Jenna Lee Dewan (; born December 3, 1980) is an American actress and dancer. She started her career as a

backup dancer A backup dancer also known as background dancer is a performer who dances with or behind the lead performers in a live musical act or in a music video. Their movements (especially where there are many moving together) improve the visual aesthetic ...

for

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, and later worked with artists including

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

, and

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

. She is known for her role as Nora Clark in the 2006 film '' Step Up''. She has also starred on the short-lived

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

series ''

The Playboy Club ''The Playboy Club'' is an American historical crime drama television series that aired on NBC from September 19 to October 3, 2011. Set in 1961, the series centers on the employees (known as Bunnies) of the original Playboy Club operating in ...

'' and had a recurring role on the FX series '' American Horror Story: Asylum''. She portrayed

Freya Beauchamp The following is a list of characters from the Lifetime supernatural drama ''Witches of East End'', based on the book of the same name by Melissa de la Cruz. The series centers on a family of immortal witches known as the Beauchamps: Joanna by J ...

on the

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

series ''

Witches of East End ''Witches of East End'' is a 2011 novel by author Melissa de la Cruz and the first entry in her ''Beauchamp Family'' series. It was published on June 21, 2011, by Hyperion Books and follows a family of Long Island witches struggling against dar ...

'',

Lucy Lane Lucy Lane is a fictional supporting character in DC Comics. She is the younger sister of Lois Lane, and one of several characters who have assumed the Superwoman identity. She was played by Maureen Teefy in the 1984 film ''Supergirl'' and Peyton ...

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

series ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'' and ''

Superman & Lois ''Superman & Lois'' is an American superhero drama television series developed for The CW by Todd Helbing and Greg Berlanti, based on the DC Comics characters Superman and Lois Lane, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Tyler Hoechlin and E ...

'' and Joanna in ''

Soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

'' on

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. Dewan has hosted the reality television shows ''

World of Dance World of Dance is a Southern California-based dance, fashion, music, and entertainment brand founded by David Gonzalez, Myron Marten, and Michael McGinn in 2008. It is the world's largest dance entertainment enterprise, elevating artists and bra ...

'' and ''

Flirty Dancing ''Flirty Dancing'' is an American dance reality television series created for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Based on the Channel 4 version in the United Kingdom, it is produced by Second Star, which produces the original, and All3Media, and debuted ...

'' and served as a judge on '' Come Dance with Me''. She currently stars as Bailey on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's '' The Rookie''. She also had a recurring role on the FOX medical drama '' The Resident''.

Early life

Dewan was born December 3, 1980 in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, the daughter of Nancy Smith (née Bursch) and Darryll Dewan, who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

on the 1972 Notre Dame football team. Her father is of Lebanese and Polish descent and her mother is of German and English ancestry. As a child, Dewan moved frequently; she mentioned in an interview that she lived in seven cities before reaching the seventh grade. While attending high school at Notre Dame Preparatory School in

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

, Dewan was a varsity cheerleader. She transferred to Grapevine High School in Grapevine, Texas. She was also a varsity cheerleader there and was voted prom queen during her senior year. She went to University of Southern California and was a member of the California Gamma chapter of Pi Beta Phi.

Career

Dancing

Dewan first appeared in

's "Doesn't Really Matter" video in 2000 and later in "All for You (Janet Jackson song), All for You" and the All for You Tour in 2001. She credits working with Jackson for aiding her career, allowing her to later work with many other artists and giving her the experience necessary to co-star in the dance film '' Step Up''. In 2016, Dewan modeled as the face of dancewear manufacturer Iconix Brand Group, Danskin in a campaign and photo shoot that captured and featured her athleticism as a dancer.

Acting

In 2006, Dewan co-starred with Channing Tatum in '' Step Up'', as well as starring in ''Take the Lead'' that same year. In August 2008, Dewan starred in the

made-for-television film ''Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal'' which follows five rule-breaking teens. She portrayed the role of disciplinarian Coach Emma Carr. In November 2009, she appeared in the straight-to-DVD comedy ''American Virgin (2009 film), American Virgin'' alongside Rob Schneider. In March 2011, Dewan was cast in the

pilot of ''

''. In May 2011, NBC picked up the series for a full season. She portrayed the role of Bunny Janie, a provocative Playboy bunny who works at a Playboy Club in Chicago in 1961. The series premiered on September 19 to 5.2 million viewers with mixed reviews from critics. Due to low ratings, NBC cancelled the series after just three episodes in October 2011. In November 2011, Dewan starred in the film ''The Jerk Theory''. This was first released in Germany in 2009. It was later released in the United States in November 2011. Dewan appeared in the romantic-comedy film ''10 Years (2011 film), 10 Years'', alongside her then-husband Channing Tatum, who also co-produced. The film was released on September 14, 2012. That same year, she appeared as Teresa Morrison in '' American Horror Story: Asylum'', the second season of the horror television series. In 2013, Dewan began starring in the

series ''Witches of East End'' as

, one of the lead characters. In late 2015, she began a recurring role in the CBS/CW series ''

'' as

, and reprised the role in its spinoff ''

.'' She also had a recurring role in FOX's The Resident. Dewan's upcoming projects include ''The Wedding Year'', ''Berlin, I Love You'' and ''

''. She joined the cast of

's '' The Rookie'' as Bailey in its third season, and was promoted to series regular in its fourth season. In 2018, Dewan makes an appearance on the television series ''Seatbelt Psychic'' and receives a spooky reading from the famous medium Thomas John (medium), Thomas John.

33andOut Productions

Along with friends Reid Carolin, Adam Martingano, Brett Rodriguez and Channing Tatum, Dewan started a production company called 33andOut Productions. Their first production is a documentary called ''Earth Made of Glass'' that follows Rwandan President Paul Kagame and genocide survivor Jean-Pierre Sagahutu. It premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. Dewan and Tatum collaborated in a YouTube Premium/Starz television series ''Step Up (TV series), Step Up'', where they executive produced together.

Personal life

In 2006, Dewan started dating actor Channing Tatum after meeting on the set of their film '' Step Up''. They married on July 11, 2009, in Malibu, California. They have one daughter, born in 2013. On April 2, 2018, the couple announced that they were separating. Six months later, Dewan filed for divorce from Tatum. Their divorce was finalized in November 2019. In October 2018, it was confirmed that Dewan was in a relationship with actor Steve Kazee. In February 2020, she and Kazee announced their engagement. They have one son, born in 2020. Dewan is an animal rights activist and a vegan. PETA declared her to be one of three "Sexiest Vegans" of 2017.Daisy Murray, "PETA's 'Sexiest Vegan' List Is In, And Not Just One, But Three Women Won,"
ELLE
', July 10, 2017.

Filmography

Film

Television

Producer

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dewan, Jenna 1980 births Living people 21st-century American actresses American documentary film producers American female dancers American film actresses Film producers from Texas American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Lebanese descent American people of Polish descent American people of Syrian descent American television actresses American women in business Actresses from Hartford, Connecticut Actresses from Texas Dancers from Texas People from Grapevine, Texas University of Southern California alumni Film producers from Connecticut American women documentary filmmakers