She is currently starring as Dr. Kate Murphy on the ABC drama series Body of Proof. Ryan was born Jeri Lynn Zimmermann in Munich, West Germany, the daughter of Gerhard Florian “Jerry” Zimmermann, a Master Sergeant in the United States Army, and his wife Sharon, a social worker. When she was eleven, her father retired from the Army, and the family settled in Paducah, Kentucky. She graduated from Lone Oak High School in 1986 (as a National Merit Scholar), and then attended Northwestern University, where she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority. in 1989, Ryan was chosen Miss Illinois. She appeared in Wes Craven’s Dracula 2000. The show ended in 2004.
