Jeri Ryan was born Jeri Lynn Zimmerman on February 22, 1968 in Munich, West Germany, to Gerhard Florian Zimmerman, a Master Sergeant in the United States Army, and his wife Sharon, a social worker. She and her older brother Mark grew up on several military bases, including Kansas, Maryland, Hawaii, Georgia and Texas. Finally, at age 11, her father retired from the Army and her family settled down in Paducah, Kentucky. After graduating from Lone Oak High School in 1986, she attended Northwestern University Chicago as a National Merit Scholar. While studying there, she won a number of beauty contests . Jeri Ryan resides in an area of Los Angeles, California with her husband chef Christophe Eme, her son Alex and daughter Gisele.
Miss Illinois 1989. Was fourth in the 1990 Miss America Pageant and won the swimsuit competition.
Attended and graduated from Lone Oak High School in Paducah, Kentucky (as a National Merit Scholar).
Received her Bachelor of Science degree in Theatre from Northwestern University. Was a Beta Chapter member of Alpha Phi Sorority.
Daughter of Gerhard Florian "Jeri" and Sharon Zimmerman. She has an older brother: Mark Zimmerman. Named after her father, a Master Sergeant in the United States Army.
Turned down a cameo in Star Trek: Nemesis because of her busy schedule on "Boston Public" . The cameo was subsequently given to her "Star Trek: Voyager" castmate Kate Mulgrew.
Turned down the role of Seven of Nine on "Star Trek: Voyager" four times. She only accepted the role after repeated lobbying by executive producer Jeri Taylor.
Has appeared on Jeopardy! Celebrity Invitational on April 29, 1998. Jeri played for St. Jude Medical Center.
Her ex-husband, Jack Ryan, was running for Senator in Illinois, but dropped out of the race when allegations in their divorce proceedings were made public.
Ranked #65 in Stuff magazines "102 Sexiest Women in the World".
Has appeared in episodes of two different series titled "The Gift": "Star Trek: Voyager" {The Gift (#4.2)} and "Dilbert" {The Gift (#2.1)} .
Restaurant scenes in "Boston Legal" {Spring Fever } were filmed in Ryans restaurant Ortolan in Los Angeles, California.
Her husband, Christophe Eme , is a French chef who owns the restaurant Ortolan. Ortolan is located on Third Street in Los Angeles, California. The restaurant serves French food with a modern interpretation.
Has appeared in underwear along with Yasmine Bleeth , Alyssa Milano , Melissa Joan Hart , Garcelle Beauvais , Carmen Electra , Peta Wilson and Jamie Luner on the cover and inside the October 1997 issue of Details magazine.
Has appeared in a photo shoot for a magazine opposite Lucy Lawless , both in costume as Seven of Nine and Xena. Ryans series "Star Trek: Voyager" and Lucys series "Xena: Warrior Princess" both began in 1995 and ended in 2001.
Her favorite tearjerker movie is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial . Has watched the movie several times and cried every time.
Her huge fans, like WWE wrestler Chris Jericho s huge fans, call themselves "The Jeri-holics".
Was in the running for the role of Mystique in X-Men , which went to Rebecca Romijn.
Gave birth to her first child at age 26, a son Alex Ryan on August 15, 1994. Childs father is her ex-husband, John Clemens "Jack" Ryan.
Gave birth to her second child at age 40, a daughter Gisele Lynn Eme on March 2, 2008. Childs father is her husband, Christophe Eme.
She was awarded the 2001 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television as Seven of Nine on "Star Trek: Voyager" .
[on her Seven of Nine costume] Initially, I would stay in the costume,much longer than I ended up staying in it, because it takes about,twenty minutes to get into. Someone has to dress me and undress me.
