- published: 16 Feb 2016
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Jenna Dewan Tatum (/dəˈwɑːn ˈteɪtəm/; born Jenna Lee Dewan; December 3, 1980) is an American actress and dancer. She began her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, and later worked with artists including Pink, Missy Elliott, and Christina Aguilera. She is known for her role as Nora in the 2006 film Step Up. She has also starred on the short-lived NBC series The Playboy Club and had a recurring role on the FX series American Horror Story: Asylum. She was Freya Beauchamp on the Lifetime series Witches of East End. Dewan has been married to actor Channing Tatum since 2009.
Dewan was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Nancy Smith (née Bursch) and Darryll Dewan, who was a running back on the 1972 Notre Dame football team. Her father is of Lebanese and Polish descent and her mother is of German and English ancestry. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother remarried Claude Brooks Smith. While attending high school at Notre Dame Prep in Towson, Maryland, Dewan was a varsity cheerleader. She graduated in 1999 and was voted prom queen during her senior year. She went to University of Southern California and was a member of the California Gamma Chapter of Pi Beta Phi.
Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor, film producer, dancer, and model. Tatum made his film debut in the drama film Coach Carter (2005). His breakthrough role was in the 2006 dance film Step Up, which introduced him to a wider audience. He is known for his portrayal of the character Duke in the 2009 action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and its 2013 sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Although both G.I. Joe films received negative reviews from critics, they were commercially successful, grossing more than $300 million at the box office.
Tatum is also known for his portrayal as Magic Mike in the 2012 comedy film Magic Mike, and its 2015 sequel Magic Mike XXL, which he produced and was inspired by his early life, and Greg Jenko in the action-comedy film 21 Jump Street and its 2014 sequel, 22 Jump Street, based on the 1980s television series of the same name, achieving critical and commercial success.
Tatum has also appeared in the commercially successful romantic films Dear John (2010) and The Vow (2012). His other films include She's the Man (2006), The Dilemma (2011), White House Down (2013) and the drama Foxcatcher (2014), for which he received critical praise.