Jenna Dewan Biography

JENNA DEWAN

Date of Birth: December 3, 1980

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Jenna Dewan and her family moved several times when she was a child, eventually settling down in Dallas. She started dancing when she was five and by the time she was 16, a Los Angeles talent agent had spotted her and asked her to call him if she ever decided to give Hollywood a try.

At 18, she moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California, and contacted the agent, who began sending her on auditions. When she booked an 18-month-long tour with Janet Jackson, she had to drop out of school. When the tour came to an end, she booked more gigs, dancing for music stars such as N'SYNC, Justin Timberlake and Ricky Martin. Her first TV appearance was as a background dancer for Pink at the American Music Awards. Despite her diminutive stature, Dewan also began to model for print ads, and eventually, landed acting jobs.

Following a guest appearance on Quintuplets and a Dark Shadows pilot for the WB that wasn't picked up, she made her film debut with a small role in an independent movie called Waterborne (2005) that played at festivals but was never released to theaters.

She then booked her first starring role as the title character in Tamara (2005). Dewan played an unpopular high school student who dies and is buried by her classmates, only to return to seek revenge. That was followed by a guest appearance on the sitcom Joey and a small role in Take the Lead (2006), starring Antonio Banderas.

Her biggest break to date came when she was cast as the female lead in Touchstone's major motion picture Step Up (2006), as a ballerina who is teamed up with a street dancer (played by Channing Tatum) at an elite school of the arts. She followed that up with a supporting role in the horror sequel The Grudge 2 (2006).

Dewan considers herself very spiritual and says the one item she can't leave home without are her crystals. In July 2009, she married her Step Up costar, Channing Tatum. They live in Southern California.

Filmography:

American Virgin (2009)
The Six Wives of Henry Lefay (2009)
Falling Awake (2009)
The Grudge 2 (2006)
Step Up (2006)
Take the Lead (2006)
Tamara (2005)
Waterborne (2005)