Jeri Ryan Biography

Jeri Lynn Ryan (born February 22, 1968) is an American actress best known for her roles as the liberated ("de-assimilated") Borg, Seven of Nine, on Star Trek: Voyager (1997"2001) and Veronica "Ronnie" Cooke on Boston Public (2001"04). She was a regular on the science fiction series Dark Skies (1997) and the legal drama series Shark (2006"08). From 2011 to 2013, she starred as Dr. Kate Murphy in the ABC drama series Body of Proof and in 2009 she guest starred as Tara Cole on Leverage.

Early life

Ryan was born Jeri Lynn Zimmermann 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. She 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. She 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. She was the third runner-up in the 1990 Miss America Pageant, winning the preliminary swimsuit competition. She graduated from Northwestern in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre.

Career

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

Her big break came when she won a regular role as the extraterrestrial investigator Juliet Stuart on the television series Dark Skies. The series 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, wearing her now-iconic silver formfitting catsuit uniform, ratings increased 60%. She appeared in Wes Craven's Dracula 2000. After Voyager ended in 2001, Ryan joined the cast of Boston Public in the role of Veronica "Ronnie" Cooke, a frustrated lawyer who quits the bar to become a high-school teacher. The series' producer, David E. Kelley, wrote the role specifically for her. The series ended in 2004.

Ryan appeared in the romantic comedy 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 Lions Gate Entertainment.

In 2005, she had a role in a pilot called Commuters, a suburban big city version of Desperate Housewives. She 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 series 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.

She guest starred 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 a grifter named Tara Cole, to fill in while series regular Gina Bellman (Sophie) was on maternity leave.

She was in the Kevin Tancharoen-directed short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth as Sonya Blade. Although originally a film, it marketed as a web series, with Episode 1 previews scheduled to appear online in June 2010. The web series, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, officially launched in March 2011.

Ryan was 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 series, most recently on the Syfy series Warehouse 13 as United States Marine Major Amanda Lattimer, ex-wife of the series' male lead character Pete 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, 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 reversed the decision to seal the papers in the best interest of the child. It was revealed that six years earlier, 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.

According to statements she has made in interviews, Ryan's avocation 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 "?mé at a chef's charity event. The two eventually began a relationship, and "?mé 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 "?mé"?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 "?mé 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 "?mé married in the Loire Valley, France, on June 16, 2007. On September 7, 2007, Ryan announced that she and "?mé were expecting their first child together, a daughter, in March 2008. On March 2, 2008, Ryan gave birth to daughter Gisele "?mé in Los Angeles, California.

Phil Plait, owner of the Bad Astronomy blog and devoted Star Trek fan, has described Ryan as "a really huge science nerd".

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
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
1993	In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco	Rebecca	Television movie
1999	Men Cry Bullets	Lydia
2000	'	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	Deadline	Sophie Fyne
2010	Secrets in the Walls	Rachel Easton	Television movie

Television

Year	Show	Role	Notes
1991	Who's the Boss?	Pam	Episode: "The Unsinkable Tony Micelli"
1991	'	Felicia Kane	Episode: "The Deadly Nightshade"
1991	Top of the Heap	Tyler	Episode: "The Marrying Guy"
1991	Nurses	Lisa	Episode: "Mother, Jugs, and Zach"
1991	Reasonable Doubts	Rachel Beckwith	Episode: "Graduation Day"
1992	Just Deserts	Nicole	Television movie
1993	'	Pauline Yardley	Episode: "Jackie and the Model"
1993	Matlock: The Fatal Seduction	Carrie Locke	2 episodes
1994	Time Trax	Lauren Sanders	Episode: "Out for Blood"
1995	Murder, She Wrote	Maura	Episode: "Death n' Denial"
1995	Charlie Grace	Claire	Episode: "Designer Knock-Off"
1996	'	Jennifer	Episode: "The Morning After"
1996	Melrose Place	Valerie Madison	2 episodes
1996	Diagnosis: Murder	Melissa Farnes	Episode: "Murder by the Book"
1996	Pier 66	Beth Saunders	Television movie
1997	Dark Skies	Juliet Stewart	8 episodes
1997"2001	Star Trek: Voyager	Seven of Nine	103 episodes Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television Satellite Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama Nominated-Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television (1998"2000)
1999	'	Alexis Barnes	2 episodes
1999	Dilbert	Seven of Nine alarm clock	Episode: "The Gift"
2001"2004	Boston Public	Ronnie Cooke	59 episodes
2004"2011	Two and a Half Men	Sherri	3 episodes
2005	'	Charlotte Morgan	7 episodes
2005	'	Anne	Television movie
2006	Boston Legal	Courtney Reese	2 episodes
2006"2008	Shark	Jessica Devlin	38 episodes
2009	Law & Order: SVU	Patrice Larue	3 episodes
2009	Iron Chef America	Herself/guest judge	Judge
2009-2011	Leverage	Tara	7 episodes
2010	Psych	Dr. Kim Phoenix	Episode: "The Head, the Tail, and the Whole Damn Episode"
2011	Mortal Kombat: Legacy	Sonya Blade	2 episodes
2011	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Naomi Halloran	Episode: "Boots on the Ground"
2011-2012	Warehouse 13	Major Amanda Lattimer	2 episodes
2011"2013	Body of Proof	Kate Murphy	39 episodes

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 nominations

• 1998 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