Jillian Noel Hennessy

Jillian Noel Hennessy, born on the 25th of November, 1968, is a Canadian actor from Canada. Her most notable roles include those on American television's Law & Order where she was the prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons and Crossing Jordan for six. She has also acted in films such as RoboCop 3 and Most Wanted and also in the indie films Chutney Popcorn and The Acting Class which is the latter of which she wrote and co-directed. Hennessy was born in Edmonton. John Hennessy, her father was a meat salesman as well as an executive in sales and marketing. His job required extensive traveling, which meant numerous moves for the family. Maxine her secretary mother had to leave the family in 1982. Eleanor, Eleanor's paternal grandmother, looked after her daughter in Kitchener. John Paul Hennessy Jr., her younger brother, is Jacqueline Hennessy the identical twin, who works as a journalist for a magazine and TV host in Canada. Hennessy is of Irish, French and Swedish descent, with some Ukrainian Roma and Austrian ancestry. After graduating from Grand River Collegiate Institute (both located in Kitchener) She then was a student at Stanley Park Senior Public School. She also busked in the Toronto subway. Hennessy was the sister of her brother, who made their acting debut in 1988 when they were twin call-girls in the TV show Dead Ringers. According to Gillian Anderson (the actress who was cast in the role) she was a finalist for the role of Dana Scully in The X-Files. In 1993, Hennessy was signed by Dick Wolf as Claire Kincaid as the assistant district attorney on the NBC crime drama Law & Order. The role was played by her for three seasons before resigning the show in 1996.