Jennifer Beals

Infobox Actor

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birthdate = birth date and age|1963|12|19
birthplace = Chicago, Illinois, United States
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occupation = Film, television actress
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spouse = Ken Dixon (1998-)
Alexandre Rockwell (1986-1996)

Jennifer Beals (born December 19, 1963) is an American film actress and former teen model. She is known for her roles as Alexandra "Alex" Owens in the 1983 film "Flashdance" and as Bette Porter on the lesbian-themed drama series "The L Word". She has appeared in more than 50 movies.

Biography

Early life

Beals was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Jeanne, an elementary school teacher, and Alfred Beals, who owned a grocery store. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/32/Jennifer-Beals.html Jennifer Beals Biography (1963-) ] ] Her father was African-American and her mother was Jewish and Irish American.cite news|last=Carr|first=Jay|coauthors=|title=JENNIFER BEALS BACK ON THE SCREEN AS A MISCHIEVOUS, FEMINIST 'BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN'|pages=|publisher=Boston Globe|date=1985-08-09|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADEB04C6BAAE48&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|accessdate=2007-12-10] [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2006_Jan_31/ai_n16088319 Soul of The L Word: we may argue about The L Word, but on this we all agree: Jennifer Beals takes our breath away. The star opens up about shooting sex scenes, being a new mom, and giving lesbians what they want | Advocate, The | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ] [ [http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/tv/11057/ Jennifer Beals's Grown-Up Sexuality ] ] [http://www.jewhoo.com/editor/sandler.html] She has two brothers, Bobby and Gregory. [ [http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jennifer-beals/bio/156577 Jennifer Beals Biography | TVGuide.com ] ] Her father died when Beals was ten years old and her mother re-married to Edward Cohen. Beals stated that her biracial heritage had some impact on her, as she "always lived sort-of on the outside", with an idea "of being the other in society". [ [http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/People/jenniferbeals.html Jennifer Beals Tackles Issues of Race, Sexuality on The L Word] ] She graduated from the Francis W. Parker School and Yale University, receiving a B.A. in American Literature, 1987. [http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=2799]

Career

Beals had a minor role in the 1980 film "My Bodyguard", then came to fame with her starring part in "Flashdance". The third-highest grossing U.S. film of 1983, it was the story of 18-year-old Alex, a welder by day and exotic dancer by night, whose dream is to someday be accepted at an illustrious school of dance. Beals was cast for this key role while still a student at Yale. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and the film received an Academy Award for Best Song.

After its release, it was revealed that many of Beals' elaborate dance moves were actually performed by double Marine Jahan. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0415657/ Marine Jahan ] ]

A number of interesting roles came Beals' way following that breakout performance. She and singer-actor Sting were cast as the leads in 1985's "The Bride", a gothic horror film loosely based on the 1935 classic "Bride of Frankenstein". Beals was cast as Eva, quite literally a beautiful creature, brought to life by Dr. Frankenstein to be a mate for his monster.

Starring opposite Nicolas Cage, the actress portrayed a lusty and thirsty vampire who may or may not be a figment of a man's imagination in 1989's "Vampire's Kiss".

In 1995, Beals and Denzel Washington co-starred in "Devil in a Blue Dress", a period film based on a Walter Mosley novel featuring L.A. private detective, Easy Rawlins. Beals played a biracial woman passing for white. She has played similar roles throughout her career. That same year she appeared with Tim Roth in a segment of the four-story anthology "Four Rooms" directed by her then-husband, Alexandre Rockwell.

Rockwell had previously directed her in the 1992 independent film "In the Soup", which was a Grand Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival.

Recently, she had a leading role in 2006's "The Grudge 2", sequel to the hit horror film of two years earlier.

In 2007. Little TV drama -My Name Is Sarah- in which she plays Sarah Winston. Sober woman who joins Alcoholics Anonymous to be with a man she loves.The interplay between Sarah and her 'love' was sweet throughout,and it was beautiful to see a couple's relationship grow slowly rather than race to a quick end.Beals currently stars in Showtime Network's "The L Word", where she plays Bette Porter, an Ivy League educated lesbian.

Personal life

Beals was married to Alexandre Rockwell from 1986 to 1996. In 1998, she married Ken Dixon, a Canadian entrepreneur. [ [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,26334,1132210,00.html Jennifer Beals Has a Baby Girl - Birth, Jennifer Beals : People.com ] ] She and Dixon had a daughter in October 2005, and Dixon has two children from a previous marriage. Beals has described herself as a "spiritual person". [ [http://www.thelwordonline.com/jbint_stepout04.shtml Jennifer Beals Interview - Apr 2004 ] ]

Beals is a close friend of Quentin Tarantino and has been best friends with actress Marlee Matlin, who currently stars as Jodi Lerner on "The L Word", since they met in an airport in the 1980s. [cite web|title =Jennifer Beals and Marlee Matlin Send Sparks Flying on 'The L Word'|work=The TV Tattler|publisher=AOL.com|date=2007-02-12|url =http://television.aol.com/tv-celebrity-interviews/jennifer-beals-marlee-matlin|accessdate=2007-02-13]

Beals was a Celebrity Grand Marshall at the 2006 San Francisco Pride Parade. [ [http://www.sfpride.org/parade/grandmarshals.html Main ] ]

Filmography

* "Flashdance" (1983)
* "The Bride" (1985)
* "" (1985) (TV)
* "Vampire's Kiss" (1989)
* "Blood and Concrete" (1991)
* "In the Soup" (1992)
* "Indecency" (1992)
* "Caro diario" (1993)
* "The Night Owl" (1993)
* "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" (1994)
* "Four Rooms" (1995)
* "Let It Be Me" (1995)
* "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1995)
* "The Thief and the Cobbler" (1995) (Miramax version)
* "Wishful Thinking" (1997)
* "The Twilight of the Golds" (1997)
* "The Prophecy II" (1998)
* "The Spree" (1998)
* "The Last Days of Disco" (1998)
* "Without Malice" (2000) (TV)
* "Fear of Flying" (1999)
* "A House Divided" (2000) (TV)
* "Militia" (2000)
* "Out of Line" (2001)
* "The Anniversary Party" (2001)
* "After the Storm" (2001) (TV)
* "The Feast of All Saints" (2001) (TV)
* "13 Moons" (2002)
* "Roger Dodger" (2002)
* "They Shoot Divas, Don't They?" (2002) (TV)
* "Runaway Jury" (2003)
* "Catch That Kid" (2004)
* "Desolation Sound" (2005)
* "The Grudge 2" (2006)
* "Troubled Waters" (2006)
* "My Name Is Sarah" (2007) (TV)
* "Joueuse" (2009)

References

External links

*imdb name|0000884
*amg name|2:4745
* [http://www.jenniferbeals.ca/ Jennifer Beals Online]
* [http://lwordwiki.sho.com/page/Bette+Porter?t=anon/ Bette Porter L-word Wiki]