Jennifer Jarackas

Jennifer Jarackas, the eldest of four, was born to Anthony and Donna Jarackas (Radtke) in Detroit, MI. At the age of five she began studying ballet, tap, and jazz at the Recreation Dance Center in Roseville, MI, and continued studying professionally until the age of 13 at the Royal School of Dance in Orlando, FL. Her family moved to Florida in 1980 when her father's job at the Hamtramck Chrysler plant closed in downtown Detroit. Her adult years in Florida found her studying and teaching hip-hop dance, while simultaneously beginning her acting journey, studying with Ricci Mann and Yvonne Suhor (Art's Sake Studio), performing in plays such as Extremities, Titus Andronicus, and Moby Dick. Playing the roles of Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible in 2011 and April in Shanley's Savage in Limbo in 2012 are two of her most favorite theatre experiences to date. Her portrayal of Aileen Wuornos in TLC's documentary Aileen Wuornos: Angel of Death was her first professional television gig, and after studying under Master Teacher Jim Bonney in NYC, she had the opportunity to "work" in L.A. as a Sterling Cooper secretary in three seasons of AMC's award-winning series Mad Men.