Jillian Noel Hennessy

Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actor and a singer from Canada. She is most known for her roles in the American television series Law & Order, on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons and Crossing Jordan, on which she played the lead character, Jordan Cavanaugh, for six seasons. She was also in films such as RoboCop 3 & Most Wanted and in independent film Chutney Popcorn & The Acting Class. The latter was also written and directed by her. Hennessy was raised in Edmonton, Alberta. John Hennessy her father was an executive in sales and marketing. It required frequent travel that led to numerous family relocations. Maxine Her mother, also known as Maxine, died in the year 1982. Her daughter was left in the care of Eleanor, her paternal grandmother. John Paul Hennessy Jr. Her younger brother is Jacqueline Hennessy the identical twin who works as a journalist for a magazine as well as a host on TV in Canada. Hennessy has Irish, French, Swedish and Italian heritage from her father's side and mostly Ukrainian Roma, as well as Austrian and Austrian ancestry from her mother's side. She went to Stanley Park Senior Public School and graduated from Grand River Collegiate Institute, both located in Kitchener, Ontario, and used to busk in the Toronto subway. Hennessy as well as her sibling made their acting debut playing twin call girls in 1988's Dead Ringers. Gillian Anderson, who was the actress who was ultimately chosen for the part, claimed she was selected to portray Dana Scully in The X-Files. The role ran for three seasons. She left the show after 1996.