Jill Hennessy

This native from Edmonton, Alberta has a multi-generational ancestry that includes Irish, Italian, Swedish, French and Ukranian. Her twin sister, Jacqueline is also an actress. Jill was fluent in several languages when she was growing up. They were Italian, French, and Spanish. After the age of 12, she became fascinated by acting. At the age of 12, in Toronto the city she was born, she began her professional career as an actor in David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers. She played an escort along with their twin sisters. Later, she took improv classes on Second City under Deb Kimmet. They moved into New York two years later after which she signed a deal to play the role of an Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid in the hit lengthy-running show Law & Order. For the duration of her 3 year stint as a character, she also had the privilege of performing in feature films, such as RoboCop 3 (1993), Ron Howard's The Paper (1994), and I Shot Andy Warhol (1996). The years following, she landed roles in an assortment of uninteresting films. But in 1999, she secured a leading role in the miniseries uremberg together with Alec Baldwin. Roles in major productions such as Autumn in New York and Exit Wounds followed. Her first lead role was on the crime drama NBC's Crossing Jordan. And in 2007, for her contribution to the show she was awarded a Gracie Allen as the "Outstanding female lead in a drama Series". Her husband was another actor Paolo Mastropietro in 2000. They have two children together. In 2007, she was awarded the honour of being included at the Canadian Walk of Fame.