Jonathan Scott Frakes was born on August 19, 1952, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

Jonathan Frakes started studying psychology but later realized that he liked acting so he decided to change faculty and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Arts at Penn State University in 1974 and a Master at Harvard in 1976. He moved to New York, worked in stage plays, including on Broadway, and had his first roles in television. Later, he moved to Los Angeles, where she worked in several television productions.

In 1987, Jonathan Frakes started playing what is his most famous but also the most important role of his career: William Riker in the TV show “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. During the seven seasons of the series, Frakes also started directing for a total of eight episodes.

After the end of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, Jonathan Frakes played William Riker again in the movies “Star Trek: Generations” in 1994, “Star Trek: First Contact” in 1996, “Star Trek: Insurrection” in 1998 and “Star Trek: Nemesis” in 2002. He was also the director of the first two movies, earning the nickname “Two-Takes Frakes” thanks to his efficiency. Following that experience, he created the production company “Goepp Circle Productions”.

Jonathan Frakes’ connection with the Star Trek saga expanded with a few appearances in the TV show “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”, in which he played Thomas Riker, “Star Trek: Voyager”, in which he also directed some episodes, and “Star Trek: Enterprise”.

In 1996, Jonathan Frakes published the science fiction novel “The Abductors: Conspiracy”.

Jonathan Frakes’ acting and directing career went on to participating in several other television productions, working sometimes as a voice actor in animated series. In the TV show “Roswell”, in addition to appearing as himself and directing some episodes, he was the show’s executive producer for a certain period.

In his private life, Jonathan Frakes has been married to actress Genie Francis since 1988. Together, they had two children, Elizabeth and Jameson. Since late 2005, the family lives in Maine, where Frakes teaches directing at Rockport College.