Jennifer Beals facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jennifer Beals
Jennifer Beals at the 2008 GLAAD Awards
Born	(1963-12-19) December 19, 1963 (age 61) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Yale University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1980–present
Known for	Alexandra Owens: Flashdance Bette Porter: The L Word
Spouse(s)	Alexandre Rockwell ​ ​ (m. 1986; div. 1996)​ Ken Dixon ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	1

Jennifer Beals (born December 19, 1963) is an American actress. She became famous for her role as Alexandra Owens in the movie Flashdance (1983). For this role, she won an NAACP Image Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Jennifer Beals has acted in many films like Vampire's Kiss (1988), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), and The Book of Eli (2010). On television, she starred in shows such as The Chicago Code (2011) and Taken (2017). She is also well-known for playing Bette Porter in the TV drama The L Word (2004–2009) and its follow-up series The L Word: Generation Q (2019–2023).

Early Life and Education

Jennifer Beals was born and grew up in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. Her mother was an elementary school teacher, and her father owned grocery stores. Her father was African-American, and her mother is Irish-American. She has two brothers, Bobby and Gregory.

When Jennifer was nine, her father passed away. She has said that her mixed heritage made her feel "on the outside" sometimes. At 13, she got her first job at an ice cream store. She was tall for her age, which helped her convince her boss she was 16.

She became interested in acting after being in a high school play called Fiddler on the Roof. She also enjoyed seeing a play at the Steppenwolf Theatre while volunteering there.

Jennifer Beals went to Francis W. Parker School. She also joined the Goodman Theatre Young People's Drama Workshop. She later attended Yale University and earned a degree in American Literature in 1987. She took a break from college to film Flashdance.

Acting Career

Movies

Jennifer Beals in Sweden promoting Flashdance in 1983.

Jennifer Beals had a small part in the 1980 film My Bodyguard. Then, she became very famous with her main role in Flashdance. This movie was one of the most popular films of 1983. In Flashdance, Jennifer played Alex, an 18-year-old who works as a welder by day and a dancer at night. Alex dreams of getting into a famous dance school. Jennifer was chosen for this role while she was still a student at Yale.

After Flashdance, Jennifer went back to her studies. During that time, she only made one movie, The Bride, with the singer Sting. This was a gothic horror film made during her summer break. She also played Cinderella in an episode of Faerie Tale Theatre.

After graduating from Yale in 1987, Jennifer continued her acting career. She played a love interest in the boxing movie Split Decisions. In 1989, she acted alongside Nicolas Cage in Vampire's Kiss.

In 1995, Jennifer Beals starred with Denzel Washington in Devil in a Blue Dress. This movie was based on a book about a private detective in Los Angeles. She also appeared in two parts of the movie Four Rooms that same year. One of these parts was directed by her husband at the time, Alexandre Rockwell.

She had a main role in the horror movie The Grudge 2 in 2006. In 2010, she worked with Denzel Washington again in The Book of Eli. In this action drama, she played a blind woman.

Jennifer Beals played a gymnastics coach, Valorie Kondos Field, in the movie Full Out. In 2017, she played the mother of the main character in the film Before I Fall. In 2019, she appeared as Karen in the romantic movie After.

Television Shows

Jennifer Beals at a discussion for In the Soup in 2018.

In 1992, Jennifer Beals appeared in her first TV series, 2000 Malibu Road, playing an attorney. She had been careful about choosing a TV role because she wanted a character she could enjoy playing for a long time.

From 2004 to 2009, Jennifer starred in the Showtime series The L Word. She played Bette Porter, an art museum director who was educated at an Ivy League university. Jennifer asked for her character, Bette, to be biracial. This allowed another character, Kit Porter, played by Pam Grier, to become Bette's half-sister. Jennifer focused on Bette's work as an art museum director for her role. The show ran for six seasons.

She also appeared in Lie to Me as Zoe Landau, the ex-wife of the main character. In 2011, Jennifer was the main female star in the TV drama The Chicago Code. She played Teresa Colvin, who was Chicago's first female police superintendent.

In 2014, Jennifer Beals starred as Dr. Kathryn Russo in Proof. This was a supernatural medical drama about a surgeon who investigates if there is life after death. The series aired in 2015.

In 2017, Jennifer played the leader of a group of special government agents in the series Taken. This show was a prequel to the Taken movie series.

In 2019, she returned to her role as Bette Porter in The L Word: Generation Q. This is a follow-up series to The L Word. She also helps produce the show. In 2021, Jennifer appeared in The Book of Boba Fett, a Disney+ series in the Star Wars universe. She played a character named Garsa Fwip. In 2022, she was seen in the NBC series Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Web Series

Jennifer Beals is also known for supporting women's rights. In 2012, she appeared with Troian Bellisario in the web series Lauren on the YouTube channel WIGS. They filmed more episodes of Lauren in 2013 for a second season.

Personal Life

Jennifer Beals married Alexandre Rockwell in 1986, and they divorced in 1996. In 1998, she married Ken Dixon, a Canadian businessman. They had a daughter on October 18, 2005. Ken Dixon also has two children from a previous marriage.

Jennifer has described herself as a spiritual person. She has explored different faiths, including Catholicism and Judaism. She is a practicing Buddhist.

She has spoken out strongly for equality for all people. She believes that everyone should be treated fairly. In 2012, she received the Human Rights Campaign's Ally For Equality Award. This award recognized her great support for the human rights community.

Jennifer Beals practices kung-fu, sanshou, and kickboxing. She is also a triathlete, which means she competes in swimming, cycling, and running.

She is a photographer and has shown her work under her married name, Dixon. In 1989, she took photos in Haiti during elections. She also published a book with her own photographs from her time working on The L Word.

In 2010, Jennifer Beals was the Grand Marshal of the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in Chicago. She spoke about two charities that are important to her: the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Pablove Foundation.

Filmography

Film

Television

As producer

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Jennifer Beals para niños