Jeri Ryan Biography

Name:Jeri Lynn Zimmermann Ryan

Date of Birth:February 22, 1968

Place of Birth:Munich, West Germany

Jeri Lynn Zimmermann Ryan is an American actress best known for her roles as the liberated Borg, Seven of Nine, on Star Trek: Voyager; Tara Cole on Leverage; and Veronica "Ronnie" Cooke on Boston Public. Jeri Ryan was also a regular on the science fiction show Dark Skies and the legal drama series Shark. Jeri Ryan is currently starring as Dr. Kate Murphy on the ABC drama series Body of Proof.

Early Life

Ryan was born in Munich, West Germany, the daughter of Gerhard Florian "Jerry" Zimmermann, a Master Sergeant in the United States Army, and his wife Sharon, a social worker. Jeri Ryan has one older brother, Mark. As a "military brat", Ryan grew up on Army posts in Kansas, Maryland, Hawaii, Georgia, and Texas. When she was eleven, her father retired from the Army, and the family settled in Paducah, Kentucky. Jeri Ryan graduated from Lone Oak High School in 1986 (as a National Merit Scholar),and then attended Northwestern University, where she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.

In 1989, Ryan was chosen Miss Illinois. Jeri Ryan was the third runner-up in the 1990 Miss America Pageant, winning the preliminary swimsuit competition. Jeri Ryan graduated from Northwestern in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre.

Career

After college, she pursued acting full-time in Los Angeles. Jeri Ryan made her acting debut in Who's the Boss? and followed that with guest-starring roles in TV shows like Melrose Place, Matlock, and The Sentinel as well as such TV movies as Co-Ed Call Girl.

Jeri Ryan big break came when she won a regular role as the extraterrestrial investigator Juliet Stuart on the TV series Dark Skies. The show was cancelled after one season, but the role had drawn the attention of the science-fiction community.

In 1997, Ryan was chosen for a role on the science fiction series Star Trek: Voyager as Seven of Nine, a Borg drone who had been "de-assimilated," or freed, from the Borg's collective consciousness, When she joined the cast in Season 4, ratings increased 60%. Jeri Ryan appeared in Wes Craven's Dracula 2000. After Voyager ended in 2001, Ryan joined the cast of Boston Public in the role of Veronica Cooke, nicknamed "Ronnie," a frustrated lawyer who quits the bar to become a high-school teacher. The show's producer, David E. Kelley, wrote the role specifically for her. The show ended in 2004.

Ryan appeared in the film Down With Love and as Lydia in the independent film Men Cry Bullets. Ryan's first film lead was in the "indie" comedy The Last Man, as the last woman left on Earth. The film was released by Lion's Gate.

In 2005, she had a role in a pilot called Commuters, a suburban big city version of Desperate Housewives. Jeri Ryan  also had a recurring role as Charlotte Morgan on The O.C. in 2005; and she guest-starred as Courtney Reece on David E. Kelley's Boston Legal in 2006. Ryan then co-starred in the CBS legal drama Shark as Los Angeles County District Attorney Jessica Devlin alongside series lead James Woods, but she did not return for episodes aired after the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike although she was credited in all four episodes.The show did not air between January 27 and April 29, 2008. CBS cancelled the broadcast of the series after its Season 2 finale, May 20, 2008.

Jeri Ryan debuted as defense attorney Patrice La Rue on the April 7, 2009, episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, her first role since giving birth to her daughter Gisele.

Ryan next won a 7-episode role on the TNT drama Leverage in Season 2 as grifter Tara Cole to fill in while Gina Bellman (Sophie) was on maternity leave.

Ryan at the 2010 Las Vegas Star Trek convention in Nevada.Jeri Ryan  was in the Kevin Tancharoen-directed short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth as Sonya Blade. Although originally a film, it is being marketed as a web series, with Episode 1 previews scheduled to appear online in June 2010. The web series officially launched in March 2011.

Ryan is a regular in the medical drama series Body of Proof, which premiered on March 29, 2011.

Ryan has also continued to appear in guest roles on genre television shows, most recently on the Syfy series Warehouse 13 as US Marine Major Amanda Lattimer, ex-wife of the show's male lead character Peter Lattimer, in the episode "Queen for a Day," aired August 1, 2011.

Personal Life

In 1990, while dealing blackjack at a charity event, the actress met investment banker and future Republican political candidate Jack Ryan. The couple married on June 15, 1991, and had a son, Alex, on August 15, 1994. Throughout the marriage, they took turns commuting between Los Angeles and Chicago for their careers but divorced on August 27, 1999. Although Ryan mentioned in an interview for Star Trek that the frequent separations had been difficult for the marriage, the reasons for the divorce were kept sealed at their mutual request.

Ryan had at one point dated Star Trek: Voyager producer Brannon Braga. Between February and November 2000, they were stalked by Marlon Estacio Pagtakhan, who was convicted for harassment and threats in May 2001. According to Crime Stories, aired on the UK Crime channel on 05/07/2009,[when?] the stalker had letters stating that he was going to sexually assault Ryan and torture Braga.

