Jennifer Beals
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 19, 1963 (age 62)
- Birthplace
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
Biography
Jennifer Beals (born December 19, 1963) 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
Photos
Filmography
Murder in Cold Country
Movie · as Maya Lewis
Joy Will Prevail
Movie · as Esther Kahn
NCIS: New York
TV · as Robyn Wells · 8 eps
Hello Out There
Movie · as Judith
Luckiest Girl Alive
Movie · as Lolo Vincent
The Book of Boba Fett
TV · as Garsa Fwip · 4 eps
Law & Order: Organized Crime
TV · as Cassandra Webb · 5 eps
After
Movie · as Karen Gibson
The L Word: Generation Q
TV · as Bette Porter · 28 eps
Swamp Thing
TV · as Lucilia Cable · 9 eps
The Kelly Clarkson Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The White Orchid
Movie · as Vivian
Hollywood: No Sex, Please!
Movie
Before I Fall
Movie · as Mrs. Kingston
Taken
TV · as Christina Hart · 26 eps
Manhattan Night
Movie · as Lisa Wren
Full Out
Movie · as Coach Valorie Kondos-Field
Proof
TV · as Dr. Carolyn Tyler · 10 eps
A Wife's Nightmare
Movie · as Liz
The Night Shift
TV · as Dr. Syd Jennings · 7 eps
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV · as Self - Guest · 2 eps
Off Camera with Sam Jones
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Cinemanovels
Movie · as Clementine
A Fuller Life
Movie · as Self - Reader (segment "Crime Reporter")
Motive
TV · as Sophia Balfour · 1 ep
The Chicago Code
TV · as Teresa Colvin · 13 eps
The Book of Eli
Movie · as Claudia
The Night Before the Night Before Christmas
Movie · as Angela Fox
A Night for Dying Tigers
Movie · as Melanie
Queen to Play
Movie · as L’Américaine
Castle
TV · as Sophia Turner · 2 eps
Lie to Me
TV · as Zoe Landau · 6 eps
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
Starz Inside: Fashion in Film
Movie · as Self
My Name Is Sarah
Movie · as Sarah Winston
The Grudge 2
Movie · as Trish Kimble
Troubled Waters
Movie · as FBI Agent Beck
Desolation Sound
Movie · as Elizabeth Storey
Break a Leg
Movie · as Juliet
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Catch That Kid
Movie · as Molly Phillips
Best Week Ever
TV · 1 ep
The L Word
TV · as Bette Porter · 71 eps
Runaway Jury
Movie · as Vanessa Lembeck
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
Roger Dodger
Movie · as Sophie
13 Moons
Movie · as Suzi
They Shoot Divas, Don't They?
Movie · as Sloan McBride
The Anniversary Party
Movie · as Gina Taylor
Feast of All Saints
Movie · as Dolly Rose
Out of Line
Movie · as Officer Jenny Capitanas
Militia
Movie · as Julie Sanders
Body and Soul
Movie · as Gina
A House Divided
Movie · as Amanda Dickson
Without Malice
Movie · as Samantha Wilkes
Something More
Movie · as Lisa
Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying
Movie · as Jessica
Wishful Thinking
Movie · as Elizabeth
Where Are They Now?
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Prophecy II
Movie · as Valerie Rosales
The Last Days of Disco
Movie · as Nina
The Spree
Movie · as Xinia Kelly
The View
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Hunger
TV · as Jane · 1 ep
Nothing Sacred
TV · as Justine Madsen Judd · 7 eps
The Twilight of the Golds
Movie · as Suzanne Stein
The Daily Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
E! True Hollywood Story
TV · 1 ep
Four Rooms
Movie · as Angela
Devil in a Blue Dress
Movie · as Daphne Monet
Let It Be Me
Movie · as Emily Taylor
The Outer Limits
TV · as Robin Dysart · 1 ep
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Movie · as Gertrude Benchley
Dead on Sight
Movie · as Rebecca Darcy
The Search for One-eye Jimmy
Movie · as Ellen
Caro diario
Movie · as Jennifer Beals
The Thief and the Cobbler
Movie · as Princess YumYum (voice)
Night Owl
Movie · as Julia
Frasier
TV · as Dr. Anne Ranberg · 2 eps
The Big Pardon 2
Movie · as Joyce Ferranti
In the Soup
Movie · as Angelica Pena
Terror Stalks the Class Reunion
Movie · as Virginia
Indecency
Movie · as Ellie Shaw
2000 Malibu Road
TV · as Perry Quinn · 6 eps
Blood and Concrete
Movie · as Mona
Dr. M
Movie · as Sonja Vogler
The Madonna and the Dragon
Movie · as Patty Meredith
Sons
Movie · as Transvestite
Law & Order
TV · as Sofia Archer · 1 ep
The Word
TV · 1 ep
Vampire's Kiss
Movie · as Rachel
Split Decisions
Movie · as Barbara Uribe
The Gamble
Movie · as Lady Olivia Candioni
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Movie · as Self
Seitenblicke
TV · as self · 1 ep
The Bride
Movie · as Eva
Cinderella
Movie · as Cinderella
That's Dancing!
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Flashdance
Movie · as Alex Owens
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV · as Cinderella · 1 ep
My Bodyguard
Movie · as Clifford's Friend (uncredited)
Golden Globe Awards
TV · as Self, Self - Nominee · 1 ep