person

Jennifer Beals

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Gender

Female

Birthday

1963-12-19

Place of Birth

Chicago, Illinois, USA

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.

Also Known For

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58

Four Rooms

Dec 09, 1995

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64

Flashdance

Apr 14, 1983

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55

The Grudge 2

Oct 12, 2006

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67

The Book of Eli

Jan 14, 2010

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56

Catch That Kid

Feb 06, 2004

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58

Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle

Sep 07, 1994

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40

Militia

Oct 17, 2000

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59

Vampire's Kiss

Jun 02, 1989

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64

Devil in a Blue Dress

Sep 29, 1995

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74

Dear Diary

Nov 12, 1993

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60

The Prophecy II

Jan 20, 1998

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57

The Anniversary Party

Jun 09, 2001

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71

The Thief and the Cobbler

Sep 23, 1993

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60

Roger Dodger

May 09, 2002

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58

The Big Pardon 2

Dec 09, 1992

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47

Dr. M

May 24, 1990

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52

The Bride

Aug 16, 1985

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38

Troubled Waters

Dec 21, 2006

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66

Queen to Play

Aug 05, 2009

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53

13 Moons

Aug 30, 2002

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44

Desolation Sound

Jun 27, 2005

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62

The Last Days of Disco

May 29, 1998

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66

In the Soup

Oct 23, 1992

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46

Feast of All Saints

Nov 11, 2001

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54

The Night Before the Night Before Christmas

Nov 20, 2010

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43

Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying

Dec 27, 1999

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51

Split Decisions

Jun 11, 1988

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57

Blood and Concrete

Sep 13, 1991

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50

Wishful Thinking

Jul 12, 1999

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54

A Night for Dying Tigers

Sep 10, 2010

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50

The Spree

Apr 18, 1998

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13

Body and Soul

Sep 01, 2000

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39

Dead on Sight

Oct 12, 1994

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42

Terror Stalks the Class Reunion

Jun 12, 1992

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76

My Name Is Sarah

May 28, 2007

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47

Cinemanovels

Sep 06, 2013

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33

Break a Leg

Apr 21, 2005

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40

Indecency

Sep 16, 1992

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60

The Madonna and the Dragon

Sep 01, 1990

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69

Runaway Jury

Jan 16, 2003

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17

The Gamble

Oct 28, 1988

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56

The Twilight of the Golds

Oct 10, 1996

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59

Manhattan Night

May 20, 2016

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72

Full Out

Sep 11, 2015

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64

A Wife's Nightmare

Dec 27, 2014

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70

Out of Line

Nov 20, 2001

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50

Let It Be Me

Nov 17, 1995

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23

Night Owl

Aug 19, 1993

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42

They Shoot Divas, Don't They?

Oct 05, 2002

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50

A House Divided

Jul 30, 2000

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69

Before I Fall

Mar 02, 2017

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66

A Fuller Life

Aug 28, 2013

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71

Cinderella

Aug 14, 1985

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42

Without Malice

Jan 01, 2000

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56

The White Orchid

Feb 01, 2018

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71

After

Apr 11, 2019

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50

Sons

Jan 01, 1990

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47

Something More

Nov 28, 2000

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55

The Search for One-eye Jimmy

Nov 09, 1994

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69

That's Dancing!

Jan 18, 1985

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65

Luckiest Girl Alive

Sep 30, 2022

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63

My Bodyguard

Jul 11, 1980

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NA

Hello Out There

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NA

Faerie Tale Theatre: Cinderella

Aug 08, 1985

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NA

Starz Inside: Fashion in Film

Nov 25, 2008

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74

Law & Order

Sep 13, 1990

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79

Castle

Mar 09, 2009

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55

Best Week Ever

Jan 23, 2004

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63

The Daily Show

Jul 22, 1996

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44

The View

Aug 11, 1997

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81

E! True Hollywood Story

Aug 21, 1996

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76

The L Word

Jan 18, 2004

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81

Faerie Tale Theatre

Sep 11, 1982

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79

Lie to Me

Jan 21, 2009

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65

2000 Malibu Road

Aug 23, 1992

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75

Where Are They Now?

Jun 07, 1999

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77

The Outer Limits

Mar 26, 1995

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NA

The L Word: New York

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75

The Chicago Code

Feb 07, 2011

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67

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Jan 03, 2005

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64

Motive

Feb 03, 2013

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64

Proof

Jun 16, 2015

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75

The Book of Boba Fett

Dec 29, 2021

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65

Taken

Feb 27, 2017

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76

Frasier

Sep 16, 1993

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59

The Hunger

Jul 20, 1997

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78

Law & Order: Organized Crime

Apr 01, 2021

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90

Nothing Sacred

Sep 18, 1997

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51

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

Jul 16, 2009

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75

The Night Shift

May 27, 2014

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76

The L Word: Generation Q

Dec 08, 2019

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59

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Feb 17, 2014

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74

Swamp Thing

May 31, 2019

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40

Off Camera with Sam Jones

Feb 06, 2014

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NA

Seitenblicke

Oct 07, 1987

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72

Golden Globe Awards

Jan 20, 1944

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72

Golden Globe Awards

Jan 20, 1944

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65

The Kelly Clarkson Show

Sep 09, 2019