Jillian Noel Hennessy

Jillian Noel Hennessy (19 November 1975) is a Canadian actor and singer. Her most well-known role is on American TV's Law & Order where she was the prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons and Crossing Jordan for six. She also appeared as an actress in films such as RoboCop 3: Most Wanted, as well the independent films Chutney Popcorn (which she also co-directed) and The Acting Class (which was written by her). Hennessy was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. John Hennessy her father was a marketing executive and salesman. He was a frequent traveler that led to numerous family moves. Maxine Hernnessy, Maxine's mother and secretary, died in 1982. Eleanor her paternal grandmother from Kitchener (Ontario) took part in raising her daughter. John Paul Hennessy Jr., her younger brother, is Jacqueline Hennessy who is an identical twin who is a magazine journalist and a TV host in Canada. Hennessy is of Irish, French, Swedish and Italian roots from her father's side, and mainly Ukrainian Roma, as well as Austrian, ancestry on her mother's. She attended Grand River Collegiate Institute and Stanley Park Senior Public School. Hennessy as well as her sister were the first actors to be cast as twin call girl in 1988's Dead Ringers. According to Gillian Anderson (the actress who played the part), she was shortlisted for Dana Scully's role 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 was held for three seasons until she was fired in the year 1996.