Although she came to prominence as a no-nonsense assistant district attorney on the long-running crime series
Law & Order, this fun-loving, guitar-playing beauty is the antithesis of that serious character. Hennessy appeared in a handful of big- and small-screen roles in her native Canada before moving to New York to pursue acting in the early '90s. In 1993 she made her name on
L&O but left after three years to pursue more lively roles. For the rest of the decade, she played supporting parts in a number of independent films before wisely returning to series television in 2001 as a mouthy medical examiner on
Crossing Jordan.
Jill Hennessy Fast Facts:
- Speaks Italian, French, Spanish and German.
- Song "The Ballad of Jill Hennessy" by Mollycuddle was written about her.
- Used to play guitar and sing in the New York subway for money.
- In 1988's Dead Ringers, her first movie role, Hennessy and her twin sister, Jacqueline Hennessy, played twin prostitutes.
- Made her Broadway debut in the Buddy Holly musical Buddy in 1990.
- Opened Hennessy's Tavern in Northvale, NJ, in 1999.
- Performed Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and Tom Waits' "You're Innocent When You Dream" on the 2003 Crossing Jordan soundtrack.
- Released debut album, Ghost in My Head, in 2009.
- Jill Hennessy Relationships:
- Eleanor Hennessy - Grandmother
- Gianni Mastropietro - Son
- Jacqueline Hennessy - Sister
- John Hennessy - Father
- John Paul Hennessy - Brother
- Marco Mastropietro - Son
- Maxine Hennessy - Mother
- Paolo Mastropietro - Husband
