| Jill Hennessy | |
|---|---|
Hennessy at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival |
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| Born | Jillian Noel Hennessy November 25, 1968 Edmonton, Alberta |
| Years active | 1988-present |
Jillian Noel "Jill" Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and musician known for her television roles on Law & Order and Crossing Jordan.
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Hennessy was born in Edmonton, Alberta. Her father, John Hennessy, was a meat salesman and sales/marketing executive, a job that required considerable travel and resulted in frequent moves for the family. Her mother, Maxine, a secretary, left the family in 1982, leaving her daughter to be partially raised by her paternal grandmother, Eleanor, in Kitchener, Ontario.[1] She has a younger brother, John Paul "J.P." Hennessy Jr., and an identical twin sister, Jacqueline, who is a magazine writer and TV show host in Canada. Hennessy has Irish, French, Swedish and Italian ancestry on her father's side, and mostly Ukrainian, as well as Austrian, ancestry on her mother's.[2] She graduated from Grand River Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, Ontario[3] and used to busk in the Toronto Subway.
Hennessy and her sister played twin call girls in 1988's Dead Ringers. She was short-listed for the role of Dana Scully on The X-Files. In 1993, she played Dr. Marie Lazarus in RoboCop 3. Hennessy is most well known for playing assistant district attorney Claire Kincaid on Law & Order (1993 – 1996) and for playing the lead role as medical examiner Jordan Cavanaugh on Crossing Jordan. In 1999, she played Lisa in Chutney Popcorn. In 2000, Hennessy wrote, produced, and co-directed with Elizabeth Holder an independent film called The Acting Class. Inspired by a true story, the mockumentary looks at the trials and tribulations of a dysfunctional acting class. The film co-starred her sister, and included cameos by a number of Hennessy's former Law & Order co-stars. She also starred in the film Nuremberg as Elsie Douglas.
In 2001, she portrayed Jackie Kennedy in the film Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot. In 2003, she made a cameo appearance in the film Abby Singer. She appeared on Broadway in the musical Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story in 1990. From 2001 to 2007, she appeared on the TV show Crossing Jordan as Jordan Cavanaugh. Most recently, she portrayed Tim Allen's wife in the 2007 film Wild Hogs. On June 9, 2007, she received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
Hennessy has recorded an album in Austin, Texas, Ghost in My Head,[4] which was released in June 2009. She performed as a guest of the Indigo Girls on a November 2009 show of Mountain Stage[5] and was the focus of a show for herself later that same month.[6] She performed on the Village Stage of the 2010 edition of Lilith Fair.[7]
Hennessy starred in the independent crime thriller, Small Town Murder Songs, in 2010. Today she appearing as one of several horse racing fans in the new HBO TV series Luck.
Hennessy is multi-lingual, speaking English, Italian, French, Spanish and German. Hennessy plays the guitar and sings, and enjoys riding motorcycles with her husband. They had a second marriage ceremony in January 2001, which took place at New York City Hall with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani officiating. Their son, Marco, was born on September 17, 2003 and second son, Gianni, born on November 21, 2007.
The Minneapolis-based band Mollycuddle wrote the song "The Ballad of Jill Hennessy" in honor of the actress.[8] Hennessy was reportedly very pleased, and offered to perform with the band on rhythm guitar.[9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Dead Ringers | Mimsy | |
| 1993 | RoboCop 3 | Dr. Marie Lazarus | |
| 1993 | Trip nach Tunis | Kathryn Darby | |
| 1994 | The Paper | Deanne White | |
| 1996 | I Shot Andy Warhol | Laura | |
| 1996 | Kiss & Tell | Interrogator Angela Pierce | |
| 1997 | A Smile Like Yours | Lindsay Hamilton | |
| 1997 | Most Wanted | Dr. Victoria Constantini | |
| 1998 | Weekend Getaway | Lily | Short film |
| 1998 | Dead Broke | Kate | |
| 1999 | The Florentine | Brenda | |
| 1999 | Row Your Boat | Patti | |
| 1999 | Two Ninas | Mike the Bartender | |
| 1999 | Chutney Popcorn | Lisa | |
| 1999 | Molly | Susan Brookes | |
| 1999 | Komodo | Victoria | |
| 2000 | The Acting Class | Amanda Smythe / Jill / Anonymous | |
| 2000 | Autumn in New York | Lynn McCale | |
| 2001 | Exit Wounds | Annette Mulcahy | |
| 2002 | Love in the Time of Money | Ellen Walker | |
| 2002 | Pipe Dream | Marina Peck | |
| 2007 | Wild Hogs | Kelly Madsen | |
| 2007 | Game of Life | Brenda | |
| 2008 | Lymelife | Brenda Bartlett | |
| 2010 | Small Town Murder Songs | Rita | |
| 2011 | Roadie | Nikki Stevens | |
| 2012 | Dawn Rider | Alice | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | War of the Worlds | Patty | Episode: "Goliath Is My Name" |
| 1989 | The Hitchhiker | Marla Elisabeth |
Episode: "Striptease" Episode: "Pawns" |
| 1989–1990 | Friday the 13th: The Series | Various | 4 episodes |
| 1990 | C.B.C.'s Magic Hour | Hooker | Episode: "The Prom" |
| 1990 | War of the Worlds | Scott | Episode: "Max" |
| 1990 | Counterstrike | Lex | Episode: "The Dealbreaker" |
| 1992 | Flying Blind | Lauren Benjamin | Episode: "Crazy for You... and You" |
| 1993–1996 | Law & Order | A.D.A. Claire Kincaid | 68 episodes |
| 1996 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Claire Kincaid | Episode: "For God and Country" |
| 2000 | Nuremberg | Elsie Douglas | TV miniseries |
| 2001 | Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot | Jackie Kennedy | TV movie |
| 2001–2007 | Crossing Jordan | Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh | 117 episodes |
| 2004 | Las Vegas | Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh | Episode: "Two of a Kind" |
| 2005 | Las Vegas | Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh | Episode: "Double Down, Triple Threat" |
| 2006 | Las Vegas | Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh | Episode: "History of Violins" |
| 2011 | Luck | Jo | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2012 | Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town | Agnes Leacock | TV movie, post-production |