Jeri Ryan

Jeri Ryan Introduction

Geeks around the world probably only know Jeri Ryan as the character Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager.

Jeri Ryan Life Story

Jeri was born in Munich, West Germany, the daughter of a Master Sergeant in the United States Army. She grew up on army posts in Germany, Kansas, Maryland, Hawaii, Georgia, and Texas. When she was eleven, her father retired from the Army and the family settled in Paducah, Kentucky. She graduated from high school in 1986, and then attended Northwestern University where she graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre.

In 1989, Ryan was chosen Miss Illinois. She was the third runner-up in the 1990 Miss America Pageant, winning the preliminary swimsuit competition.

After college, she pursued acting full-time in Los Angeles. Before playing the world's sexiest Borg, Jeri Ryan's credits include guest appearances on Who's the Boss, Matlock and Melrose Place. In 1997, Ryan was offered the role of Seven of Nine to help boost Voyager's sagging sex-appeal and ratings. It worked, despite a small outcry from fans who claimed the show focused too much on the sexy chick, and not enough on the rest of the crew, a sentiment also felt by the show's star Kate Mulgrew.

Nonetheless, Seven of Nine became a popular character, and appeared on seven covers of TV Guide during the show's 104 episode run. After leaving the world of Star Trek, producer David E. Kelly wrote a role specifically for Ryan in his show Boston Public, where she played lawyer-turned-teacher Ronnie Cooke. After the show was canceled in 2005, Ryan remained on the small screen, having long-running guest appearances on shows like The O.C., Two and a Half Men and was most recently seen on the show Shark.

Ryan's personal life was under much scrutiny after she divorced Republican senate hopeful Jack Ryan. During his campaign, Jack Ryan was asked to make his sealed divorce records public. In those records, Jeri claims Jack asked her to accompany him to sex clubs in New York, New Orleans and in Paris. Jeri described one of these clubs as having "cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling." In the divorce records Jeri accuses Jack of asking her to perform sexual acts in public. This, of course, ended Jack Ryan's political career. He withdrew from the Senate race in Illinois that was eventually won by Barack Obama in 2004. To think, we could have had a pervert as president…again.