Catching up w/Jennifer Beals...

By Greg Hernandez on May 13, 2008 3:31 PM

Has it really been 25 years since Jennifer Beals put on that torn sweatshirt and became a huge star in "Flashdance"? You can't tell by looking at the beautiful face of the 44-year-old actress who currently stars on Showtime's "The L Word."

Jennifer plays Ivy League educated lesbian Bette Porter on the series which is set to begin shooting its sixth and final season which will air in 2009.

"It's bittersweet," Jennifer said of the landmark show's impending end. "But I think the most important thing is that we've been telling these stories of these women in Los Angeles. What I hope mis when the show is off the air, that someone will continue to tell stories from the lesbian community in one way or another."
Jennifer, married to Ken Dixon and the mother of a 2-year-old daughter, has appeared in more than 50 movies including "Devil in a Blue Dress," "The Bride," "The Twilight of the Golds" and "The Anniversary Party." But her only previous experience with series television was way back in 1992 when she co-starred with Lisa Hartman and Drew Barrymore on the CBS summer series "2000 Malibu Road."

She didn't seem to too pleased that I mentioned "Malibu" but it was good fun as I recall.

"It's very, very different," Jennifer said of working on the two series. "This is a completely different animal. Working at Showtime and working with (series creator) Ilene Chaiken, it's been such a real pleasure. And I've also had a really great character to play - a very rich character to play."

Jennifer had just completed a film with Kevin Kline called "Joueuse" before preparing for the final season of "L Word." Still a student at Yale when she made the big studio film "Flashdance," the actress has enjoyed some of her best roles in independent films in addition to "L Word."

"It's really about the role and it's about the story," she said. "I'll go wherever the good story is."