|
Elfman was born Jennifer Mary Butala
in Los Angeles, California, to Sue Grace, a homemaker, and Richard Wayne
Butala, a Hughes Aircraft executive. She attended the Los Angeles County
High School for the Arts as a dance major and graduated in 1989. Her uncle
is Tony Butala of The Lettermen. She studied with acting teacher Milton
Katselas at the Beverly Hills Playhouse before beginning her television
career.
She began as a professional dancer, then made a switch to acting in the
early 1990s. Elfman did extensive commercial work before landing her first
series jobs, making guest appearances in the 1995–1996 season on the ABC
series Roseanne, NYPD Blue, The Monroes, and Murder One, and the CBS
sitcom Almost Perfect. A role as a drug counselor in the NBC made-for-TV
movie Her Last Chance came in 1996 as well, before the charismatic actress
auspiciously landed a regular role as the boy-crazy Shannon, one of three
young working class waitresses in the Molly Ringwald sitcom vehicle
Townies. Although short-lived, Townies proved a big break for Elfman, who
impressed ABC executives with her scene-stealing turn and signed her own
sitcom deal before the last Townies episode aired.
This deal led to Elfman's best known role on the popular sitcom Dharma &
Greg, which ran on ABC from 1997 to 2002. She won a Golden Globe Award for
this role, and was nominated twice for an Emmy Award. In 1999 , she
co-hosted the Emmy Awards presentation with David Hyde Pierce.
In 2004 , Elfman produced and starred in a feature film called Touched. In
November 2005 , CBS announced that Elfman vehicle, Courting Alex would be
a midseason replacement, premiering in January 2006. It was announced in
May that the show did not get picked up, and was thus cancelled. However,
CBS immediately inked a new development deal with Elfman to create a
comedy vehicle for her, as reported in The Hollywood Reporter on June 2,
2006.
Elfman also starred in the movies Krippendorf's Tribe, EDtv, Looney Tunes:
Back in Action, and Keeping the Faith.
Elfman met her husband, actor Bodhi Elfman, at a Sprite commercial
audition in February of 1991. They married in 1995, making director
Richard Elfman her father-in-law and noted composer Danny Elfman her
uncle-in-law.
In 2005, Elfman appeared at the Church of Scientology-affiliated Citizens
Commission on Human Rights' controversial "Psychiatry: An Industry of
Death" museum grand opening and is described on the organization's website
as a supporter.
In May 2006, Jenna visited her high school alma mater to urge students to
set career goals and encourage them to persist in their chosen
professions.
In January 2007, Elfman and her husband announced they are expecting their
first child together. They are due to welcome a son in July.
Will Ferrell's site Funnyordie.com, aired a video "Mama Jams" of Elfman
and her husband. |
|
"Brothers & Sisters" ....
Lizzie Jones-Baker (1 episode, 2007)
- Game Night (2007) TV Episode .... Lizzie Jones-Baker
"Courting Alex" .... Alex Rose / ... (12 episodes, 2006)
- Alex Looks Out for Steven (2006) TV Episode .... Alex Rose
- You Compete Me (2006) TV Episode .... Alex Rose
- The Perfect Couple (2006) TV Episode .... Alex Rose
- Big Client (2006) TV Episode .... Alex Rose
- The Mattress (2006) TV Episode .... Alex Rose
(7 more)
Touched (2005/I) .... Angela Martin
What's Hip, Doc? (2005) (voice) .... Supermodel
Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004) (voice) .... Dorothy
"Two and a Half Men" .... Frankie (2 episodes, 2004)
- That Was Saliva, Alan (2004) TV Episode .... Frankie
- Round One to the Hot Crazy Chick (2004) TV Episode .... Frankie
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) .... Kate
... aka Looney Tunes Back in Action: The Movie (USA: DVD box title)
Obsessed (2002) (TV) .... Ellena Roberts
"Dharma & Greg" .... Dharma Finklestein Montgomery (119 episodes,
1997-2002)
- The Mamas and the Papas: Part 1 (2002) TV Episode .... Dharma
Finklestein Montgomery
- The Mamas and the Papas: Part 2 (2002) TV Episode .... Dharma
Finklestein Montgomery
- Tuesday's Child (2002) TV Episode .... Dharma Finklestein
Montgomery
- The Parent Trap (2002) TV Episode .... Dharma Finklestein
Montgomery
- The Tooth Is Out There (2002) TV Episode .... Dharma Finklestein
Montgomery
(114 more)
Town & Country (2001) .... Auburn
... aka Town and Country (Australia: TV title)
The Tangerine Bear (2000) (voice) .... Lorelei
CyberWorld (2000) (voice) .... Phig
Keeping the Faith (2000) .... Anna Riley
Edtv (1999) .... Shari
... aka Ed TV (USA: poster title)
Venus (1999) .... Venus
Anthrax: Return of the Killer B's Video Anthology (1999) (V) ....
Black Lodge video character
Doctor Dolittle (1998) (voice) .... Owl
Can't Hardly Wait (1998) (uncredited) .... The Angel
Krippendorf's Tribe (1998) .... Prof. Veronica Micelli
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) .... Tanya
"The Single Guy" .... Jordan (1 episode, 1997)
- Just Friends? (1997) TV Episode .... Jordan
"Townies" (1996) TV Series .... Shannon Canotis (unknown episodes)
Her Last Chance (1996) (TV) .... Leslie
"Almost Perfect" .... Becky Toll (1 episode, 1996)
- Being Fired Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry (1996) TV
Episode .... Becky Toll
"Murder One" .... Angela Scalese (1 episode, 1996)
- Chapter Seventeen (1996) TV Episode .... Angela Scalese
"NYPD Blue" .... Patty Snow (1 episode, 1996)
- The Nutty Confessor (1996) TV Episode .... Patty Snow
"Roseanne" .... Garland (1 episode, 1995)
- The Getaway, Almost (1995) TV Episode .... Garland
"The Monroes" .... Lily (1 episode, 1995)
- Bottom's Up (1995) TV Episode .... Lily
"Pointman" .... Mary Ellen (1 episode, 1995)
- Storm Warning (1995) TV Episode (as Jenna Butala) .... Mary Ellen
"The George Carlin Show" .... Psychedelic girl (1 episode, 1994)
- George Does a Bad Thing (1994) TV Episode (as Jenna Butala) ....
Psychedelic girl
Double Deception (1993) (TV) (as Jenna Butala) .... Lisa Majorski
"Freshman Dorm" .... Tina (1 episode, 1992)
- The Scarlett Letter (1992) TV Episode (as Jenna Butala) .... Tina
"Murder, She Wrote" .... Ballet Dancer in background (1 episode,
1992)
- Danse Diabolique (1992) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Ballet Dancer
in background
Strange Too (1990) (V) (uncredited) .... Tall Dancer in 'Halo' Video |
