Jill and Jacqueline Hennessy: What are the Canadian twin sisters doing now?
Jill and Jacqueline Hennessy are Canadian twin sisters who are now celebrities. They work in different fields but are famous in their respective career.
Jill and Jacqueline Hennessy: the twin sisters
The twin sisters from Canada, Jill and Jacqueline Hennessy are both well-known names in the Canadian film and TV industry. Jill (full name Jillian Noel Hennessy) and Jacq (full name Jacqueline Hennessy) were born on 25 November 1968 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Their parents are John Hennessy and Maxine Hennessy. John was a meat salesman and Maxine was a secretary. But the parents separated when the twins were 14 years of age. Maxine abandoned the family and left the children under the care of their paternal grandmother.
The twin sisters also have a younger brother, John Paul “J.P.” Hennessy Jr.. They have mixed ethnicity: Irish, Swedish, French, and Italian from the paternal side and Ukrainian and Austrian from the maternal side. Both sisters studied at the Stanley Park Senior Public School in Kitchener, Ontario.
Later, Jill graduated from Grand River Collegiate Institute in Kitchener. She went to New York and was on the Broadway-bound musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story as Holly’s wife. While Jacq did a doctorate in French Literature and took up a career in print and TV journalism.
At the start of their career, the two sisters sang and acted together. But later, they pursued different career goals. Jill became an actress while Jacqueline took journalism and writing as a profession.
In the late 1980s, Jill and Jacqueline had a duo music band called Jacq and Jill. They managed to make some impact with it.
The two also acted together as call girls in the film Dead Ringers in 1988. They also co-acted in the film The Acting Class which Jill had written and co-directed.
Jill Hennessy and her life
Jill used to busk in Toronto for a living. She landed the role of Holly’s wife on Broadway due to her singing talent and fluency in French, Italian, and German languages. Later, she was seen in a supporting role in 1993’s action movie, RoboCop 3. Jill landed the role of Dana Scully in The X Files. This was her breakthrough role that made her popular.
Jill’s other noteworthy roles are on the TV series, Law and Order, Most Wanted, and Crossing Jordan. In the Law and Order series, she was cast as prosecutor Claire Kincaid in its 3 seasons. And in Crossing Jordan, she had the lead role of Jordan Cavanaugh for its 6 seasons. She has also acted in the independent film, Chutney Popcorn. She plays the guitar and loves riding motorcycles.
Jill wed Paolo Mastropietro in 2000. They had another wedding in January 2001 in New York City Hall. The couple’s first child was a son, Marco in 2003. And their second son arrived in 2007. He is Gianni.
About Jacqueline Hennessy
Jacqueline writes for magazines and is a TV host on Canadian television. She hosts the current affairs program Medical Intelligence which airs on Rogers Cable in Toronto, Ontario. Moreover, Jacq is an associate editor of Chatelaine magazine. She has several awards to her credit including the Canadian Nurses Association Award of Merit for health care reporting and the Canadian Journalism Federation Greg Clark Award.
In 1995, Jacq substituted for her twin sister, Jill on the NBC crime drama show, Law and Order. This was due to the overlapping schedules of two shows in which Jill acted. Hence, Jacq helped her with it as her duplicate. Jacq played Claire Kincaid in some of the courtroom scenes that were shot for the episode “Corpus Delicti”. It was broadcast in January 1996. Her shots were taken from behind and side. Luckily, she had no dialogue to say at that time in those scenes.
Jacq is married to Terry Moore. They have a daughter called Mia Katherine Hennessy Moore.
Short bio on Jill and Jacqueline Hennessy
Jill and Jacqueline Hennessy are Canadian twin sisters. Read here and here.