Summary
Kristin Herrera played Dana Cruz in the first season ofZoey 101, but then she left the show with little explanation. While Herrera left the show with little fanfare,Zoey 101lead actress Jamie Lynn Spears was a favorite star of young viewers in the early 2000s. The younger sister of legendary pop star Britney Spears, Jamie Lynn’s two seasons onAll Thatproved she had a knack for comedy.Zoey 101capitalized on Jamie Lynn’s popularity with a show about a group of teens navigating life at a prestigious California boarding school.
BeforeZoey 101ended in 2008, the show had introduced a large ensemble of cast members, including Kristin Herrera as Zoey’s best friend, Dana Cruz. Dana was Zoey’s roommate and a tough-talking, strong-willed student who enjoyed basketball, skateboarding, and pulling pranks on the boys at Pacific Coast Academy. In season 2, it’s revealed thatDana accepted a position with an exchange program in Paris and was never heard from again. Herrera’s abrupt departure from the series was strange then and still odd now.
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The Reason Behind Kristin Herrera’s Zoey 101 Departure Has Never Been Officially Confirmed
Rumors Of Why Herrera Left The Show Include Being Too Old For The Role And Bullying Accusations
While plenty ofactors have left their popular showsout of nowhere, there are a few alleged explanations as to why Herrera leftZoey 101. The most commonly bandied rumor is that the producers onZoey 101considered Hererra too old for Dana (viaDistractify). According to some sources,Herrera looked older than the rest of the cast and so was replaced by the younger Victoria Justiceas a new character, aspiring movie star Lola Martinez.
Herrera was 15 when the show began and, admittedly, she was older than most of the main cast, but not significantly. Jamie Lynn was 14, Paul Butcher was 11, Alexa Nikolas was 13, and Erin Sanders was 14. However, Christopher Massey was also 15, so age being the reason for Herrera’s departure doesn’t make a ton of sense.
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Austin Butler (James Garrett)
Another rumor comes from Nikolas, who played Nicole Bristow, Zoey’s other friend. Nikolas told theH3 Podcastthat Herrera had frequently bullied her on set, saying,
“I just wanted to be friends with everybody, and it was just this wall to the point where they ended up getting rid of one of the girls on the show in the first season because of the bullying experience… This girl was actually doing it with her [Spears] to me… They let her go because she was so mean. She pushed me into a rock at one point in one of the episodes… It was just really bad… It sucks, it was just not a good time honestly, and so yeah they ended up having to let her go and that’s when they hired Victoria Justice for the second season.”
Nikolas does not say the name “Herrera”, but there was only one actor who left after season 1 to be replaced by Victoria Justice. As of yet, nobody else has gone on record to corroborate Bristow’s allegations, but it’s possible that Herrera’s exit was a combination of these two things: the producers considered her a little too old for the part, andher behavior on set made it an easy decision to replace her.
In the conversation withH3, Nikolas accused Spears by name of bullying her as well. Nikolas claimed that Spears did not like her from day one and her influence encouraged other actors on set to treat her poorly as well. She also said Britney Spears blew up at her in a trailer one day on set. Britney has since apologized to Nikolas.
Kristin Herrera Returned To Acting In 2020 After A 12-Year Break
Herrera Joined Other Zoey 101 Cast Mates For A Reunion On All That
After leavingZoey 101, Herrera only appeared in a handful of roles, including the movieFreedom Writersas Gloria Munez, a recurring role onGeneral Hospitalas Lourdes Del Torro, and one appearance onWithout a Traceas Rose Martinez. After 2008, Herrera stepped away from acting. In the interim, Herrera began dating Daniel Novak and on July 22, 2025, Herrera posted to her privateInstagramthat they were engaged (viaDistractify). According to sources, likeBusiness Insider, the couple called off the engagement at some point because she announced they were engaged a second time on July 25, 2025.
The couple gave birth to a baby girl on June 17, 2025, and was married on June 04, 2025, though Herrera appears to be keeping her privacy. She did, however, step back onto the screen in 2020 when she appeared in an episode of theAll Thatreboot for aZoey 101reunion. In 2021, she reprised her role as Karen in the horror mystery movieResurrection Maryfor the sequel,The Legend of Resurrection Mary. It’s unclear whether theZoey 101star will keep dipping her toes in the industry, butKristin Herreramay not yet be done acting.
Zoey 101
Cast
Zoey 101 is a television series that follows Zoey Brooks, played by Jamie Lynn Spears, and her friends at the fictional Pacific Coast Academy. Set in a boarding school in Southern California, the series explores their academic and social experiences. Created by Dan Schneider, the show ran from 2005 to 2008 and features elements of comedy and drama, appealing to a younger audience with its relatable storylines and character dynamics.
