Jeri Lynn Ryan (born Jeri Lynn Zimmermann; February 22, 1968 in Munich, West Germany) is a German-American actress.
She is best-known for her role as the Borg crew member, Seven of Nine, on Star Trek: Voyager, for which she was nominated four times for a Saturn Award and won in 2001. She reprised the role on all three seasons of Star Trek: Picard.
She majored in theater at Northwestern, and competed in the Miss America pageant as Miss Illinois (she was third runner-up). She married politician Jack Ryan in 1991, and the couple had a son in 1994. The decision to cast Ryan indirectly caused a Domino effect leading to the election of President Barack Obama—true story.note They divorced in 1999. In 2007 she married Christophe Émé, a French chef, and the couple had a daughter in 2008.
Selected Filmography
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Live-Action Films
- Nightmare In Columbia County (1991) as Dawn Elizabeth Smith
- Just Deserts (1992) as Nicole
- In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco (1993) as Rebecca
- Pier 66 (1996) as Beth Saunders
- Men Cry Bullets (1999) as Lydia
- The Last Man (2000) as Sarah
- Disney's the Kid (2000) as Larry King guest
- Dracula 2000 (2000) as Valerie Sharpe
- Down with Love (2003) as Gwendolyn
- The Commuters (2005) as Anne
- Mortal Kombat: Rebirth (2010) as Sonya Blade
- Dead Lines (2010) as Sophie Fyne
- Secrets In The Walls (2010) as Rachel Easton
- Against The Wild 2: Survive The Serengeti (2016) as Jennifer Croft
- Suspicion (2018) as Celina Canter
Live-Action Series
- Who's the Boss? (1991) as Pam
- The Flash (1990) (1991) as Felicia Kane
- Top Of The Heap (1991) as Tyler
- Nurses (1991) (1991) as Lisa
- Reasonable Doubts (1991) as Rachel Beckwith
- The Jackie Thomas Show (1993) as Pauline Yardley
- Matlock (1993) as Carrie Locke
- Time Trax (1994) as Lauren Sanders
- Murder, She Wrote (1995) as Maura
- Charlie Grace (1995) as Claire
- The Client (1996) as Jennifer
- Melrose Place (1996) as Valerie Madison
- Diagnosis: Murder (1996) as Melissa Farnes
- Dark Skies (1997) as Juliet Stewart
- Star Trek as Seven of Nine
- Star Trek: Voyager (1997 — 2001)
- Star Trek: Picard (2019 — 2023)
- The Sentinel (1999) as Alexis Barnes
- Boston Public (2001 — 2004) as Ronnie Cooke
- Two and a Half Men (2004, 2011) as Sherri
- The O.C. (2005) as Charlotte Morgan
- Boston Legal (2006) as Courtney Reese
- Iron Chef America (2006 — 2009) as Herself
- Shark (2006 — 2008) as Jessica Devlin
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2009) as Patrice Larue
- Leverage (2009 — 2011) as Tara Cole
- Psych (2010) as Kim Phoenix
- Mortal Kombat: Legacy (2011) Sonya Blade
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2011) as Naomi Halloran
- Warehouse 13 (2011 — 2012) as Major Amanda Lattimer
- Body of Proof (2011 — 2013) as Kate Murphy
- Major Crimes (2014, 2017) as Linda Rothman
- Helix (2014) as Constance Sutton
- NCIS (2015) as Rebecca Chase
- Arrow (2015) as Jessica Danforth
- Bosch (2016 — 2017) as Veronica Allen
Voice Acting
- Dilbert (1999) as Seven of Nine alarm clock
- Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force (2001) as Seven of Nine
- Star Trek Online (2014) as Seven of Nine
This actress provides examples of:
- Alternate Self: She has guest starred on both The Flash (1990) and Arrow as two different characters.
- The Cast Showoff: Every opportunity was taken for her to sing on VOY. Even going so far as to give her the personality of a caberet singer in World War II during a battle with aliens on the holodeck, just so she could impress Alien Nazis. Kate Mulgrew was right to fear her popularity.
- Dyeing for Your Art: Seven of Nine's famous Sensual Spandex created some serious problems for her. Ryan didn't raise her voice or speak more than required because she couldn't breathe properly in the suits. It also meant she was seriously restricted in her ability to do things like Walk and Talk.
- Hostility on the Set: Ryan was brought into Voyager in the fourth season to add Sex Appeal. Mulgrew, an outspoken feminist, didn't care for that. She also didn't like that Ryan stole a lot of the spotlight. Mulgrew had been on lots of covers, spoken with Hilary Clinton and astronauts, been an advocate for women in leadership, etc. When Ryan joined the cast, the focus shifted a lot. While Mulgrew initially focused her hostility on the execs, she ended up tormenting Ryan for years. Mulgrew has since admitted she was horrible, and the two have repaired their relationship and are friends now.
- Military Brat: She's the daughter of a master sergeant in the United States Army and grew up on army posts.
- Ms. Fanservice: In 1989 she was chosen as Miss Illinois. She also competed in the Miss America 1990 pageant, where she finished as 3rd runner-up, also winning a preliminary swimsuit competition. Her role as Seven of Nine was famous for her sex appeal.
- Role Reprise: She reprised the role of Annika "Seven of Nine" Hansen on-screen in Star Trek: Picard. She also voices the character in Star Trek Online's Delta Rising expansion.
- She Really Can Act: When she was added to the cast, most people were expecting little but Ms. Fanservice and a character who would end up being a shallow Distaff Counterpart to Spock and Data. However, Ryan (and the writers) was determined to prove she wasn't just hired for her appearance and she quickly emerged as one of the most interesting characters on the show. She wound up becoming one of the most-iconic cast members, the others being Mulgrew and Robert Picardo.
- Throw It In!: She's on record as hating the eye candy she had to wear during her four-season run, but she eventually made an asset of it. If you look, Seven always strides confidently into every scene.
