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Beals was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 19, 1963, the daughter of Jeanne, an elementary school teacher, and Alfred Beals, who owned a grocery store. Her father was African-American and her mother was Irish American. She has two brothers, Bobby and Gregory. Her father died when Beals was ten years old and her mother re-married to Edward Cohen. She graduated from the Francis W. Parker School and Yale University, receiving a B.A. in American Literature, 1986.

Beals was married to Alexandre Rockwell from 1986 to 1996. In 1998, she married Ken Dixon, a Canadian entrepreneur. She and Dixon had a daughter in October 2005, and Dixon has two children from a previous marriage. Beals has described herself as a "spiritual person".

Beals is a close friend of Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino often stayed at Beals' home while struggling as an aspiring director before Pulp Fiction. They appeared together in Four Rooms. She has been friends with actress Marlee Matlin, who currently stars as Jodi Lerner on The L Word, since they met in an airport in the 1980s.

Beals had a minor role in the 1980 film My Bodyguard, and came to fame with her starring part in Flashdance. After the release of the film, it was revealed that many of the dance scenes in the movie were actually performed by double Marine Jahan.

Beals stars in Showtime Network's The L Word, where she plays Bette Porter, an Ivy League educated lesbian. Beals has always avoided nude scenes during her career.