Cuban-American artist JoAnna García Swisher is used to portraying charming women from the American South, but always with the help of her Latina roots, so don't be surprised if her character Maddie Townsend appears with a Cuban coffee in hand in the sixth season of Sweet Magnolias, her hit series on Netflix.
"I always imagined Maddie had a Latina grandmother," she told me, laughing, during an interview to talk about her Señora Era, her partnership with La Lechera and Carnation Milk. "Maybe she's Cuban, like me," she imagines, recalling her childhood in Tampa, when she couldn't go to school without a hearty breakfast of pan dulce.
It may sound like a fantasy, but the actress wants to start that conversation in Hollywood: an authentic Latina representation that doesn't rely on stereotypes or accents but rather reflects the reality of a multicultural and mixed-race nation.
"If we get to a sixth season, I'm definitely going to pitch that storyline. Maddie having a Cuban grandmother makes perfect sense."
From Serenity to reuniting with Reba
García Swisher has just wrapped filming the fifth season of Sweet Magnolias, which is slated to premiere in late spring or early summer 2026. She had the opportunity to direct and it promises great things for the best friends, with Maddie exploring her publishing career in New York City, with all the drama that this entails for her family and her life in the town of Serenity.
But before the Netflix drama returns, fans can see her alongside Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman in Happy's Place, a new NBC comedy that many are considering a spiritual homage to the iconic series Reba.
"It was like coming home," she says emotionally. "Many of Reba's original team are back, and it was very emotional. I cried the whole time."
While she can't reveal much about her new character yet, she does drop a hint: "She's a little bit Cheyenne," she says, referring to her beloved role as Reba's pregnant teenage daughter. "And she has a pivotal moment with Reba's character, something that drives her forward."
Beyond nostalgia, it was a moment of closure for this Cuban-American actress who grew up in front of the camera and whose series still maintains cult status. "We talk and see each other often," she says. "But being together again on set was truly special."
Culture, coffee and your lady season
Although audiences associate García Swisher with sweet, homey characters, off-camera she's deeply connected to her Cuban roots. Born in Tampa, Spanish was her first language. "My dad came from Cuba when I was 13," she says. "Our culture is everything."
He humorously recalls his childhood mornings: Cuban bread with butter and a cup of coffee with milk before school. "Can you imagine getting to class after that?" he jokes.
Food remains central to her life, even in love. "The first dish I ever cooked for my husband was picadillo," she reveals.
Now, in what she affectionately calls her Señora Era, the actress embraces tradition as a form of empowerment. "It's about slowing down, baking, being home, and doing things that connect me to my culture and my family."
She recently shared her grandmother's flan recipe as part of a lifestyle collaboration, but clarifies that it's not a commercial gesture. "That flan has been in my family for generations. I love making it for people who've never tried it."
It is made with NESTLE® LA LECHERA® Sweetened Condensed Milk and NESTLE® CARNATION® evaporated milk.
Latinas at the forefront, without labels
García Swisher acknowledges that there has been a change, albeit a slow one, in Hollywood. "I remember when people would tell me, 'You don't look Latina,'" she says. "Now people understand that Latinos come in all colors, accents, and shapes. There's more room for our stories."
But he still wants more.
"I love that they acknowledge my cultural roots, even when I play characters who don't speak Spanish or wave a flag," he says. "That, for me, is a real breakthrough. But we can go further."
