Jillian Noel Hennessy

Jillian Noel Hennessy (19 November 1975) is a Canadian actor and singer. She is most known for her roles on the American television series Law & Order, on where she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and Crossing Jordan, on which she was the main character, Jordan Cavanaugh, for six seasons. She also appeared as an actor in films like RoboCop 3 or Most Wanted and independent films Chutney Popcorn, which she co-directed. Hennessy was born in Edmonton, Alberta. Her father, John Hennessy, was an animal salesman and a executive in sales and marketing, a position that required extensive travel and resulted in frequent moves for the family. Her mother, Maxine, a secretary was a divorcee in 1982, leaving her daughter partially taken care of by her paternal grandmother, Eleanor and her family located 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 is of Irish, French and Swedish descent, with some Ukrainian Roma and Austrian ancestry. She attended Stanley Park Senior Public School, was a graduate of Grand River Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, Ontario and busked in the Toronto subway. Hennessy, her sister and their first acting role was as twin call-girls in 1988's Dead Ringers. She was short listed for the role of Dana Scully on The X-Files according to Gillian Anderson, the actress who was eventually offered the role.She appeared on Broadway in the musical Buddy The Buddy Holly Story in 1990. The Buddy Holly Story in 1990.In 1993, she appeared as Dr. Marie Lazarus in RoboCop 3.In 1993, Dick Wolf signed Hennessy as assistant district attorney Claire Kincaid in the NBC crime drama Law & Order. The show ran for three seasons. She left the show after 1996.