Janet Jones
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| Janet Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 10, 1961 Bridgeton, Missouri |
- For other persons of a similar name Janet Jones (disambiguation).
Janet-Marie Jones (born January 10, 1961 in Bridgeton, Missouri) is an American actress, dancer and aerobics instructor. She is married to ice hockey icon Wayne Gretzky.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Entertainment career
Jones performed as a dancer in Annie (1982), Staying Alive (1983) and Snow White Live (1980), and had a bit part in The Beastmaster (1982). Her big break came in The Flamingo Kid (1984), which was followed by the film version of A Chorus Line (1985). Later in 1986, she appeared in American Anthem, co-starring gymnast Mitch Gaylord. In 1987, she appeared in a semi-nude pictorial in the March issue of Playboy.
Other credits include 1988's Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach and the baseball film A League of Their Own with Geena Davis and Madonna (1992).
Jones served as host of an infomercial for Jackie Chan and as the "master instructor" for a workout video produced by The Firm. She and daughter Paulina were featured in the movie Alpha Dog.
[edit] Personal life
Jones was engaged to tennis star Vitas Gerulaitis for three years, before he broke the engagement. He later died of carbon monoxide poisoning in 1994. She also dated actors Bruce Willis and Nels Van Patten, son of Dick Van Patten.
Jones met Gretzky when he was a judge on Merv Griffin's show Dance Fever in 1984. They ran into each other at a Los Angeles Lakers game in 1987, and on 17 July 1988 they were married in a ceremony at St. Joseph's Basilica in Edmonton that was broadcast live across Canada. Jones was four months pregnant with their daughter Paulina. Janet and Wayne have four other children: Ty, Trevor, Tristan, and Emma.
After Jones was knocked unconscious by a pane of Plexiglas during a 22 October 1997 New York Rangers-Chicago Blackhawks game, Gretzky continued to play while she was taken to the hospital.
[edit] Illegal gambling controversy
On February 7, 2006, Jones and a half-dozen NHL players were among those implicated in a New Jersey-based sports gambling ring allegedly financed by Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet. Coyotes' general manager and Gretzky's former agent, Michael Barnett, admitted to police placing a bet on Super Bowl XL with Tocchet.
Gretzky told reporters that Jones "would sit down at some point and answer questions that everybody has for her and be her own person",[1] "The reality is, I'm not involved, I wasn't involved and I'm not going to be involved." Jones released a statement through the team: "At no time did I ever place a wager on my husband's behalf." Further reporting by the Newark Star-Ledger revealed on February 9, 2006, that New Jersey State Police wiretaps have Gretzky speaking about the ring. Police sources told the Star-Ledger that there is no evidence Gretzky made any bets. "I didn't bet. Didn't happen. It's not going to happen, hasn't happened; it's not something that I've done." Lawyers for the couple later announced that neither Gretzky nor Jones would face criminal charges.[2]
On March 15, 2006, the New Jersey attorney general's office announced it would subpoena Jones to testify about the alleged ring as soon as a grand jury convenes. On May 8, Tocchet and Jones filed notices in New Jersey that they intend to sue the state for defamation, claiming each lost business opportunities in the wake of the state's investigation.[3]
[edit] See also
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[edit] External links
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