Jillian Noel Hennessy

Jillian Noel Hennessy is a Canadian singer and actress. Her most well-known work is her roles in the American television series Law & Order, on which she played the prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons and Crossing Jordan, on which she was the main character, Jordan Cavanaugh, for six seasons. She has also appeared in films such as RoboCop 3 and Most Wanted, and the independent films Chutney Popcorn and The Acting Class The Acting Class, which she co-wrote and directed. Hennessy was born in Edmonton, Alberta. John Hennessy was her father. He was a meat vendor and an executive in sales and marketing. The job involved a lot of travel and resulted in frequent family relocations. Her mother, Maxine, a secretary who left the family in 1982 and left her daughter to be partially taken care of by her paternal grandmother, Eleanor who lives in Kitchener, Ontario. John Paul Hennessy Jr. is her younger brother. Jacqueline Hennessy is her identical twin sister. Jacqueline is an editor for a magazine in Canada. Hennessy has Irish as well as French, Swedish, Italian and Swedish roots from her father, and predominantly Ukrainian Roma and Austrian heritage from her mother. She attended Stanley Park Senior Public School. Grand River Collegiate Institute was her graduation. She was a busker in the subway system of Toronto. Hennessy along with her sister and her first role on stage was as twin call-girls in 1988's Dead Ringers. Gillian Anderson, who was the actress chosen to play the role, stated she was a finalist to play Dana Scully in The X-Files. She played the role for three seasons and then quit the show in 1996.