Jennifer Mary Butala aka Jenna biography

Real biography: TV actress Jenna Elfman is as pretty as she is tall.

Life Story

Chances are, you girlfriend made you watch an episode or two of Dharma and Greg, and you couldn't help but notice the leggy blonde Jenna Elfman (AKA Dharma). Elfman was born in Los Angeles, and like so many LA children, she grew up with hopes of being a star. Though her first love wasn't acting, but dancing. Elfman is a classically trained ballerina, but was forced to give up dance at the age of 16 due to a childhood ankle injury.

Elfman decided to focus on acting, and appeared in numerous commercials before landing guest roles on shows such as Rosanne (Sarah Chalke) and NYPD Blue. She also appeared in the Molly Ringwald sit-com Townies, and when producers realized Elfman stole the show, they offered Elfman a show of her own, Dharma and Greg, in 1996. The show ended in 2002, and earned Elfman two Emmy nominations and one Golden Globe win. Elfman also hosted the 1999 Emmy Awards with David Hyde-Pierce.

After the show ended, Elfman tried her hand at film, appearing in movies such as EDtv (Elizabeth Hurley),Keeping the Faith and the awful comedy Krippendorf's Tribe. Elfman attempted to return to TV in 2006 with a mid-season replacement show Courting Alex, but the show was quickly canceled.

A follower of Scientology, Elfman is a friend of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and was a guest at their wedding in Italy.