Jeri Lynn Zimmerman was born on February 22, 1968 in Munich, Germany to Jeri and Sharon Zimmerman. She and her brother Mark grew up on several Military bases, including Kansas, Maryland, Georgia and Texas. Finally, at the age of 11, her family settled down in Paduch, Kentucky. Later, after graduating from Lone Oak High School in 1986, she attended Northwestern University Chicago as a National Merit Scholar. While studying there, she won a number of beauty contests (a.o.- 6th annual Miss Northwestern Alpha Delta Phi Pageant in 1989).With a BS in theater, she came to Los Angeles and since then she's been on several TV shows and movies - including popular shows like "Matlock" (1986), "Melrose Place" (1992), "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995) as well as "Dark Skies" (1996). Her television experience also includes roles in a variety of telefilms including Co-ed Call Girl (1996) (TV), Nightmare in Columbia County (1991) (TV), NBC's In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco (1993) (TV), "The Sentinel" (1996), The Last Man (2000), Men Cry Bullets (1997), Dracula 2000 (2000), Down with Love (2003). Jeri Ryan resides in the area of Los Angeles with her son Alex.