Maren Jensen was born in Glendale, California, on September 23, 1956. The actress majored in theatre arts during three years at UCLA. She appeared in several college productions, but admits, "I did absolutely nothing professional, not even the California equivalent of off-off-off-Broadway". She did, however, begin a successful modeling career which included Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazine covers. When a mutual friend introduced her to agent Barbara Gale, she was surprised by the agent's obvious enthusiasm. She was even more surprised when Ms. Gale started sending her on calls that resulted in two network commercials and a guest shot on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. But even more startling, she recalls, was being signed for a stellar role in Battlestar Galactica. Ms. Jensen comes from a "totally non-theatrical" family. Her father is a physician and her mother is a membership secretary with the Los Angeles Zoo. Ms. Jensen is single -- and plans to keep it that way for at least a while -- as her career moves rapidly forward. Her hobbies are "almost all musical", including singing and playing piano.



She was a top fashion model before appearing on "Battlestar Galactica" (1978). She writes music, plays piano and roller skates in her spare time. She worked as a waitress, pizza maker, usherette and computer operator before becoming an actress. She is a middle child with a brother, Dana, who is five years older and a sister, Kathleen who is seven years younger than her.