Davis was born in
Davenport, Iowa, and attended
North High School. She is a trained violinist and attended
Loyola Marymount University where she earned her bachelor's degree in Music in 2006. Davis appeared alongside teen actress
Hilary Duff in
Raise Your Voice. She has also appeared in
Veronica Mars, ''
That's So Raven, The O.C., Gilmore Girls, Point Pleasant, Pushing Daisies, and Hidden Palms''. In July 2007,
The Hollywood Reporter announced that Davis would be joining the second season of the TV series
Heroes, as
Monica Dawson, who was described as a "young hero" willing to "give up everything to help the people around her". The character is the niece of
D.L. Hawkins and first cousin of
Micah Sanders. She has the power of muscle mimicry, meaning she can master instantly any physical skill she witnesses. Davis played the role of Peyton in the hit film
Coach Carter (2005) alongside
Ashanti. She also starred as Lisa Hines in
Prom Night (2008). Davis played Chastity Church in the
ABC Family series
10 Things I Hate About You (
Gabrielle Union played the character in
the film) appearing in all 20 episodes. According to series creator
Carter Covington, Davis asked out of her contract after the 20 episodes to explore new career opportunities, so Chastity was written out as transferring to a new school; the show was cancelled shortly after the episode aired. Davis is the author of several young adult novels. She uses "Dana L. Davis" as her pen name. Her debut novel
Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now was released in 2018 and published by Inkyard Press. Her second novel
The Voice In My Head was released in 2019 and her third novel
Rome and Jewel was released in 2021. Both were also published by Inkyard Press. Davis's fourth novel
Somebody I Used to Know was released in 2022 and published by Skyscape Publishing. Her fifth novel
Fake Famous was released in 2023 by the same publisher. == Filmography ==