Jeri Ryan was born Jeri Lynn Zimmerman, on February 22, 1968 in Munich, Germany. Her father was in the military and because of this she moved around a lot as a child. Her family finally settled down in Kentucky.
As a young girl she wanted to be a veterinarian. However in 4th grade she began acting with a small acting group. She had a number of lead roles.
Jeri graduated from Lone Oak High School in 1986 and was voted by her peers as most talented. After high school she attended Northwestern University with a theater major.
At Northwestern she competed in the Miss Northwestern Alpha Delta Phi Pageant in 1989. Later that year she won Miss Illinois. She really became famous however when she came in 4th at the 1990 Miss America pageant. Because of the pageant she received a number of roles in television and movies, including Melrose Place, and Who's the Boss?.
Jeri starred in her own show Dark Skies. However this show was short lived. She went on to portray Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager from 1997 to the show's end in 2001.
While acting for Star Trek, she married Illinois congressman Jack Ryan and has had a child. She is now divorced and lives with her young son.
Now that Star Trek is over Jeri Ryan has been cast as a lawyer turned teacher on Fox's Boston Public.