Jillian Noel Hennessy

Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25 on the 25th of November, 1968) is a Canadian actor and singer from Canada. Her most notable role is on American television's Law & Order where she was the prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons and Crossing Jordan for six. She was also a part of films like RoboCop 3 & Most Wanted and in independent film Chutney Popcorn & The Acting Class. The movie was written and directed by her. Hennessy was a native of Edmonton, Alberta. John Hennessy, John's father, was a meat and marketing sales and marketing executive. The job required significant traveling and the family had to move frequently. Maxine the secretary mother of Maxine, left the family in 1982. Eleanor, Eleanor's paternal grandmother, looked after her daughter, who lived in Kitchener. John Paul Hennessy Jr. is her younger brother. Jacqueline is her identical twin sister. She is a writer for a Canadian magazine and host. Hennessy is from Irish, French and Swedish descent, with some Ukrainian Roma and Austrian ancestry. She was a student at Stanley Park Senior Public School. Grand River Collegiate Institute was her graduation. She used to busk in Toronto's subway. She and her sister made their acting debuts as twin callgirls in 1988’s Dead Ringers. According to Gillian Anderson (the actress who was cast in the role), she was shortlisted for the role of Dana Scully in The X-Files. In 1993, Hennessy was signed by Dick Wolf as Claire Kincaid, assistant district attorney in the NBC crime drama Law & Order. The role lasted for three seasons, before she was fired in 1996.