Jennifer Mary Elfman (née Butala, born 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as Dharma on the

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 ...

sitcom ''

Dharma & Greg ''Dharma & Greg'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1997, until April 30, 2002, for 119 episodes over five seasons. The show starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a ...

'' (1997–2002), for which she received the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy is a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivere ...

in 1999, and three nominations for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emmy Awards, leading actresses in comedy have competed alone. However, these comedic performance ...

. After making her film debut in ''

Grosse Pointe Blank ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' is a 1997 American black comedy action film directed by George Armitage from a screenplay by Tom Jankiewicz, D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink and John Cusack. It stars Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin and Dan Aykroyd and follo ...

'' (1997), she has appeared in ''

Krippendorf's Tribe ''Krippendorf's Tribe'' is a 1998 American comedy film directed by Todd Holland and based on Frank Parkin's 1985 novel of the same name. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, Jenna Elfman, Natasha Lyonne, and Lily Tomlin. Its plot follows Professo ...

'' (1998), ''

Dr. Dolittle Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in the ...

'' (1998), ''

EDtv ''EDtv'' is a 1999 American satirical comedy film directed by Ron Howard. An adaptation of the Quebecois film ''Louis 19, King of the Airwaves (Louis 19, le roi des ondes)'' (1994), it stars Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, ...

'' (1999), ''

Keeping the Faith ''Keeping the Faith'' is a 2000 American romantic comedy film written by Stuart Blumberg, and starring Ben Stiller, Edward Norton (in his directorial debut), Jenna Elfman, Eli Wallach, and Anne Bancroft. This film was released by Touchstone Pi ...

'' (2000), '' Town & Country'' (2001), '' Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' (2003), ''

Clifford's Really Big Movie ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' is a 2004 American animated adventure comedy film based on the PBS Kids TV series ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'', itself an adaptation of the book series of the same name by Norman Bridwell. This film was directed b ...

'' (2004), and ''

Big Stone Gap Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census. History The community was formerly kno ...

'' (2014). Elfman has also played leading roles on other television comedies, including ''

Courting Alex ''Courting Alex'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from January 23 to March 29, 2006, and was a vehicle for Jenna Elfman of ''Dharma & Greg'' fame. The series was based on the British sitcom ''According to Bex''. Elfman portrays Alex Rose ...

'' (2006), '' Accidentally on Purpose'' (2009–2010), '' 1600 Penn'' (2012–2013), ''

Growing Up Fisher ''Growing Up Fisher'' is an American sitcom that began airing mid-season on NBC as part of the 2013–14 United States network television schedule. The semi-autobiographical single camera series was created by D. J. Nash. On January 10, 2014, ...

'' (2014), and ''

Imaginary Mary ''Imaginary Mary'' is an American live-action/animated fantasy sitcom television series created by Adam F. Goldberg, David Guarascio and Patrick Osborne that aired on ABC from March 29 to May 30, 2017. The series is executive produced by the c ...

'' (2017). She also had a recurring role on the FX legal drama ''

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

'' in 2012, and has been a series regular on the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

horror drama series '' Fear the Walking Dead'' since 2018.

Early life

Elfman was born Jennifer Mary Butala in Los Angeles, California. She was the youngest of three children born to homemaker Sue Butala (née Grace) and Richard Butala, a

Hughes Aircraft The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting p ...

executive. Her paternal uncle is

Tony Butala Anthony Francis Butala (born November 20, 1940) is an American singer.

, lead singer of the American vocal trio

The Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...

since 1958. She is of Croatian ancestry on her father's side and was raised

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. Elfman attended high school at St. Genevieve High School in the San Fernando Valley for a year, before eventually graduating at the

Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA, ) is a visual and performing arts high school located on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The school was ...

; she then attended college at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

(CSUN). She trained in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

from age 5, but later gave it up when a tendon separated from bone. She studied at the Westside School of Ballet, receiving a full scholarship.

Career

Elfman began her professional career as a dancer, appearing in music videos for

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

("Halo", 1990),

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

("Black Lodge", 1993), and

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song "Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", "Baby D ...

Somebody's Crying "Somebody's Crying" is a song by American musician Chris Isaak from his fifth album, '' Forever Blue''. The song was released as the album's first single on May 15, 1995, reaching number 45 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and becoming a top-five ...

", 1995), and touring with the rock band

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

on their 1994 tour as a "Legs Girl". After appearing in television commercials, Elfman was cast in the short-lived 1996 American sitcom ''

Townies ''Townies'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September to December 1996. Created by Matthew Carlson, the series stars Molly Ringwald, Jenna Elfman, and Lauren Graham. Synopsis Set in Gloucester, Massachusetts, ''Townies'' follows ...

'' on

. In 1997, Elfman was cast in ''

'' on ABC as Dharma Freedom Finkelstein Montgomery. The show ran for five seasons until its cancellation in 2002. In 2012, Elfman and her husband Bodhi started their podcast, ''Kicking and Screaming by Jenna and Bodhi Elfman''. In 2013, Elfman appeared in two

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 ...

comedy series, '' 1600 Penn'' and ''

'', which were each cancelled after a single season. In 2016, Elfman was cast in the

comedy series ''

''. Like ''1600 Penn'' and ''Growing Up Fisher'', the series was cancelled after its first season.

Personal life

In February 1991, she met actor Bodhi Pine Elfman (né Saboff) during an audition for a Sprite commercial. Four years later, they were married on February 18, 1995. Bodhi is of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent, and Jenna was raised Catholic. When they met, he was a practicing

Scientologist Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

. Jenna became a Scientologist after her husband introduced her to its teachings.

Scientology

Elfman is a member of the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

. In 2005, she appeared at the Scientology-backed

Citizens Commission on Human Rights The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is a nonprofit organization established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its stated mission is to "eradicate ...

' " Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" museum grand opening, and she and husband Bodhi are listed on the organization's website as members of the board of advisers from the arts, entertainment, and media community. On May 24, 2006, she was the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Hero Award event in participation with the Scientology-affiliated groups

Youth for Human Rights International Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is an American non-profit organization. Founded and largely staffed and financed by Scientologists, its stated mission is "To teach youth around the globe about human rights, thus helping them to become ...

and Artists for Human Rights (AFHR), an organization formed with the purpose of bringing artists together with the common cause of raising awareness of human rights around the world. On March 27, 2008, she and actor

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...

co-hosted the Scientology-affiliated New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project Charity Event at Geisha House in Hollywood.

Fundraising activities

Elfman participated in fundraising activities, including donating an hour of her time for auction, donating a print of her lips, participating in a telethon fundraiser, hosting a comedy show, and asking for charity donations instead of birthday presents. Elfman participated in awareness-raising initiatives, including modeling for a fashion show, reading to schoolchildren as part of the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

Read Across America program, and hosting a party in her home to raise awareness for causes headed by the

Environmental Working Group The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is an American activist group that specializes in research and advocacy in the areas of agricultural subsidies, toxic chemicals, drinking water pollutants, and corporate accountability. EWG is a nonprofit ...

. Elfman is on the board of directors of the Dizzy Feet Foundation.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elfman, Jenna 1971 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American film producers American people of Croatian descent American people of Danish descent American television actresses Television producers from California American women television producers Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners California State University, Northridge alumni

Jenna Jenna is a female given name. In the English-speaking world it is a variation of Jenny, which is itself a diminutive of Jane, Janet, Jennifer and is often used as a name in its own right.Katie Martin-Doyle, ''The Treasury of Baby Names'', Worth Pre ...

American Scientologists American women podcasters American podcasters Converts to Scientology from Roman Catholicism Los Angeles County High School for the Arts alumni American women film producers