Jenna Lee Dewan (born
December 3,
1980) is an American actress, dancer and model. She is probably best known for her role in the 2006 dance/romance film,
Step Up.
Dewan was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Nancy Lee (née Bursch) and Darryll Dewan, who was starting running back for the 1972 Notre Dame Football Team. Dewan is of half Lebanese ancestry. Her parents divorced when Dewan was young and her mother remarried to Claude Brooks Smith. During high school at Grapevine High School, in Grapevine, Texas Jenna was a varsity cheerleader and won many dance competition awards. She graduated in 1999 and was voted prom queen her senior year. She went to USC and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. As of 2005, she has been dating her co-star in
Step Up,
Channing Tatum.
Prior to starring in film, she was a dancer, working for various famous performers such as
Justin Timberlake,
'N Sync,
Sean Combs,
Toni Braxton,
Celine Dion,
Pink,
Missy Elliott,
Ricky Martin,
Billy Crawford, and
Janet Jackson in both live performances and music videos. Dewan and Tatum appeared on an episode of YouTube show,
Miley & Mandy, dancing to the song
"4 Minutes" by
Madonna (featuring Timberlake and
Timbaland).
In 2005, Dewan starred as the title character in the horror film,
Tamara, playing an unpopular high school student who is often picked on by classmates. Her character dies, is buried by her classmates, and then returns to seek revenge.