Jocelyn Hudon is a Canadian actress whose career has quietly grown from ballet studios in Toronto to some of television’s most-loved franchises. A former student of the National Ballet School of Canada, she traded pointe shoes for the screen in 2015 and has since built a resume that spans horror, Hallmark romance, and network drama. From The Strain to When Hope Calls and now Chicago Fire, her path is one of steady versatility rather than overnight fame.
Jocelyn Hudon is a Canadian actress born on November 18, 1994, in Toronto, best known as Grace Bennett in Hallmark’s When Hope Calls and paramedic Lyla Novak on Chicago Fire. A former National Ballet School student, she married actor Jake Manley in 2021. Her net worth is estimated between $1 million and $5 million.
TL;DR: Jocelyn Hudon is a Canadian actress born November 18, 1994, in Toronto. She trained as a ballerina, broke out in The Strain and 21 Thunder, starred as Grace Bennett in When Hope Calls, and now plays paramedic Lyla Novak on Chicago Fire. She married actor Jake Manley in a Halloween wedding in 2021, and her net worth is estimated between $1 million and $5 million.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Jocelyn Hudon |
| Born | November 18, 1994, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Age | 31 (as of October 2026) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Actress, Producer |
| Known For | Grace Bennett in When Hope Calls; Lyla Novak in Chicago Fire |
| Education | National Ballet School of Canada; communications degree and postgraduate PR studies |
| Spouse/Partner | Jake Manley (married October 31, 2021) |
| Net Worth | Estimated between $1–$5 million (2026 estimate) |
How did Jocelyn Hudon go from ballet to acting?
Long before her first television credit, Jocelyn Hudon was a dancer. She trained and performed at the National Ballet School of Canada from the age of eleven until she was seventeen, a discipline that shaped her work ethic and stage presence. After her ballet years, she completed a degree in communications followed by postgraduate studies in public relations, then turned her focus to acting full time.
Her screen career began in 2015 with guest spots on Canadian and American series, including Lost Girl and Single Ladies. According to Wikipedia, she started acting professionally in 2015 and is known for her roles in shows such as The Strain, Dave, and Chicago Fire. The early years were a steady accumulation of small parts — the kind of grind that builds a working actress long before audiences learn her name.
What was her breakout role?
The breakthrough came in 2017, when Hudon was cast as Abby in the fourth season of Guillermo del Toro’s FX horror drama The Strain. The high-profile genre series gave her her first widely seen recurring role and put her on casting directors’ radars across the industry.
The same year, she took on a leading role as Becka Jolie in the CBC drama 21 Thunder, playing a young tennis star navigating the pressures of elite sport. The two roles could hardly have been more different — horror survivor and driven athlete — and together they announced an actress with real range. Like fellow Hallmark favorite Erin Krakow, Hudon proved she could anchor a series rather than simply support one.
What is her net worth in 2026?
Her net worth is estimated between $1 million and $5 million. This is an estimate, not an officially disclosed figure: published celebrity-finance outlets disagree widely, with older estimates starting around $300,000 in 2019 and more recent ones reaching up to $5 million. The broad range reflects a career built steadily over a decade rather than a single blockbuster payday.
The estimate rests on more than ten years of consistent television work, including series-regular status on Chicago Fire, a string of Hallmark movies, and producer credits on projects such as Falling in Love in Niagara. A regular role on a long-running NBC drama is the single biggest driver of that wealth, giving her the kind of steady, high-profile income few working actors ever reach.
Who is her husband?
Hudon is married to Canadian actor Jake Manley, best known as Jack Morton in Netflix’s The Order — the very series where the couple’s story began. The two met in 2015 through a mutual self-tape coach and shared acting agent, and they got engaged on August 26, 2020.
Their wedding was anything but traditional. On October 31, 2021, they eloped in Las Vegas on Halloween, with Hudon in a black wedding dress she bought on Etsy, a pink Cadillac, and a zombie Elvis impersonator officiating at A Little White Wedding Chapel. She later told Entertainment Tonight that Halloween was her favorite holiday and the one day she could fit a wedding into a packed filming schedule. The couple went on to co-star as a romantic pair in Hallmark’s Love in the Maldives (2023), where their real-life chemistry was the film’s biggest selling point.
What are her most famous Hallmark movies and shows?
Hallmark audiences know Hudon best as Grace Bennett, the compassionate young woman at the heart of When Hope Calls, the When Calls the Heart spinoff that premiered in 2019. She first played Grace in the 2018 When Calls the Heart Christmas movie, then carried the role into the spinoff series, returning to it again in When Hope Calls: Brookfield in 2025.
Her Hallmark filmography is one of the busiest of any Canadian actress of her generation. It includes Love Locks (2017), The Christmas Cure (2017), Christmas Wedding Planner (2017), From Friend to Fiancé (2019), Eat, Drink and Be Married (2019), Love in the Maldives (2023), Romance with a Twist (2024), and Falling in Love in Niagara (2024), the last of which she also executive-produced. Alongside fellow Hallmark star Lacey Chabert, she belongs to the network’s reliable core of romantic leads.
What is her role on Chicago Fire?
In 2024, Hudon joined the One Chicago universe as paramedic Lyla “Lizzie” Novak on Chicago Fire. Introduced late in season 12 as a freelance paramedic reluctant to settle at any one firehouse, Novak was brought in to fill the gap left by Sylvie Brett’s departure, and her partnership with Violet Mikami quickly became a fan favorite.
The role became permanent fast: ahead of season 13, she was promoted to series regular, a promotion that reflected both audience response and the character’s importance to Firehouse 51. The part also marked a deliberate shift for Hudon, moving her from Hallmark romance into the high-stakes, action-driven world of network procedural drama — and proving her range to a much larger primetime audience.
What’s next for Jocelyn Hudon?
Her calendar remains full on both sides of the border. She continues as a series regular on Chicago Fire, where her character’s evolving partnership with Violet and her place in Firehouse 51 remain central storylines, and she returned to her Hallmark roots with When Hope Calls: Brookfield in 2025.
Beyond television, she has moved behind the camera as well, with executive-producer credits on Falling in Love in Niagara and short films, plus a directing credit on the short Callback. With a primetime drama role, a producing career taking shape, and a loyal Hallmark audience, Jocelyn Hudon enters the next phase of her career with more creative control than ever.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Jocelyn Hudon?
Jocelyn Hudon was born on November 18, 1994, which makes her 31 years old as of October 2026.
Is she married?
Yes. She married actor Jake Manley on October 31, 2021, in a Halloween elopement in Las Vegas.
What is her net worth?
Her net worth is estimated between $1 million and $5 million, based on her television career, Hallmark films, and producer credits. Published estimates vary widely, and no official figure has been disclosed.
What is Jocelyn Hudon’s most famous role?
Her most famous roles are Grace Bennett in Hallmark’s When Hope Calls and paramedic Lyla Novak on NBC’s Chicago Fire.
Was Jocelyn Hudon a ballerina?
Yes. She trained and performed at the National Ballet School of Canada from age eleven until she was seventeen before pursuing acting.