Jenilee Harrison was born on June 12, 1959 into a large middle-class household in Northridge, California and grew up in the San Fernando Valley. Her father was an aerospace engineer and her mother a math teacher. They divorced when she was 15, but she remained close to them, just as she was close to her two older sisters and two younger brothers. She began working as a waitress part-time at 14. Her tall, wholesome, cheery blond good looks won her beauty pageants, such as Miss San Fernando Valley, Miss Los Angeles, Miss Hollywood, Miss Young America. She was chosen for the Rams' Embraceable Ewes cheerleading squad in 1978 for two years, because she thought it would be a way to get into Hollywood. She paid her way through University of Southern California (USC) with income from TV commercials and modeling for Kelloggs Corn Flakes box. But her biggest thrill was winning the title of Sweetheart of Sigma Chi in her senior year at USC. Although, she graduated in 1980 with an education degree, it was at USC she met acting coach Joyce Selznick who taught her acting.
