Name	Jennifer Ehle
Height	5' 7"
Naionality	American
Date of Birth	29 December 1969
Place of Birth	Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
Famous for

North Carolina-born Jennifer Ehle had her first taste in front of the TV camera when director Sir Peter Hall cast her as the stormy young Calypso in the British miniseries “The Chamomile Lawn,” opposite actors like Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Oliver Cotton. The role brought Ehle a Radio Times for Best Newcomer. Shortly thereafter, she hit the American market with a guest role as the Empress Zita of Austria in an episode of the ABC series “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” (1992). Her first film role arrived the following year when she was cast in the small role of Cynthia Powell, the first wife of John Lennon, in the biopic Backbeat (aired in the United States in 1994), which won a Cleveland International Film Festival for Best Film.

Ehle also performed in the radio dramas “Anniversary,” as Debra, and “Keystone,” as Amber (both 1992). She also appeared in a West End production of “Tartuffe” (1991), from which her role as Elmire won her the Ian Charleson Award, and played Pat Green in a Triumph Productions tour of “Breaking the Code” (1992). Her later stage credits included “Richard III” (1995-1996, as Lady Anne), “The Relapse” (1995-1996, as Amanda), “Painter of Dishonour” (1995-1996, as Serafina) and National Theatre's “Summerfolk” (1999, as Varvara Mikhailovna).

Ehle continued to appear in a string of British TV films, which included playing Phyllis in the drama The Maitlands (1993, aired in the U.S. on Bravo in 1998), Emma Desneuves in Ian Sharp's Pleasure (1994, with Adrian Dunbar), Maryl in Alan Bleasdale Presents Self Catering (1994) and Penny McAllister in the based-on-true story Beyond Reason (1995), before scoring a major break as Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC miniseries “Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'” (1995), opposite Colin Firth as Fitzwilliam Darcy. For her brilliant rendition, Ehle was handed a BAFTA for Best TV Actress. The successful romance/drama was broadcast in America on A&E in 1996.

1997 found Ehle getting her first significant supporting role in a film in the Bruce Beresford directed ensemble historical drama Paradise Road, where she portrayed Rosemary Leighton-Jones. Among her costars in the movie were Glenn Close, Frances McDormand, Cate Blanchett and Julianna Margulies. The gifted performer offered a touching performance in the role of Constance, the wife of the genius, poet and playwright in the biopic Wilde (1997), opposite Stephen Fry. She was handed a BAFTA nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her work in the movie. Still in 1997, she had the titular role in the British mystery/thriller miniseries “Melissa.”

Following supporting roles in the well-acted comedy/romance Bedrooms and Hallways (1998) and writer-director David Kane's This Year's Love (1999, released in the USA in 2000), Ehle again gained praise with her role as Valerie Sonnenschein in Istvan Szabo's epic Sunshine (1999), a role she shared with her real life mother, Rosemary Harris, who played the aged Valerie. Delivering a bright performance, she took home a 2001 Golden Satellite for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role and a 2000 Genie nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. Meanwhile, on stage, she enjoyed success with her role as Annie in a London revival of Tom Stoppard's, “The Real Thing” (1999), a role she reprised in a Broadway production the following year. Delivering a convincing performance, she won a 2000 Tony, a Theatre World and a Variety Cub Showbusiness for Best Actress, as well as a Laurence Olivier Theatre and an Outer Critics Circle nomination.

In 2001, Ehle teamed up with Alan Cumming and Dominic West for a Broadway revival of Noel Coward's “Design for Living.” She returned to the big screen as a 19th-century poet, Christabel LaMotte, in Neil LaBute's romance film, Possession (2002), which starred Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart, and after a brief hiatus from acting, resurfaced as Betsy Chase in The River King (2005, based on a novel by Alice Hoffman). She next supported Patrick Baladi, Arthur Duncan and Christopher Egan in Dan Wilde's Alpha Male (2006) and has a part in Before the Rains, set to be premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2007.

Ehle could also be seen resuming her stage career. She starred as Tracy Samantha Lord in Philip Barry's “The Philadelphia Story” (2005) at The Old Vic in London and in late 2006, played Luibov Bakunin in “Coast of Utopia: Voyage” and Natalie Herzen in “Coast of Utopia: Shipwreck,” both at the Lincoln Center Theater in New York City. In February 2007, she was cast as Malwida von Meysenbug in “Coast of Utopia: Salvage” and was garnered a Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actress and an Outer Critics Circle nomination for her work in the Tom Stoppard play.

Ehle will appear with Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and Noah Emmerich in the crime/drama film Pride and Glory (2008). Directed by Gavin O'Connor, the upcoming project follows the story of a group of New York City police officers torn apart by a corruption scandal.