Jennifer Beals biography

Jennifer Beals picture

Biography

A thin, naturally attractive brunette with a personable smile and the brains to match her beauty, actress Jennifer Beals was virtually propelled to overnight stardom and fashion icon status with her energetic performance in director Adrian Lyne's 1983 dance drama Flashdance. Though her career would suffer a slight setback when it was revealed that Beals didn't perform all of her own dance moves in the sleeper hit, the talented actress would endure to make something of a comeback in the late '90s.

A Chicago native who was traveling in Europe when her publicist called her for a New York audition that the filmmakers were pitching as a "female Saturday Night Fever," Beals booked the first flight back to the states and, despite the presence of thousands of other eager young actresses, somehow managed to stand out from the crowd to impress producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Beals' only other film work to that point was as an extra in 1980's My Bodyguard, so it was quite a gamble to cast a virtual unknown in the lead. This was especially true, given that, days before the film's premiere, Paramount Pictures sold off 25 percent of the film; however, the gamble paid off and Flashdance became nothing less than a cultural phenomenon. With ripped, oversized sweaters adorning teenage girls nationwide, it seemed as if Beals had the cinematic world at her fingertips -- and then the bottom dropped out. When it was later revealed that Beals impressive moves weren't entirely her own, audiences felt betrayed (as if action stars really do all of their own stunts) and subsequently protested the burgeoning actress without taking into consideration that she was the dramatic core of the film.

Opting to continue her education at Yale immediately following Flashdance's production, roles in such efforts as The Bride (1985) and Split Decisions (1988) were squeezed in during Beals' summer breaks. Though neither effort did much to forward Beals' career, the actress would continue to appear in such quirky, low-budget efforts as Vampire's Kiss (1989) and Blood and Concrete (1991) moving into the 1990s. Beals was married to director Alexandre Rockwell in 1986, and in 1992 she would appear opposite Steve Buscemi and Seymour Cassel in Rockwell's comedy drama In the Soup.

If the majority of the 1990s found Beals relegated to mostly unseen independents, high-profile roles in such acclaimed efforts as Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), and The Last Days of Disco (1998) proved without a doubt that the now-established actress certainly had the skills and endurance to maintain a successful screen career. Though the early years of the millennial turnover may have found Beals on shaky cinematic ground with such efforts as Jim Wynorski's Militia and the tiresomely derivative sequel Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying (both 1990), her reputation as something of an independent darling would solidify with roles in such critically acclaimed indies as The Anniversary Party (2001) and Roger Dodger (2002). Despite her divorce from Rockwell and remarriage to another man unassociated with the film business, Beals would later turn up in the Rockwell-directed comedy 13 Moons (again opposite Buscemi), while preparing for roles in such upcoming features as Runaway Jury and Break a Leg (both 2003). In 2004 Beals took a turn as a lesbian in the made-for-cable series The L Word. In her spare time Jennifer Beals is an avid photographer.

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Haim was a handful on Saskatchewan set: producer - Victoria Times Colonist
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Jennifer Beals Shoots L Word Book, Is Perfect: The Autostraddle Interview - Autostraddle (blog)
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Dana Delany on Housewives Lesbian Romance, Kissing Jennifer Beals and Coming Out - SheWired
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FLASHDANCE: THE MUSICAL To Play the West End in September - Broadway World
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The Big Reveal: Glamberts Gay Impact, Jennifer Beals L-Plot Choice, Gagas ... - Autostraddle (blog)
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Jennifer Beals The L Word BOOK is Ready to Come Out! - SheWired
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Film Review - THE BOOK OF ELI - Namibia Economist
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Movie guide: Capsule reviews of current releases - CharlotteObserver.com
table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha target ='_blank' rel='nofollow' style='text-decoration:none;color:#aaaaaa' href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.charlotteobserver.com%2F2010%2F03%2F10%2F1302799%2Fmovie-guide-capsule-reviews-of.htmlamp;usg=AFQjCNH_-dCEtYOjbzTd0c0-UKSiZxbSQQbMovie guide: Capsule reviews of current releases/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fCharlotteObserver.com/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1With Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson and bJennifer Beals/b. Written by Gary Whitta and Anthony Peckham. Directed by Allen and Albert b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?ned=usamp;ncl=dS4OMffl-estEyMnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Delany rejected for on-screen gay kiss - Digital Spy
table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha target ='_blank' rel='nofollow' style='text-decoration:none;color:#aaaaaa' href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalspy.co.uk%2Fustv%2Fnews%2Fa205885%2Fdelany-rejected-for-on-screen-gay-kiss.htmlamp;usg=AFQjCNHXoutLrFQM4HzroAnw9NiGDUYK0gbDelany rejected for on-screen gay kiss/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fDigital Spy/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Desperate Housewives actress said that she was originally booked for a lesbian scene with bJennifer Beals/b on The L Word. b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?ned=usamp;ncl=dX8jSMvWfoUfZoMnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Whats On: Luck be the Ladies - Movieline (blog)
table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha target ='_blank' rel='nofollow' style='text-decoration:none;color:#aaaaaa' href=http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=Ramp;sa=Tamp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.movieline.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fwhats-on-luck-be-the-ladies.phpamp;usg=AFQjCNFmdglaUkx1dwZfDWJKDkzGpH-H5AbWhat#39;s On: Luck be the Ladies/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fMovieline (blog)/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1Our old friends Don Cheadle and bJennifer Beals/b costar, as does Tom Sizemore. There was apparently a time when he didn#39;t headline our nightmares. b.../b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?ned=usamp;ncl=d3otqq_Gsm_Xe-Mnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table