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Jennifer Beals is in her happy place, hiking through the forest. It’s the early noughties and she hasn’t yet heard of The L Word or Bette Porter or Tina Kennard. As the actor carves out her path along the trail, she feels both energised and grounded. Nature has that effect on her.Today her thoughts are full of her craft and the type of role she yearns to play. “I begged the universe to put me in an epic love story,” she tells me during our transatlantic call. Just a few months later, the pilot script for The L Word landed on her desk. “Leave it to the universe to interpret your deepest request with the highest good.”
That epic love story is, as far as many in the queer community are concerned, the epic love story – the grandest romance in quite possibly the most groundbreaking show for gay women ever. Bette and Tina.Tibette. Bettina. Endgame. “I don’t know how many epic, queer love stories spanning multiple seasons there are.” Barely any, I interject. “But I am so happy to be part of this one.”
Of course, Jennifer already had an illustrious acting career long before she joined the Showtime series. Born in Chicago, Jennifer was the child of an Irish American primary school teacher mother