Jennifer was born in Richmond, VA and attended high school in Santa Cruz, California. Believe it or not, she can actually credit her path as an actress to landing in detention. Down the hall that day, she happened to hear music and decided to follow the sound. What she discovered was students auditioning for the classic musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” On a whim, she auditioned and snagged the lead role of sexy, blonde secretary Hedy La Rue. Jennifer then went on to attend UCLA’s School of Theatre, Television and Film, receiving a BA from the school.
A California girl at heart, Jennifer stayed in LA after college and made her professional debut at the Pasadena Playhouse in “The Lion in Winter” opposite Broadway vet Carol Cook. Television roles started to follow including a memorable role on the 90’s FOX drama, “Party of Five” as troubled “Daphne Jablonsky”. Other credits include starring opposite Rodney Carrington in ABC’s family comedy, “Rodney” and a slew of other guest starring roles on shows like “Will and Grace”, “FRIENDS”, “Private Practice”, “Boston Legal” and “Grey’s Anatomy”.
Perhaps most memorably though, Jennifer stirred things up on the first season of “Glee”, starring as Terri’s (Jessalyn Gilsig) sister “Kendra Giardi”. How do we say this nicely? Terri and Kendra weren’t always the sharpest tools in the shed. Together, the two schemed to keep Terri’s fake pregnancy a secret often with hilarious results. For this role, Jennifer won a SAG honor as a recurring guest star. Most recently, Jennifer co-starred in ABC’s hilarious dramedy “GCB”, alongside Kristin Chenoweth, Leslie Bibb and Annie Potts. Set in affluent Dallas, Jennifer played “Sharon Peacham,” a former beauty queen who deals with the pressures of being perfect by stress-eating. To combat this problem, Sharon then invents a new diet plan, the hysterically titled, “Losing It with Jesus”.
In real life, Jennifer was the spokesperson for Kirstie Alley’s weight loss plan “Organic Liaison” in 2010. On the plan, she lost over 30 pounds she gained following a car accident. An animal lover, she has three cats and two dogs. Currently, she lives in LA with her animals and husband.
Jennifer has chosen to perform “Fairytales” and “Worry” from “My Letter to Fear.” “Fairytales” is one woman’s reflection on all stories promised to her as a child– and how not true they turned out. “Worry” explores all the things that weigh on a woman’s mind. if we could get paid simply to worry, we’d all have full time jobs!
We are so thrilled Jennifer is joining us for “My Letter to Fear” on June 24th and we hope you’ll join us too!
Check back in a few days for the next actress in our Get to Know blog series!
