Jennifer Beals facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jennifer Beals
Beals at the 2008 at GLAAD Awards show
Born	(1963-12-19) December 19, 1963 (age 61) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Yale University (BA)
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	3

Jennifer Beals (born December 19, 1963) is an American actress. She first appeared in the movie My Bodyguard (1980). She became famous for her leading role as Alexandra Owens in the 1983 film Flashdance. For this role, she won an NAACP Image Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Beals has acted in many movies, including Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Roger Dodger (2002), The Book of Eli (2010), and Before I Fall (2017).

On television, she is famous for playing Bette Porter in the drama series The L Word (2004–2009). This role earned her a nomination for a Satellite Award. She later returned to this role in the sequel series The L Word: Generation Q (2019–2023), where she was also a producer. She has also starred in shows like The Chicago Code (2011), Taken (2017), and The Book of Boba Fett (2021).

Early Life and Education

Jennifer Beals was born and grew up on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. Her mother, Jeanne, was an elementary school teacher, and her father, Alfred, owned grocery stores. Her father was African-American and her mother is Irish-American. Because her parents came from different backgrounds, Beals said she often felt like an "outsider" when she was young. She has two brothers, Bobby and Gregory. Her father passed away when she was nine years old.

When she was 13, Beals got her first job at an ice cream shop. She used her height, which was already 5 ft 8 in [1.73 m], to make her boss think she was 16.

Two things inspired Beals to become an actress. One was acting in her high school's play, Fiddler on the Roof. The other was seeing a play called Balm in Gilead at the Steppenwolf Theatre.

Beals went to the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago. After high school, she attended Yale University, a very famous college. She studied American Literature and graduated in 1987. While at Yale, she took a break for one term to film the movie Flashdance.

Acting Career

Famous Movie Roles

Beals in Sweden promoting Flashdance in July 1983.

Beals's big break came with the movie Flashdance (1983). She played Alex, an 18-year-old who works as a welder during the day and a dancer at night. Her character's dream was to get into a famous dance school. The movie was a huge success. Because the dancing was very difficult, a professional dancer named Marine Jahan and a gymnast named Sharon Shapiro were her body doubles for some scenes.

After Flashdance, Beals went back to Yale to finish her studies. During this time, she made only one movie, The Bride. It was a spooky movie based on the classic story Bride of Frankenstein. She also played Cinderella in an episode of the TV show Faerie Tale Theatre.

After graduating from Yale, she starred in more films. She acted with Nicolas Cage in a 1989 vampire movie. In 1995, she starred with Denzel Washington in Devil in a Blue Dress. In the movie, she played a woman with a mixed-race background.

Some of her other well-known films include:

• Runaway Jury (2003), where she played a member of a jury.
• The Grudge 2 (2006), a popular scary movie.
• The Book of Eli (2010), where she worked with Denzel Washington again. She played a blind woman in a world set after a major disaster.
• Before I Fall (2017), where she played the main character's mother.
• After (2019), where she played the character Karen.

Work in Television

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

Beals has also had a successful career in television. In 1992, she starred in her first TV series, 2000 Malibu Road, as a lawyer.

From 2004 to 2009, she starred in the popular TV series The L Word. She played Bette Porter, a smart art museum director. At her request, the character was written to have a mixed-race background, just like Beals. The show followed the lives of Bette and her friends.

Some of her other major TV roles include:

• The Chicago Code (2011): She played Teresa Colvin, the first female police superintendent in Chicago.
• Taken (2017-2018): She played Christina Hart, the leader of a team of government agents. This show was a prequel to the Taken movies.
• Swamp Thing (2019): She played Sheriff Lucilia Cable in this series based on a comic book.
• The L Word: Generation Q (2019-2023): She returned to her role as Bette Porter in this sequel series.
• The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022): She appeared in the Star Wars series as a Twi'lek character named Garsa Fwip.
• Law & Order: Organized Crime (2022): She had a recurring role as an art gallery owner named Cassandra Webb.

Personal Life

Beals married director Alexandre Rockwell in 1986, and they divorced in 1996. In 1998, she married Ken Dixon, a Canadian businessman. They have one daughter, who was born in 2005. Dixon also has two children from a previous marriage.

Beals is a spiritual person and practices Buddhism. She is also a strong supporter of equal rights for all people. In 2012, she received an award from the Human Rights Campaign for her support of the community.

She is very active and practices several martial arts, including kung-fu. She is also a triathlete, which means she competes in races that include swimming, cycling, and running.

Beals is a talented photographer. She has had her photos shown in galleries. She even published a book with her own photos from her time working on The L Word. In 2022, she became a citizen of Canada.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Jennifer Beals para niños