Jennifer Gareis (born August 1, 1970[1]) is an American actress and beauty pageant titleholder.

[4] Her great-grandmother Sebastiana Tringali came from Militello in Val di Catania and the city gave her the honorary citizenship.

Gareis placed in the top six of the nationally televised pageant, which was won by Lu Parker of South Carolina.

[6] Gareis later began an acting career and landed the role of Grace Turner on CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, which she played from 1997 to 2000 and again in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2014.

[citation needed] In 2024, she was shortlisted for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Donna.