Biography
Who is Jeri Ryan?
Early life and education
Jeri Ryan was born Jeri Lynn Zimmermann on February 22, 1968, in Munich, West Germany. Her father, Gerhard Florian Zimmermann, served as a master sergeant in the U.S. Army, while her mother, Sharon, worked as a social worker. Because of her father's military career, she lived on various Army bases across Kansas, Maryland, Hawaii, Georgia, and Texas.
After her father retired when she was 11, the family moved to Paducah, Kentucky. She attended Lone Oak High School and graduated in 1986 as a National Merit Scholar. Later, she studied at Northwestern University, where she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority. She earned a bachelor's degree in theatre from the Northwestern University School of Communication in 1990.
Acting career highlights
Following her time at university, Jeri moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. Her early television appearances included guest roles on shows like Who's the Boss?, Melrose Place, and Matlock. She also appeared in the science-fiction series Dark Skies as an investigator named Juliet Stuart. Before her major television breakthrough, she was honored as Miss Illinois 1989 and placed as the third runner-up in the Miss America 1990 pageant.
Her most prominent role came in 1997 when she joined the cast of Star Trek: Voyager as the Borg drone Seven of Nine. This role helped increase the series' ratings by 60 percent during her tenure. She later reprised this famous character in the series Star Trek: Picard. Other well-known television credits include roles in Boston Public, Shark, Body of Proof, and the Amazon Prime series Bosch.
Personal life and restaurant
Jeri married Jack Ryan on June 15, 1991, in Wilmette, Illinois. The couple had a son together before divorcing on August 27, 1999. During a political campaign involving her former husband, Jeri was involved in a legal dispute regarding the release of custody records. She also faced a period of harassment in 2000 involving a stalker who was later convicted of making threats.
She later entered a relationship with French chef Christophe Émé. In 2005, the pair opened a French restaurant called Ortolan on Third Street in Los Angeles. They married in the Loire Valley, France, on June 16, 2007. Although the restaurant was featured in the show Boston Legal, it eventually closed in December 2010 due to the Great Recession. Jeri and Émé have a daughter who was born in Los Angeles in 2008.
Birthday and age
Jeri Ryan was born on February 22, 1968, which makes Jeri 58 years old today. That birthday falls under the Pisces sign. Jeri shares the date with 33 other famous people.
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