Jeri Ryan

Jeri Lynn Ryan (née Zimmermann; born February 22, 1968) is an American actress best known for her role as the former Borg drone Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager (1997–2001), for which she was nominated four times for a Saturn Award and won in 2001.

Ryan was born Jeri Lynn Zimmermann on February 22, 1968, in Munich, West Germany, the daughter of Gerhard Florian "Jerry" Zimmermann, a master sergeant in the U.S. Army, and his wife Sharon, a social worker.

She has one older brother, Mark.

Ryan grew up on Army posts in Kansas, Maryland, Hawaii, Georgia and Texas.

When she was 11, her father retired from the Army and the family settled in Paducah, Kentucky.

She graduated from Lone Oak High School in 1986 as a National Merit Scholar, and then attended Northwestern University, where she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.

In 1989, Ryan was chosen as Miss Illinois.

She graduated from Northwestern in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in theatre.

She competed in the Miss America 1990 pageant, where she finished as third runner-up.

After college, Ryan pursued acting full-time in Los Angeles.

She made her acting debut in Who's the Boss?, and followed that with guest-starring roles in television series such as Melrose Place, Matlock, and The Sentinel as well as TV movies.

She had a regular role as extraterrestrial investigator Juliet Stuart on the television series Dark Skies.

It was cancelled after one season, but the role drew the attention of the science-fiction community.

In 1990, while dealing blackjack at a charity event, Ryan met investment banker and future Republican political candidate Jack Ryan.

In 1997, Ryan was chosen for a role on the science fiction series Star Trek: Voyager as Seven of Nine, a Borg drone who was freed from the Borg's collective consciousness.

When she joined the cast in season four, ratings increased 60%.

She appeared in Wes Craven's Dracula 2000.

She is also known for her role as Veronica "Ronnie" Cooke on Boston Public (2001–2004), and as a regular on the science fiction series Dark Skies (1997) and the legal drama series Shark (2006–2008).

After Voyager ended in 2001, Ryan joined the cast of Boston Public as Veronica "Ronnie" Cooke, a frustrated lawyer who becomes a high school teacher.

David E. Kelley, the series' producer, wrote the role specifically for her.

The series ended in 2004.

Ryan appeared in the romantic-comedy film Down with Love and as Lydia in the independent film Men Cry Bullets. Her first film lead was in The Last Man as the last woman left on Earth.

In 2005 she had a role in a TV pilot titled Commuters, a suburban version of Desperate Housewives.

She had a recurring role as Charlotte Morgan on The O.C. in 2005; and she guest-starred as Courtney Reece on David E. Kelley's Boston Legal in 2006.

Ryan then co-starred in the legal drama Shark as Los Angeles County District Attorney Jessica Devlin alongside series lead James Woods, but she did not return for episodes aired after the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike; she was credited in all four episodes.

The series did not air between January 27 and April 29, 2008.

CBS cancelled the broadcast of the series after its season-two finale, May 20, 2008.

In 2009 she guest-starred on the series Leverage as Tara Cole.

She guest-starred as defense attorney Patrice La Rue on the April 7, 2009, episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, her first role since giving birth to her daughter Gisele.

Ryan next had a seven-episode role on the drama Leverage in season 2 as a grifter named Tara Cole, filling in while series regular Gina Bellman (Sophie) was on maternity leave.

She was in Kevin Tancharoen's short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth as Sonya Blade.

Although originally a film, it was marketed as a web series, with previews scheduled to appear online in June 2010.

From 2011 to 2013, she starred as Dr. Kate Murphy in the ABC drama series Body of Proof, and from 2016 to 2019, she appeared as Veronica Allen on the Amazon Prime series Bosch.

The web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy officially launched in March 2011.

Ryan was a regular in the series Body of Proof, which premiered on March 29, 2011.

Ryan continued to appear in guest roles on genre television series, including the science fiction series Warehouse 13 as Marine Major Amanda Lattimer, ex-wife of the series' male lead character Pete Lattimer, in the episode "Queen for a Day".

She made a return guest appearance on the drama Leverage in season 4, episode 13 as grifter Tara Cole, in the episode "The Girls' Night Out Job".

She also appeared for a multi-episode arc in season 1 of the science fiction series Helix.

She was next seen in the series Star Trek: Picard, reprising her role as Seven of Nine.

She reprised her role as Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023), for which she won another Saturn Award.