FOR THE LAST 14 YEARS, WE’VE BEEN WATCHING JORJA FOX ON OUR TELEVISION SETS. HERE’S A LOOK AT HOW THE ACTOR SPENDS HER TIME OFF SCREEN, AND WHY SHE CONSIDERS HERSELF ONE LUCKY LADY.

Jorja Fox is really the antithesis of her television alter ego Sarah Sidle on the hit show CSI. Whereas Sidle is often sullen and dark, Fox is all smiles and has a bounce in her step that just makes you want to be around her. However both ladies are looking for ways to reinvent themselves. “Sara got dumped by her husband last year so she’s been grieving,” says Fox of the character she’s played in close to 300 episodes. “She’s looking for ways to break out of her shell. I think we’ve all been through a break-up; it’s part of the peaks and valleys in life.”

Hoping to step outside of her own comfort zone and reinvent herself again, Fox has taken on the role of producer with the animal rescue documentary Lion Ark. The film reveals a historical move of 25 lions from Libya to a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado. “I think it’s important to reinvent yourself over the years,” says Fox. “I’ll act for as long as people will have me, however I also want to put my eggs in a couple other baskets.”

VEGAN WANNABE

One area Fox won’t be reinventing herself is her diet. The actor has been a disciplined vegetarian for the past 20 years. “Eating meat-free is second nature to me,” she says. Fox describes herself as a vegan wannabe. “I’m vegan 85 per cent of the time.”

Fox eats healthy and considers rice pasta with vegan meatloaf her comfort dish. “I made a vegan meatloaf a couple months ago. Unfortunately I blew it — it came out looking like chili,” she laughs. “It was tasty though.”

Fox does make minor adjustments to her diet in an attempt to improve her health. For example, she switched from early morning coffee to green or black tea. Aware that omega-3 fatty acids are important to her well being, Fox now takes a vegan source of omega-3s daily. She also supplements with a multi, pro-biotic and magnesium and calcium vegetarian capsule.

Early morning before heading out to work or surf, Fox has a green smoothie. “Kale, lettuce, spinach, chard, a little fruit, and nuts for protein such as walnuts, almonds or cashews, flaxseed or chia seeds.” She also eats a sweet something for breakfast. “A cookie, cupcake, piece of cake — real sweet. It probably started with me having chocolate pop tarts when I was a kid,” she says. Growing up in Melbourne Beach, Florida, the young girl never wanted to eat breakfast. “My mother would feed me almost anything so I didn’t go to school on an empty stomach,” she says. “Maybe that’s why I was a chubby kid.”

When Fox turned 13, she decided she didn’t want to be heavy anymore so she became very focused on how to have a healthier weight. Several years later, she won a modeling contents (yet to this day she still considers that a fluke).

“I think I’ll always feel a bit like a fish out of water,” she says, “I felt like one in Florida my whole life. I’m quite tall [five-foot-nine] and wouldn’t trade that for anything, however there’s a sort of awkwardness that comes with it. I was never typically what most people think of as attractive or beautiful in Florida — I wasn’t blonde or curvy.”

While she may still feel atypical at times, Fox can confidently say that she feels a certain comfort in her own skin now. “I love the California lifestyle of shorts, sun dresses and surfing so I’m on the beach in a bathing suit. Then it’s my black wet suit, which reveals all my imperfections. Yeah, I look like a total dork in the water on my surfboard with zinc on my face, and a hat, but I’d rather have the fun experience of surfing.”

AN OUTDOOR GIRL

It isn’t just surfing Fox loves, she’s an outdoor girl. Seizing upon Los Angeles’ temperate climate, Fox takes her exercise routine to the open air. With her rescue dog Bear by her site, Fox taks 45-minute walks every day — sometimes longer on weekends.

I developed a passion for being outside, so hiking, walking and surfing are year-round activities for me. Growing up in Florida, it was all about the ocean. As a younger person, I surfed for the adrenaline rush. As I’m getting older, I’m not into that anymore, however I really like the Zen thing of surfing — clearing my mind and just being in the moment."

Fox also hits the outdoors when she’s in Canada. Both of her parents were born in Montreal, Quebec and she still has family scattered throughout the country. “One of my brothers is an avid sailor so we go sailing a lot together up north,” says Fox, who also loves to swim in the lakes. “We also have some skiers in the family so that’s always a fun visit in the winter months.”

FASHION BLUES

Fox says she has a love an appreciation for fashion, however she appreciates it on other people. “My parents were of that Mad Men generation, dressed to the nines every day of their life, loved fashion and they got this little girl who just wanted to be barefoot in shorts and a tank top all the time.” If she feels the need to present herself in a certain light, “sort of like I’m mature, perhaps intellectual. I always go for dark blue, yet I love the blue tropical ocean color within the turquoise family.”

SOUL MUSIC

“I’d put my music into a category of guilty indulgence,” says Fox. “Music is something I have never pursued professionally so it’s an art form that I can be as silly and crazy as I want to and never worry about it being popular. That has saved me so many times — having music, which is just for me or just for me and friends — that’s fun.”

“I think as actors we sometimes forget to have an artistic hobby,” says Fox who has played the guitar since age 12. “Music is more my story.” If she were to write a tune about her life, what would the title be?

“Lady Luck. I know it’s been used before, but that’s what I’d title my song.” Nor Georgia On My Mind? “I’ve heard that thousands of time, especially growing up in the South. It’s a song I love and I don’t think I’d ever get tired of hearing it.” Still, with Fox’s success and a peaceful existence, Lady Luck seems more fitting.