'''Jenna Elfman''' (born September 30, 1971) is an American television and film actress.
Early life
Elfman was born '''Jennifer Mary Butala''' in Los Angeles, California, to Sue Grace (a housewife) and Richard Wayne Butala, a Hughes Aircraft executive, of Croatian descent. She attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts as a dance major and graduated in 1989. Her uncle is Tony Butala of The Lettermen. She studied with acting teacher Milton Katselas at the Beverly Hills Playhouse before beginning her television career.
Career
Elfman is best known for her role as Dharma on the TV sitcom ''Dharma & Greg'', which ran for five years on ABC from 1997 to 2002. She won a Golden Globe Award for this role and she also was nominated 2 times for an Emmy Award.
In 2004, Elfman produced and starred in a feature film called ''Touched''. In November 2005, CBS announced that Elfman vehicle, ''Courting Alex'' would be a midseason replacement, premiering in January 2006. It was announced in May that the show did not get picked up; however, CBS immediately inked a new development deal with Elfman to create a comedy vehicle for her, as reported in ''The Hollywood Reporter'' on June 2, 2006.
Elfman also starred in the movies ''
Krippendorf's Tribe'', ''
Edtv'', ''
Looney Tunes: Back in Action'', and ''
Keeping the Faith''.
Personal life
Elfman met her husband, actor Bodhi Elfman, at a Sprite commercial audition in February 1991. She married him in 1995, making director Richard Elfman her father-in-law and noted composer Danny Elfman her uncle-in-law. In 1991, Jenna Elfman converted to the Church of Scientology, having previously been introduced to the religion by Bodhi.
In 2005, Elfman appeared at the Church of Scientology's controversial "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" Museum, which puts forth a conspiracy theory connecting Adolf Hitler to the psychiatric profession. http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3137&IssueNum=136 In June 2006, Elfman and Bodhi Elfman reportedly approached independent film director John Roecker on a street in Los Feliz, California because of a shirt Roecker was wearing that ridiculed Scientology and Scientologists Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Jenna Elfman loudly asked Roecker what crimes he has committed and was so agitated that she continued, "Have you raped a baby?" http://www.tmz.com/2006/06/13/when-elfmans-explode/
Jenna said "AIDS is a state of mind, not a disease". http://www.xenutv.com/friendofmankind.htm
