Jill Hennessy

For the Australian politician, seeJill Hennessy (politician).

Jill Hennessy
Hennessy at the 2010Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Jillian Noel Hennessy (1968-11-25)November 25, 1968 Edmonton, Alberta,Canada
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	Paolo Mastropietro ​ (m.2000)​
Children	2

Jillian Noel Hennessy(born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her roles on the American television seriesLaw & Order,on which she played prosecutorClaire Kincaidfor three seasons, andCrossing Jordan,on which she played the lead character,Jordan Cavanaugh,for six seasons. She has also acted in films such asRoboCop 3andMost Wanted,and the independent filmsChutney PopcornandThe Acting Class,the latter of which she also wrote and co-directed.

Early life

Hennessy was born inEdmonton,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, inKitchener, Ontario.She has a younger brother, John Paul "J.P." Hennessy, Jr., an older sister, Faith and an identicaltwinsister, Jacqueline, who is a magazine writer and TV show host in Canada. Hennessy hasIrish,French,SwedishandItalianancestry on her father's side, and mostlyUkrainian Roma,as well asAustrian,ancestry on her mother's.She attended Stanley Park Senior Public School and graduated fromGrand River Collegiate Institute,both inKitchener, Ontario,and used tobuskin theToronto subway.

Career

Hennessy in 2008

Hennessy and her sister, Jacqueline, made their acting debut playing twincall girlsin 1988'sDead Ringers.She wasshort listedfor the role ofDana ScullyonThe X-Filesaccording toGillian Anderson,the actress who was eventually chosen for the role.

She appeared onBroadwayin the musicalBuddy: The Buddy Holly Storyin 1990.

In 1993, she appeared as Dr. Marie Lazarus inRoboCop 3.

Hennesey's big network breakthrough came in 1993, whenDick Wolfsigned Hennessy as assistantdistrict attorneyClaire Kincaidin the NBC crime dramaLaw & Order.She played the role for three seasons, leaving the show in 1996.

In 1999, she appeared as Lisa inChutney Popcorn.In 2000, Hennessy wrote, produced, and jointly directed (with Elizabeth Holder) anindependent filmmockumentarytitledThe Acting Class,which looked at the trials and tribulations of a dysfunctional acting class. The film co-starred her sister, Jacqueline, and included cameo appearances from a number of Hennessy's formerLaw & Orderco-stars. She also appeared in the filmNuremberg,as Elsie Douglas.

In 2001, she portrayedJackie Kennedyin the filmJackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot.That same year she appeared in a small role as Commander Mulcahy in theSteven Seagalaction filmExit Wounds.She received praise from criticOwen Gleibermanwho said "With the right role, Hennessy might just be a movie star."In 2003, she made a cameo appearance in the filmAbby Singer.From 2001 to 2007, she starred on the TV showCrossing Jordanas title characterJordan Cavanaugh.She also played the wife ofTim Allen's character in the 2007 filmWild Hogs.On June 9, 2007, she received a star onCanada's Walk of Fame.

During sessions inAustin, Texas,Hennessy recorded the albumGhost in My Head,which was released in June 2009. She performed as a guest of theIndigo Girlson a November 2009 episode ofMountain Stage,and was the focus of another episode of the show later the same month.She performed atLilith Fairin 2010.

Hennessy performing in 2015

Hennessy starred in the independent crime thrillerSmall Town Murder Songsin 2010. She also appeared as a veterinarian in theHBOseriesLuck,and promotedZaxby's "Zalads" in a pair of television commercials in 2012.

In 2015, Hennessy appeared in several episodes ofMadam Secretary,and in October of that year, her second album,I Do,was released.

In 2018, she appeared on theMichael WeatherlyseriesBullas the mother of the deceased hacker character Cable McCrory.Also in 2018, she began the role of Senator Huntington on the seriesYellowstone.

Personal life

Hennessy ismultilingual,and fluently speaks English, Italian, French, Spanish, and German.She plays the guitar and sings, and enjoys riding motorcycles with her husband, who she married in 2000. They had a second marriage ceremony in January 2001, which took place atNew York City Hallwith MayorRudy Giulianiofficiating. Their first son was born in 2003, and a second was born in 2007.

In popular culture

TheMinneapolis-based bandMollycuddlewrote the song "The Ballad of Jill Hennessy" in honor of the actress.Hennessy was reportedly very pleased and offered to perform with the band onrhythm guitar.

Filmography

Film

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	Dr. Victoria Juno
2000	The Acting Class	Amanda Smythe / Jill / Anonymous
2000	Autumn in New York	Lynn McCale
2001	Exit Wounds	Commander Annette Mulcahy
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
2013	If I Had Wings	Sandy Taylor
2017	Don't Sleep	Cindy Bradford
2019	Crypto	Robin Whiting
2019	Standing Up, Falling Down	Vanessa
2022	The Road to Galena	Teresa Baird
2024	Madame Web	National Security Agency(NSA) Agent

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Not My Department	Twin Makeup Artist	Episode: "Let's Make Gold"
1988	War of the Worlds	Patty	Episode: "Goliath Is My Name"
1989	The Hitchhiker	Marla	Episode: "Striptease"
1989	The Hitchhiker	Elisabeth	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	Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid	68 episodes Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series(1995–97)
1996	Homicide: Life on the Street	Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid	Episode: "For God and Country"
2000	Nuremberg	Elsie Douglas	Television movie Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
2001	Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot	Jackie Kennedy	Television movie Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2001–2007	Crossing Jordan	Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh	115 episodes Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
2004–2006	Las Vegas	Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh	3 episodes
2011–2012	Luck	Jo	9 episodes
2012	Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town	Agnes Leacock	Television movie Nominated—Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film
2013	Jo	Sister Karyn	8 episodes
2014	The Good Wife	Rayna Hecht	2 episodes
2015	Madam Secretary	Jane Fellows	15 episodes
2017	Shots Fired	Alicia Carr	10 episodes
2017	The Blacklist	Margot Rochet	Episode: "The Harem"
2018	Crawford	Cynthia	12 episodes
2018	Yellowstone	Senator Huntington	Episode: "Daybreak"
2018	Bull	Ellen	2 episodes
2019–2022	City on a Hill	Jenny Rohr	26 episodes
2023	Accused	Lynn Harmon	Episode "Scott's Story"

External links

• Official website
• Jill HennessyonYouTube
• Jill HennessyatIMDb
• Jill Hennessyat theInternet Broadway Database