Jennifer Beals (born December 19, 1963) is an American film actress and former teen model. She is known for her roles as Alexandra "Alex" Owens in the 1983 film Flashdance and as Bette Porter on the lesbian-themed drama series The L Word. She has appeared in more than 50 movies.
Beals appeared in Flashdance (1983) while a freshman at Yale studying American literature. While at Yale, she also starred in Franc Roddam's Bride, The (1985/I). She married independent filmmaker Alexandre Rockwell in the mid 80s, and has appeared in several of his films. Most notably, she starred in his In the Soup (1992), which won the 1992 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Deauville Film Festival.
