Jenna Lee Dewan (born December 3, 1980) is a dancer and actress from the United States. She began her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson and later worked with Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Missy Elliott, among others.
She is best recognized for playing Nora Clark in the 2006 film Step Up. She has also had recurring roles on the FX series American Horror Story: Asylum and the short-lived NBC sitcom The Playboy Club. She played Freya Beauchamp on Lifetime’s Witches of East End, Lucy Lane on The CW’s Supergirl and Superman & Lois, and Joanna on Netflix’s Soundtrack.
Dewan has hosted the reality shows World of Dance and Flirty Dancing, as well as judging Come Dance with Me. She now appears on ABC’s The Rookie as Bailey. She also appeared on the FOX medical drama The Resident.
Jenna Dewan Early Years
Dewan was born in Hartford, Connecticut on December 3, 1980, the daughter of Nancy Smith (née Bursch) and Darryll Dewan, a running back for the 1972 Notre Dame football team. Her father is of Lebanese and Polish ancestry, while her mother is of German and English background.
Dewan moved frequently as a child, stating in an interview that she had lived in seven places before the seventh grade. Dewan was a varsity cheerleader while attending Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson, Maryland.
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In Grapevine, Texas, she transferred to Grapevine High School. She was also a varsity cheerleader at the school and was crowned prom queen her senior year. She attended the University of Southern California and was a member of Pi Beta Phi’s California Gamma chapter.
Jenna Dewan Career
Dewan made her debut in Janet Jackson’s “Doesn’t Really Matter” video in 2000, followed by “All for You” and the All for You Tour in 2001. Working with Jackson aided her career, allowing her to eventually collaborate with many other musicians and providing her with the experience required to co-star in the dance film Step Up.
Dewan modeled for the dancewear brand Danskin in a campaign and photo session in 2016 that captured and highlighted her agility as a dancer. Dewan co-starred in Step Up with Channing Tatum in 2006, and she also appeared in Take the Lead that year.
Dewan appeared in the Lifetime made-for-television film Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal in August 2008, which follows five rule-breaking teenagers. She played the disciplinarian Coach Emma Carr. She co-starred with Rob Schneider in the straight-to-DVD comedy American Virgin in November 2009.
Dewan was cast in the NBC pilot The Playboy Club in March 2011. NBC picked up the series for a full season in May 2011. In 1961, she played Bunny Janie, a daring Playboy bunny who works at a Playboy Club in Chicago. The series opened to 5.2 million viewers on September 19 and received mixed reviews from reviewers. In October 2011, NBC canceled the series after only three episodes due to low ratings.
Dewan appeared in the film The Jerk Theory in November 2011. This was first made available in Germany in 2009. In November 2011, it was released in the United States.
Dewan co-starred in the romantic comedy film 10 Years with her then-husband Channing Tatum, who also co-produced the film. The movie came out on September 14, 2012. She played Teresa Morrison in American Horror Story: Asylum, the second season of the horror television series, the same year.
Dewan debuted as Freya Beauchamp, one of the main characters, in the Lifetime series Witches of East End in 2013. She first appeared as Lucy Lane in the CBS/CW series Supergirl in late 2015, and she repeated the character in its spinoff Superman & Lois. She also appeared in an episode of FOX’s The Resident. The Wedding Year, Berlin, I Love You, and Soundtrack is among Dewan’s planned projects.
In the third season of ABC’s The Rookie, she was cast as Bailey and was upgraded to series regular in the fourth season. Dewan appears on the television show Seatbelt Psychic in 2018 and receives a terrifying reading from the famed medium Thomas John.
Dewan co-founded 33andOut Productions with his pals Reid Carolin, Adam Martingano, Brett Rodriguez, and Channing Tatum. Their debut project, Earth Made of Glass, follows Rwandan President Paul Kagame and genocide victim Jean-Pierre Sagahutu.
Jenna Dewan Husband
Dewan began dating actor Channing Tatum in 2006 after meeting on the set of their film Step Up. On July 11, 2009, they married in Malibu, California. They have a daughter who was born in 2013. The couple announced their separation on April 2, 2018.
Dewan filed for divorce from Tatum six months later. In November 2019, their divorce was completed. Dewan’s relationship with actor Steve Kazee was announced in October 2018. She and Kazee confirmed their engagement in February 2020. They have one son, who will be born in 2020. Dewan is a vegan and an animal rights activist. PETA named her one of the three “Sexiest Vegans” of 2017.