Biography
A pretty, honey blonde Canadian import with extensive United States theater credits, Jessalyn Gilsig launched her career as a David E Kelley protege of sorts, guesting on "The Practice" (ABC), winning a never-to-be-seen regular role on his doomed spy series "Snoops" (ABC) and starring on his controversial high school-set drama "Boston Public" (Fox) in a role written with her in mind. Born and raised in Montreal, the actress got her start in …
Jessalyn Gilsig SlideShow
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Career Milestones
2009 | Cast in the supporting role of Terri Schuester on the FOX series, "Glee" | |
2007 | Cast as Claire Bennet's biological mother, Meredith Gordon, on NBC's "Heroes" | |
2007 | Played Shelley, the sister of Tami Taylor, in NBC's "Friday Night Lights" | |
2006 | Co-starred in "See This Movie," a "mockumentary" about a documentary filmmaker making a movie for the 2003 Montreal Film Festival | |
2005 | Appeared in four episodes of "Prison Break" (FOX) | |
2003 | Cast as the conning sex-addicted love interest of Dr. Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) on the F/X drama, "Nip/Tuck" | |
2004 | Joined the cast of ABC's "NYPD Blue," for five episodes as a new detective | |
2000 | Cast as teacher Lauren Davis, the head of the history department, in David E. Kelley's high school-set drama, "Boston Public" (FOX) | |
1999 | Set to replace departing star Paula Marshall on the David E. Kelley spy series, "Snoops" (ABC); show was cancelled before her episodes were aired | |
1999 | Had a two episode recurring role on "The Practice," playing Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Liner | |
1999 | Featured as Sally Field's estranged daughter in "A Cooler Climate", premiered on Showtime | |
1998 | Voiced the character of Kayley in "Quest for Camelot" | |
1998 | Had a supporting role in the drama feature, "The Horse Whisperer" | |
1998 | Co-starred in the Playwrights Horizons presentation of "Gun-Shy," as a neurotic anorexic with a fixation on married men | |
1997 | Had early New York stage credit with "Mere Mortals and Others," a collection of six one-act plays produced at Primary Stages | |
1996 | Featured in the American Repertory Theatre production of Moliere's "Tartuffe" | |
1995 | With American Repertory Theatre, co-starred as Miranda in "The Tempest" | |
1995 | Moved to New York City | |
1994 | Featured in the American Repertory Theatre production of the Aeschylus trilogy, "The Orestia" | |
1991 | Had early TV voice-over credit on the syndicated series, "Young Robin Hood" | |
1989 | Acted in the National Film Board of Canada short, "The Journey Home" | |
1989 | Had early feature film credit with a cameo in "Jacknife," starring Robert De Niro in the title role | |
1984 | Landed her first role as the voice of a puppet in "Masquerade," an animated short produced by the National Film Board of Canada | |
| Began acting at age 12 | ||
Awards
2010 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in Glee |