Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
December 19, 1963
Place of Birth:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Social Media
Jennifer Beals
Biography
Jennifer Beals (height 5' 8½" (1.74 m)) is an American actress and a former teen model. She is known for her roles as Alexandra "Alex" Owens in the 1983 film Flashdance, and as Bette Porter on the Showtime drama series The L Word. She earned an NAACP Image Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for the former. She has appeared in more than 50 films.
Beals was born on the South Side of Chicago, the daughter of Jeanne (née Anderson), an elementary school teacher, and Alfred Beals, who owned grocery stores. She is multiracial; her father was African American, and her mother is Irish American. She has two brothers, Bobby and Gregory.Her father died when Beals was nine years old, and her mother married Edward Cohen in 1981. Beals has said her biracial heritage had some effect on her, as she "always lived sort of on the outside", with an idea "of being the other in society". She got her first job at age 13 at an ice cream store, using her height at the time (she is now nearly 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)), to convince her boss she was 16.
Beals was inspired to become an actress by two events: doing a high school production of Fiddler on the Roof and seeing Balm in Gilead with Joan Allen while volunteer-ushering at the Steppenwolf Theatre.
Beals graduated from the progressive Francis W. Parker School. She also was chosen to attend the elite Goodman Theatre Young People's Drama Workshop. Beals attended Yale University, receiving a B.A. in American literature in 1987; she deferred a term so she could film Flashdance. While at Yale, Beals was a resident of Morse College.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jennifer Beals, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Luckiest Girl Alive | Lolo Vincent |
| 2019 | After | Karen Gibson |
| 2018 | The White Orchid | Vivian |
| 2017 | Before I Fall | Mrs. Kingston |
| 2016 | Manhattan Night | Lisa Wren |
| 2015 | Full Out | Valorie Kondos-Field |
| 2014 | A Wife's Nightmare | Liz |
| 2013 | Cinemanovels | Clementine |
| 2013 | A Fuller Life | Self - Reader (segment "Crime Reporter") |
| 2010 | The Book of Eli | Claudia |
| 2010 | The Night Before the Night Before Christmas | Angela Fox |
| 2010 | A Night for Dying Tigers | Melanie |
| 2009 | Queen to Play | L’Américaine |
| 2008 | Starz Inside: Fashion in Film | Self |
| 2007 | My Name Is Sarah | Sarah Winston |
| 2006 | The Grudge 2 | Trish Kimble |
| 2006 | Troubled Waters | FBI Agent Beck |
| 2005 | Desolation Sound | Elizabeth Storey |
| 2005 | Break a Leg | Juliet |
| 2004 | Catch That Kid | Molly Phillips |
| 2003 | Runaway Jury | Vanessa Lembeck |
| 2002 | Roger Dodger | Sophie |
| 2002 | 13 Moons | Suzi |
| 2002 | They Shoot Divas, Don't They? | Sloan McBride |
| 2001 | The Anniversary Party | Gina Taylor |
| 2001 | Feast of All Saints | Dolly Rose |
| 2001 | Out of Line | Officer Jenny Capitanas |
| 2000 | Militia | Julie Sanders |
| 2000 | Body and Soul | Gina |
| 2000 | A House Divided | Amanda Dickson |
| 2000 | Without Malice | Samantha Wilkes |
| 2000 | Something More | Lisa |
| 1999 | Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying | Jessica |
| 1999 | Wishful Thinking | Elizabeth |
| 1998 | The Prophecy II | Valerie Rosales |
| 1998 | The Last Days of Disco | Nina |
| 1998 | The Spree | Xinia Kelly |
| 1996 | The Twilight of the Golds | Suzanne Stein |
| 1995 | Four Rooms | Angela |
| 1995 | Devil in a Blue Dress | Daphne Monet |
| 1995 | Let It Be Me | Emily Taylor |
| 1994 | Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle | Gertrude Benchley |
| 1994 | Dead on Sight | Rebecca Darcy |
| 1994 | The Search for One-eye Jimmy | Ellen |
| 1993 | Caro diario | Self |
| 1993 | The Thief and the Cobbler | Princess YumYum (voice) |
| 1993 | Night Owl | Julia |
| 1992 | The Big Pardon 2 | Joyce Ferranti |
| 1992 | In the Soup | Angelica Pena |
| 1992 | Terror Stalks the Class Reunion | Virginia |
| 1992 | Indecency | Ellie Shaw |
| 1991 | Blood and Concrete | Mona |
| 1990 | Dr. M | Sonja Vogler |
| 1990 | The Madonna and the Dragon | Patty Meredith |
| 1990 | Sons | Transvestite |
| 1989 | Vampire's Kiss | Rachel |
| 1988 | Split Decisions | Barbara Uribe |
| 1988 | The Gamble | Lady Olivia Candioni |
| 1985 | The Bride | Eva |
| 1985 | Cinderella | Cinderella |
| 1985 | That's Dancing! | |
| 1985 | Faerie Tale Theatre: Cinderella | Cinderella |
| 1983 | Flashdance | Alex Owens |
| 1980 | My Bodyguard | Clifford's Friend (uncredited) |
| Hello Out There | Judith |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | The Book of Boba Fett | Garsa Fwip |
| 2021 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Cassandra Webb |
| 2019 | The L Word: Generation Q | Bette Porter |
| 2019 | Swamp Thing | Lucilia Cable |
| 2019 | The Kelly Clarkson Show | Self |
| 2017 | Taken | Christina Hart |
| 2015 | Proof | Dr. Carolyn Tyler |
| 2014 | The Night Shift | Dr. Syd Jennings |
| 2014 | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Self - Guest |
| 2014 | Off Camera with Sam Jones | Self |
| 2013 | Motive | Sophia Balfour |
| 2011 | The Chicago Code | Teresa Colvin |
| 2009 | Castle | Sophia Turner |
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Zoe Landau |
| 2009 | Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Self - Guest |
| 2005 | The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | Self |
| 2004 | Best Week Ever | |
| 2004 | The L Word | Bette Porter |
| 1999 | Where Are They Now? | Self |
| 1997 | The View | Self |
| 1997 | The Hunger | Jane |
| 1997 | Nothing Sacred | Justine Madsen Judd |
| 1996 | The Daily Show | Self |
| 1996 | E! True Hollywood Story | |
| 1995 | The Outer Limits | Robin Dysart |
| 1993 | Frasier | Dr. Anne Ranberg |
| 1992 | 2000 Malibu Road | Perry Quinn |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Sofia Archer |
| 1987 | Seitenblicke | self |
| 1982 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Cinderella |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Nominee |
| The L Word: New York | Bette Porter |