Jillian Noel Hennessy

Jillian Noel Hennessy (19 November 1975) is a Canadian singer and actor. She is most famous for her performances in American television series Law & Order (where she was Claire Kincaid, a prosecutor) and Crossing Jordan (where she played Jordan Cavanaugh for six seasons). She was also a part of films like RoboCop 3 & Most Wanted and independent film Chutney Popcorn & The Acting Class. The latter was also written and directed by her. Hennessy was born and was raised in Edmonton, Alberta. John Hennessy, her father was a meat salesman as well as a marketing/sales executive. His work required a lot of traveling, which meant numerous changes for the entire family. Her mother, Maxine, a secretary who left the family in 1982, leaving her daughter partially taken care of by her paternal grandmother, Eleanor who lives in Kitchener, Ontario. 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 is of Irish, French and Swedish origin, and has Ukrainian Roma and Austrian ancestry. She was educated at Stanley Park Senior Public School and then graduated from Grand River Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, Ontario and busked in the Toronto subway. Hennessy was the sister of her brother, who made their debut on stage in 1988 as twin call-girls in the TV show Dead Ringers. Gillian Anderson, Gillian Anderson's sister, revealed that she was shortlisted in The X-Files for Dana Scully's role. Hennessy also played the role of Dr. Marie Lazarus on RoboCop 3. In 1993 Dick Wolf signed Hennessy to the role as Claire Kincaid assistant district attorney in the show Law & Order. She played the character for three seasons and then quit the show in 1996.