Biography
Intelligent and beautiful with a disarming smile, Jennifer Beals managed to exude both strength and tenderness in her work, making her one of the most relatable and talented actresses of her time. A pop culture icon after her star-making debut as Alex Owens in "Flashdance" (1983), Beals weathered the backlash storm after it was revealed she had a dance double in the hit film. After disappearing off the radar for some time - perhaps spooked by …
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Jennifer Beals SlideShow
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Career Milestones
1980 | Had a minor role in the film "My Bodyguard" |
1983 | Played the lead role of Alexandra 'Alex' Owens in her acting debut in "Flashdance"; nominated for a Golden Globe Award |
1985 | Co-starred with Sting in Franc Roddam's "The Bride," a film loosely based on the "Bride of Frankenstein" |
1985 | Played the title role in "Cinderella" for Showtime |
1988 | Appeared in Carlo Vanzini's "La Partita" with Faye Dunaway and Matthew Modine |
1989 | Initial collaboration with then-husband director Alexandre Rockwell, "Sons" |
1992 | Made TV series debut in the short-lived CBS show, "2000 Malibu Road" |
1992 | Re-teamed with Rockwell for "In the Soup" |
1994 | Played herself being approached by a rabid fan in Nanni Moretti's "Caro Diario"; Rockwell also appeared as himself |
1994 | Portrayed Gertrude Benchley in Alan Rudolph's "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" |
1995 | Acted in two segments of "Four Rooms"; the Rockwell directed, "The Wrong Man" and the Quentin Tarrantino directed, "The Man from Hollywood" |
1995 | Played a biracial woman passing for white, opposite Denzel Washington in "The Devil in a Blue Dress" |
1997 | Played a young mother deciding whether or not to abort a son who might be gay in Jonathan Tolin's "Twilight of the Golds" (Showtime) |
1998 | Had a small role in Whit Stillman's "The Last Days of Disco" |
1999 | Cast opposite former boxer Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini in TMC's "Body and Soul" |
2000 | Played Amanda Dickinson, the product of a bi-racial coupling in Showtime's "A House Divided" |
2001 | Appeared as Mrs. Gravotte in film version of Hemmingway's "After the Storm" |
2001 | Played a photographer in "The Anniversary Party" |
2002 | Appeared in the independent film "Roger Dodger" |
2003 | Appeared opposite John Cusack in the film adaptation of "Runaway Jury" |
2004 | Played Bette Porter, an Ivy League educated lesbian in the Showtime drama, "The L Word" |
2006 | Co-starred in "The Grudge 2," a sequel to the 2004 remake directed by Takashi Shimizu |
2009 | Cast as the ex-wife of Tim Roth's fib detector on the FOX series, "Lie to Me" |
2010 | Played the concubine of Carnegie (Gary Oldman) in "The Book of Eli," the post-apocalyptic drama directed by the Hughes brothers |
Awards
1983 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical in Flashdance |