Jennifer Gareis is celebrating her 56th birthday – and the Bold and the Beautiful star is still as stunning as ever. The actress, who was born on August 1, 1970, has barely changed since joining the glamorous world of daytime television almost three decades ago.
This year brings a double celebration for Jennifer, as July also marked 20 years since she first appeared as Donna Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful.
The blonde beauty joined the CBS soap in 2006, taking over the role of the middle Logan sister and quickly becoming a fan favorite alongside her on-screen siblings Brooke, played by Katherine Kelly Lang, and Katie, portrayed by Heather Tom.
© Getty ImagesHer soap opera breakthrough
The Pennsylvania-born star landed her breakthrough role as Grace Turner on The Young and the Restless in 1997. She played the ambitious character for several years before returning for further appearances.
© CBS via Getty ImagesHer performance as Donna eventually earned Jennifer her first Daytime Emmy nomination, with the actress recognized in the Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress category in 2024.
Jennifer also appeared opposite Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality and played Arnold Schwarzenegger’s virtual girlfriend in the 2000 sci-fi movie The 6th Day.
© CBS via Getty ImagesFrom beauty queen to soap star
Long before she became a familiar face on television, Jennifer enjoyed a successful career as a model and beauty queen.
She was crowned Miss New York USA in 1994 and modelled for publications including Glamour, Fitness, Esquire and Women’s Wear Daily.
© Getty ImagesFamily life
Jennifer married businessman Bobby Ghassemieh in 2010, and share son Gavin, 16, and daughter Sophia, 14.
Jennifer stepped back from her full-time role on The Bold and the Beautiful to focus on her young children before returning to contract status in 2018, shortly after Sophia started kindergarten, saying at the time that she was delighted to reunite with Katherine, Heather and her on-screen love interest John McCook.
“I’m so proud and honored to be part of this production that has been created by the Bell family. CBS has been my stomping ground for quite some time,” she said in an interview with Starry. “I’ve been with that show since 2006 and will hopefully stay until the end.”
