Daniel Jinks in 1981graduated at Los Gatos High School. He began in New York theater - his first job after graduating from New York University - on an early workshop of the musical Jelly's Last Jam. He is the co-founder of the Jinks/Cohen production company, producer of American Beauty, winner of the 2000 Academy Award for best picture. Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, went to Hollywood and found a place for their gay identities in mainstream entertainment.

Jinks has been out since his days in the theater (where, he notes laughingly, everyone was gay), though appearing in Out magazine for a story on Out There was still a big step. In 1995, he co-founded Out There, a group of openly gay and lesbian entertainment industry activists, with out lesbian producer Nina Jacobson; both Cohen and Jinks serve on Out There's steering committee.