When Jack Ryan's campaign for an open United States Senate seat in Illinois began in 2003, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and WLS-TV, the local ABC affiliate, sought to have his records released. Both Jeri and Jack agreed to make their divorce, but not custody, records public, saying their release could be harmful to their son.

On June 18, 2004, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider agreed to release the custody files. The decision generated much controversy because it went against both parents' direct request and because it generally reversed the early decision to seal the papers in the best interest of the child. It was revealed that six years previously, Jeri had accused Jack Ryan of asking her to perform sexual acts with him in public, and in sex clubs in New York, New Orleans, and Paris.Jeri Ryan described one as "a bizarre club with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling." Jack Ryan denied these allegations. Although Jeri Ryan only made a brief statement, and she refused to comment on the matter during the campaign, the document disclosure led Jack Ryan to withdraw his candidacy; his main opponent, Barack Obama, then won the 2004 United States Senate election in Illinois.

Ryan's avocation, according to statements she has made in interviews, is gourmet cooking. While starring in Boston Public, she moonlighted on weekends in the kitchen of the Los Angeles restaurant The House. In 2003, Ryan met French chef Christophe Émé at a chef's charity event. The two eventually began a relationship, and Émé moved in with Ryan and her son Alex in their San Fernando Valley home. In February 2005, Ryan, a "lifelong Francophile", opened—in partnership with Émé—the restaurant Ortolan. Located on Third Street in Los Angeles, California, the restaurant served French food with a modern interpretation. The two have appeared on Iron Chef America, where Émé and one sous-chef challenged Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and his two sous-chefs. The restaurant is seen in season two, episode twenty-six of Boston Legal as Denny Crane (William Shatner) and Alan Shore (James Spader) are discussing the arrival of Courtney Reece (Jeri Ryan) at "her favorite restaurant." Despite its success, the restaurant closed in December 2010.

Ryan and Émé married in the Loire Valley, France, on June 16, 2007. On September 7, 2007, Ryan announced that she and Émé were expecting their first child together, a daughter, in March 2008. On March 20, 2008, Ryan gave birth to daughter Gisele Émé in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography/Television

1991 Nightmare in Columbia County Dawn Elizabeth Smith Television movie

Alternate title: Victim of Beauty 

1992 Flash III: Deadly Nightshade Felicia Kane Alternate title: The Flash 3: Deadly Nightshade 

1999 Men Cry Bullets Lydia  

2000 Last Man, TheThe Last Man Sarah  

2000 Disney's The Kid Larry King guest  

2000 Dracula 2000 Valerie Sharpe Alternate title: Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000 

2003 Down With Love Gwendolyn  

2010 Mortal Kombat: Rebirth Sonya Blade  

2010 Dead Lines Sophie Fyne  

2010 Secrets in the Walls Rachel Easton Television movie 

Year Show Role Notes 

Television 1991 Who's the Boss? Pam  

1991 Flash, TheThe Flash Felicia Kane  

1991 Top of the Heap Tyler  

1991 Nurses Lisa  

1991 Reasonable Doubts Rachel Beckwith  

1992 Just Deserts Nicole  

1993 Jackie Thomas Show, TheThe Jackie Thomas Show Pauline Yardley  

1993 Matlock: The Fatal Seduction Carrie Locke  

1994 Time Trax Lauren Sanders  

1995 Murder, Jeri Ryan Wrote Maura  

1995 Charlie Grace Claire  

1996 Client, TheThe Client Jennifer  

1996 Melrose Place Valerie Madison  

1996 Diagnosis: Murder Melissa Farnes  

1996 Pier 66 Beth Saunders  

1997 Dark Skies Juliet Stewart Regular: 8 episodes 

1997–2001 Star Trek: Voyager Seven of Nine Main character: 103 episodes 

1999 Sentinel, TheThe Sentinel Alexis Barnes  

1999 Dilbert Seven of Nine alarm clock  

2001–2004 Boston Public Ronnie Cooke Main character: 59 episodes 

2004 Sudbury Gillian Owens  

2004–2005, 2011 Two and a Half Men Sherri  

2005 O.C., TheThe O.C. Charlotte Morgan 7 episodes 

2005 Commuters, TheThe Commuters Anne  

2006 Boston Legal Courtney Reese  

2006–2008 Shark Jessica Devlin Regular: 36 episodes 

2009 Law & Order: SVU Patrice Larue  

2009 Iron Chef America Herself/guest judge 1 episode 

From 2009 Leverage Tara 7 episodes 

2010 Psych Dr. Kim Phoenix Guest star 

2011 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Sonya Blade  

2011 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Naomi Halloran Special guest star 

2011-present Body of Proof Kate Murphy Main cast 

2011 Warehouse 13 Major Amanda Lattimer 1 episode 

Computer Games 

Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force (As of version 1.2)  — Seven of Nine, May 4, 2001 

Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force Expansion Pack — Seven of Nine, May 9, 2001 

Notable awards and nominations1998 Nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actress for her role in Star Trek: Voyager 

1999 Nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actress for her role in Star Trek: Voyager 

1999 Won Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series—Drama for her role in Star Trek: Voyager 

2000 Nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Supporting Actress for her role in Star Trek: Voyager 

2001 Won Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television for her role in Star Trek: Voyager