Jenna Elfman (born September 30, 1971) is an American television and film actress.
Elfman was born Jennifer Mary Butala in Los Angeles, California, to Sue Grace, a homemaker, 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.
Elfman began as a professional dancer, making an appearance in UK electronic group Depeche Mode's promotional video for their 1990 song "Halo". She also toured as a dancer with the group ZZ Top. She made a switch to acting in the early 1990s, appearing in the 1993 music video "Black Lodge" by heavy metal band Anthrax.
Elfman met her husband, actor Bodhi Elfman, at a Sprite commercial audition in February 1991. They married in 1995, making director Richard Elfman her father-in-law and noted composer Danny Elfman her uncle-in-law. In 2005, she appeared at the Scientology-owned Citizens Commission on Human Rights' controversial "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" museum grand opening and is described on the organization's website as a supporter. In May 2006, Elfman visited her high school alma mater to urge students to set career goals and encourage them to persist in their chosen professions. In January 2007, Elfman and her husband announced they were expecting their first child. On July 23, 2007, the couple welcomed son, Story Elias, in Los Angeles, weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces.