Date of Birth

3 December 1980, Hartford, Connecticut, USA

Birth Name

Jenna Lee Dewan

Height

5' 2" (1.57 m)

Mini Biography

Jenna Dewan is an actress, former model, and dancer. She was born on December 3, 1980 in Hartford, Connecticut, to Nancy (Bursch) and Darryll Dewan. Her father is of half Syrian Lebanese and half Polish descent, and her mother has German, English, and Cornish ancestry. Jenna grew up in Grapevine, Texas and discovered a love for dancing at the age of five. She is a graduate of Grapevine High School and has also attended the University of Southern California, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Jenna was discovered by a dance agent and toured alongside some of the greatest in music entertainment, most notably Janet Jackson and Ricky Martin. She has also appeared in several music videos for artists such as Justin Timberlake, Mandy Moore and Missy Elliott. She has also appeared in several television sitcoms, including Quintuplets (2004), The Young and the Restless (1973) and Joey (2004). Jenna is most noted for her role as Nora Clark in the movie, Step Up (2006), in which she played an accomplished dancer. Jenna has a daughter with her ex-husband, actor Channing Tatum, and a son with her fiancé Steve Kazee.

Trivia

• Toured as a dancer on Sean 'Diddy' Combs's "We Invented the Remix" Tour and Janet Jackson's "All For You" World Tour.
• Her father's name is Darryll Dewan, her mother's name is Nancy Lee Bursch Smith, her step-dad is Claude Brooks Smith.
• Her father, Darryll Dewan, is of half Lebanese and half Polish ancestry, making Jenna 25% Lebanese and 25% Polish. Her grandparents were Evelyn (Ziemba), who was the daughter of Polish immigrants, and Emil Dewan, who was of Lebanese descent. On her mother's side, Jenna has German, Cornish, and English ancestry.
• Was to appear in a 2007 remake of Revenge of the Nerds (1984) starring Adam Brody but after three weeks of filming the project was canceled.
• Has a dog named "Meeka" with her husband Channing Tatum.
• Met her now ex-husband Channing Tatum on the set of Step Up (2006). They began dating shortly after filming had finished.
• (July 11, 2009) Married her boyfriend of 3 years Channing Tatum at Church Estates Vineyards in Malibu, California. The couple became engaged in early September 2008 in Maui.
• Has 2 children: daughter, Everly Tatum (b. May 31, 2013) with ex-husband, Channing Tatum & son, Callum Kazee (b. March 6, 2020) with fiancé, Steve Kazee.
• Was 3 months pregnant with her daughter Everly Tatum when she completed filming the pilot for Witches of East End (2013).
• Attended the University of Southern California, but did not graduate.
• Was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority at USC.
• Returned to work 2 months after giving birth to her daughter Everly Tatum to begin filming the 1st season of Witches of East End (2013).
• Appeared alongside Julia Ormond, Mädchen Amick and Rachel Boston in a public service announcement for breast cancer awareness. [October 2013]
• She was almost cast to play Queen Akasha in the vampire film, Queen of the Damned (2002). Late R&B singer Aaliyah eventually played the role.
• (April 2, 2018) Has separated from her husband of nearly 9 years Channing Tatum.
• She has a recurring role as Lucy Lane, sister of Lois Lane, on the TV series, Supergirl (2015). Her husband, Channing Tatum, played the voice of Superman in The Lego Movie (2014) and The Lego Batman Movie (2017).
• (0ctober 26, 2018) Filed for divorce from her husband of 9 years Channing Tatum six months after the two announced their split. Dewan made the filing in Los Angeles citing irreconcilable differences, according to court documents. Her lawyer Samantha Spector submitted the documents in which Dewan asks for joint legal and physical custody of their 5-year-old daughter, Everly. Tatum filed a response in which he also requested joint physical and legal custody of Everly. Dewan is also seeking child support and spousal support from Tatum. She also requested for her name to be restored to Jenna Dewan, instead of Jenna Dewan-Tatum.
• Her daughter's Everly Tatum's middle names are an honor to her great-grandmothers (Elizabeth is after Jenna's grandmother and Maiselle is after Channing's grandmother).
• Born on the same date as Anna Chlumsky.
• Engaged to Steve Kazee since February 18, 2020.

Trademarks:

• Green eyes
  

Quotes

• I'm about 50/50 when it comes to technology. I can check my email and search for stuff, but if I hear we're on this and this and this site, then I need an exact link to get there otherwise I'm going to get lost.
• I love to act. I want to be doing this forever, and I love to learn from people who I think are better.
• I definitely believe in ghosts.
• I have such a girl-crush on Reese Witherspoon. I would love to do a comedy with her.
• I'm open to whatever the universe wants to bring me.
• I thought my body was going to change so quickly with pregnancy that I'd freak out. But it was really gradual.
• Music videos are notoriously long, not fun, grueling. You are known there as a dancer and it's kind of sad because dancers, in a lot of ways, are under-appreciated and kind of under-respected when it come to that so they don't necessarily treat you in a nice way when you do a music video.
• Your surroundings may change but your essence and your personality pretty much stay the same.
• Every hotel room, every apartment we rent, I am sage-ing. And I have crystals that I travel with. It just makes me feel better.
• I would say I was always very ambitious and goal-oriented, but rather than being just a go-getter hustler, now I surrender a lot more and I trust my path a lot more.
• I'm a huge karaoke fan. Oh my God. I'm one of those girls who don't give the mic away. It's a problem. I'm a closeted pop star.
• I really like to act, and I really like to perform. I enjoy producing as well.
• I always like Madonna; any Madonna song is good for me.
• I had danced with Janet Jackson and P. Diddy so I had done a bunch of hip hop. Really and truly my roots are in modern and ballet but, professionally, that's not really out there any more, unfortunately, so these artists aren't really having a lot of ballet dancers behind them so I had to learn hip hop really quick.
• I really didn't know how people were going to react to 'Magic Mike' because there hasn't been a movie like it.
• There's a reason women are pregnant for nine months; by the end, you're ready to have this baby.
• In high school I was always thinking, 'Should I be doing more? What else should I be doing?' Now I know it will all come to me. I just have to trust my path, so that's very different.
• I'm from Texas and actually went to a regular high school, but every day after school I'd run to dance class and practice a lot and then go back the next day and stuff like that.
• I was very personable and outgoing and was friends with most everybody in my class but I was a diehard dancer so I was constantly at dance classes and working toward my passion of dance.
• I love the creative process, of getting to create your own show or your own movie, whatever it is you want to do, and have the resources to try and make that happen.
• Old school Janet Jackson is always good. I usually go old school, it's very rare that I pick a song from nowadays.
• Most actors and actresses are consumed by careers and getting ahead.
• I've been trying really hard to be more domesticated. It's not in my nature to clean and cook, and so I've been really good about it.