Jennifer Beals made her silver screen debut in the 1980 American family comedy-drama film ‘My Bodyguard’ directed by Tony Bill. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and holds a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In 1983, she starred as ‘Alexandra "Alex" Owens’ in the Adrian Lyne-directed American romantic drama dance film ‘Flashdance.’ The film, despite being panned by critics, turned out to be a major commercial success and grossed over $201.5 million on a budget of $7 million. Beals also became a recipient of the ‘NAACP Image Award’ for her performance in the film. She was next seen in films like ‘The Bride’ (1985), ‘The Gamble’ (1988), ‘Split Decisions’ (1988), ‘Vampire's Kiss’ (1989), ‘Dr. M’ (1990), ‘Blood and Concrete’ (1991), ‘In the Soup’ (1992), ‘Day of Atonement’ (1992), ‘The Princess and the Cobbler’ (1993), and ‘Caro diario’ (1993). In 1994, she played the role of ‘Gertrude Benchley’ in the American biographical drama film ‘Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle’ directed by Alan Rudolph. The film has a 75% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. She next starred in films such as ‘The Search for One-eye Jimmy’ (1994), ‘Four Rooms’ (1995), ‘Let It Be Me’ (1995), ‘The Twilight of the Golds’ (1996), ‘Wishful Thinking’ (1997), ‘The Last Days of Disco’ (1998), ‘Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying’ (1999), ‘Militia’ (2000), ‘The Anniversary Party’ (2001), ‘Roger Dodger’ (2002), and ‘Runaway Jury’ (2003).
In 2004, she joined the main cast of the television drama series ‘The L Word’ as ‘Bette Porter.’ The series aired 70 episodes in a span of 6 seasons before going off-air in 2009. Beals also received 2 ‘NAACP Image Award’ nominations for her portrayal of Bette Porter in the show. She continued to appear in television series and shows such as ‘Law & Order’ (2007), ‘Lie to Me’ (2009-2010), ‘The Night Before the Night Before Christmas’ (2010), ‘The Chicago Code’ (2011), ‘Castle’ (2012), ‘Lauren’ (2012-2013), ‘Westside’ (2013), ‘Motive’ (2014), ‘Proof’ (2015), ‘The Night Shift’ (2016-2017), and ‘Taken’ (2017-2018). In 2019, she reprised her role as ‘Bette Porter’ in the American drama television series ‘The L Word: Generation Q’ created by Ilene Chaiken, Kathy Greenberg, and Michele Abbott. The series was renewed for a third season in 2022. Beals was last seen playing the role of ‘Cassandra Webb’ in the American crime drama television series ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ in 2022.
