citizens Brigade in 2024.

Jocelyn Had a Halloween-Themed Wedding with Actor Jake Manley

Jocelyn married fellow actor Jake Manley on October 31, 2021, with the pair throwing a Halloween-themed wedding in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Hudon revealed that their ceremony was intentionally "strange" since they got married on Halloween and that the pair even included "Elvis dressed as a zombie:"

"I tried to mentally prepare my mom for a strange wedding. I told her that this isn’t going to be a perfect, traditional wedding -- we’re going to get married next to a Cadillac, in a tunnel, and Elvis is dressed as a zombie."

The actress also revealed that she got married in a less traditional black dress, but that she "loved that it was not designer" and instead was rather "unique:"

"I bought it on Etsy from a woman who makes dresses in Ukraine. I really didn’t know what I was going to get in the mail, or if it would arrive on time. I loved the fit -- luckily no alterations -- and I loved that it was not designer. It’s unique and it’s from an artist. It’s actually not even technically a wedding dress."

Hudon and Manly co-starred in the Netflix series The Order and announced their engagement via Instagram in August 2020.

Jocelyn Loved Working with Adam Sandler

Jocelyn Hudon got the chance to work with Adam Sandler in 2015's Pixels, an experience that she looks back on fondly.

In an interview with My Devotional Thoughts, the actress stated that she has "always been a huge Adam Sandler fan," and that "he was so cool and nice:"

"'Pixels' was amazing. THE FOOD was the most memorable.. and working with Adam Sandler. I’ve always been a huge Adam Sandler fan and he was so cool and nice and had his dogs with him the whole time. Great guy."

In the same sit-down, Hudon also talked about getting to star in a Hallmark Christmas film titled The Christmas Cure, where she met actor Dale Whibley.

She revealed that the movie "was super cute," and that her experience with Whibley helped get him cast in another film that she was in called Ice:

"'The Christmas Cure' was super cute! I got to meet Dale {Whibley}, who I later helped cast in Ice as my love interest! He’s great. Best memory was definitely the fried cornflake chicken they had almost daily for lunch.. SO GOOD."

Jocelyn Celebrated Her When Hope Calls Role in a Hilarious Way

One of Hudon's biggest roles to date is in the Hallmark series When Hope Calls.

The actress revealed how she celebrated landing the role in a hilarious way in an interview with Hallmark Channel's Home & Family show (as shared by Hallmark Channel via YouTube).

Hudon first talked about how she initially found out that the billboard was there, detailing that her friend excitedly broke the news to her:

"I knew it was going to happen because I always see 'When Calls the Heart,' and I'm like, 'Mm-hmm, that's going to be me one day." And then my friend, Sydney, texted me and was like, 'You're on Ventura (Boulevard)! So, I took my car, as soon as I got back to L.A., I took my car, I went on Ventura, and I just parked on the side of the road, and I was just like, 'Ahh, it's real, that's cool,' and then I kind of stood there alone, like, 'That's me. 'When Hope Calls.''"

The actress then shared her hilarious story about how she met a woman who "worked at Hallmark," and how she took a picture of Hudon in front of the billboard:

So, I actually had gone up on that railing there. I was, like, taking selfies with it, it was kind of precarious, but that's okay. And then I got down, and there was finally a woman who walked past me and I was like, 'Hi, I know this is going to be weird. That's me, and I need you to take a picture of me with it.' She was like, 'Yes, I know, I work at Hallmark.' And I was like, 'Oh, no way!' She was super nice and it was, yeah, it was really cool. She took a great picture."

When asked if she had framed the photo, Hudon revealed that she hadn't, but that she had "Instagrammed it:"

"No, no, no. I mean, I Instagrammed it, so I don't know which is a higher ranking."

Jocelyn Got an Award Nomination For Her Upcoming Movie

Hudon will be starring in an upcoming film titled The Fall, which already premiered at the Mammoth Film Festival but has not yet been released worldwide.

However, the actress excitingly won the Best Actress award at the festival for her role in the movie as Luxey Hall.

According to IMDb, The Fall is about a photographer who has to endure the loss of her mother via suicide and try to find true love.

Hudon shared an official teaser of the movie on her Instagram page in May 2023.

Where Can Fans Follow Jocelyn Hudon Online?

For fans looking to keep up with actress Jocelyn Hudon on social media, she can be found on Instagram under the username @jocelynhudon and on TikTok @jocelynhudon1.


New episodes of Chicago Fire Season 12 are released every Wednesday.

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- About The Author: Nathan Johnson
Nathan is a writer at The Direct where he covers Star Wars, the MCU, and DC news. He joined The Direct in April 2021 and currently writes news and feature articles about all three brands mentioned above, but his main specialty is his knowledge about anything and everything Star Wars.