Jeri Lynn Zimmerman was born on February 22, 1968 in Munich, Germany to parents Sharon and Jeri Zimmerman. Jeri and her brother lived the childhoods of typical army brats, moving from base to base throughout the country before finally settling down in Paduch, Kentucky.

Jeri took the stage for the first time in the fourth grade, starring in Market House Theater productions of Gracie at the Bat, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

In 1986, Jeri graduated at the top of her class from Lone Oak High School. Fittingly enough, she was voted most talented by all of her classmates. Jeri went on to attend Northwestern University and earn a degree in theater.

In 1989, while studying at Northwestern, Jeri won the sixth annual Miss Northwestern Alpha Delta Phi Pageant. That same year, she won the Miss Illinois Pageant and went on to come in fourth in the 1990 Miss America Pageant.

Her professional career began when she was cast as an extra in the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Unfortunately, however, Jeri did not make the final cut.

But soon enough, Jeri began getting call ins for auditions for television shows and she began acting professionally right after she graduated from University. Like most stars, she began by doing some commercials and then moved on to her first guest-starring role. It was in the sitcom Who's the Boss?, which starred Charmed vixen, Alyssa Milano.

Jeri was soon guest-starring on a slew of popular television shows including Matlock, Murder, She Wrote, Reasonable Doubts, Time Trax, Melrose Place, and Diagnosis Murder.

Ryan's stint on television continued with roles in the made-for-TV movies Coed Call Girl, Nightmare in Columbia County and NBC's In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco.

Jeri also starred in some independent films, including The Last Man and Men Cry Bullets. In 2000, she played a reporter who turns vampire in Dracula 2000.

Jeri's first attempt at a starring role on a TV show did not succeed, as NBC's Dark Skies was cancelled soon after its debut. Her Star Trek Voyager role (as Seven of Nine), however, quickly developed something of a cult following. Paramount signed Jeri for the duration of the series, which ended in 2001.

That same year, Jeri sighed in relief as a chapter in her personal life also came to a close. That spring, a California judge sentenced Marlon Esracio Pagtakhan to five years' probation. Pagtakhan had been stalking Jeri. With this behind her, Jeri met with famous television writer David E. Kelley. He was so impressed with her that he wrote her into his new high school drama, Boston Public. She officially joined the cast in 2001 and remained in this capacity until the show's 2004 demise. In 2003, she had a small part as Gwendolyn in the romantic comedy Down with Love.