Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Jessalyn Gilsig
Canadian actress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Jessalyn Sarah Gilsig (born November 30, 1971[1][better source needed]) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Meredith Gordon in Heroes, Kayley in Quest for Camelot, Lauren Davis in Boston Public, Gina Russo in Nip/Tuck, Terri Schuester in Glee, and as Siggy Haraldson in Vikings.
Remove ads
Early life
Gilsig was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the daughter of Claire, a writer and translator, and Toby Gilsig, an engineer.[2] She began her acting in a voice work part at age 12 for a National Film Board of Canada production, Masquerade.[2] She is of Jewish descent.[3][4]
Education
Gilsig attended McGill University in Montreal, from 1989 to 1993, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1993.[5] She later pursued her acting studies further at Harvard University's Institute for Advanced Theater Training.[5]
Career
Summarize
Perspective
Gilsig began her career as a voice actress.[2] She has done voices in the films such as Masquerade,[2] and for television series such as Young Robin Hood.[6]
She moved to New York City in 1995 where she appeared in several off-Broadway plays.[7] However, it was her association with David E. Kelley that led to her starring role in Boston Public.[8]
After guest-starring in two episodes of Kelley's The Practice, Gilsig was cast in two episodes of another Kelley program, the short-lived Snoops.[8] Although the series was cancelled before Gilsig's episodes were broadcast, Kelley wrote the part of Lauren Davis in Boston Public specifically for her, a series that premiered in September 2000 on FOX;[8] Gilsig would leave the series after the end of the second season in May 2002.[9]
Following her departure from Boston Public, Gilsig joined the cast of Nip/Tuck in 2003 as Gina Russo, a role she continued until 2008.[10] In 2004, she appeared in five episodes of NYPD Blue,[10] followed by four episodes of FOX's Prison Break in 2005.[11]
In addition to her extensive credits in television and theatre, Gilsig has appeared in film, beginning with a small role in the 1998 film The Horse Whisperer.[8] She then provided the speaking voice for Kayley in the animated film Quest for Camelot (1998), with Andrea Corr performing the character's songs.[8] In 2004 she starred in Chicks with Sticks,[12][13] appeared in See This Movie,[14] and in one of the lead roles in the 2007 film Flood.[15]
In 2007–2008 she had recurring roles in two television series, playing Shelley, the sister of Tami Taylor, on NBC's Friday Night Lights,[16] and Claire Bennet's biological mother, Meredith Gordon, on Heroes.[17] Gilsig went on to play the main role of Terri Schuester on the Fox show, Glee, from 2009 to 2012.[18]
In 2013, Gilsig was a series regular, portraying Siggy Haraldson, wife of Earl Haraldson and paramour of Ragnar Lothbrok's brother, Rollo, on the History Channel series Vikings until 2015.[19][20] In 2017 she joined the cast of Scandal.[21]
On January 24, 2020, Gilsig joined the cast of the Disney+ sports comedy-drama series Big Shot as Holly Barrett with John Stamos to replace Shiri Appleby.[22]
Remove ads
Personal life
.jpg)
Gilsig met and briefly dated Bobby Salomon as a high school student – he was the football team quarterback she described as a "cool guy". Salomon, a film producer, moved to Hollywood in 2002, and the two began dating again.[3] They were married on January 1, 2005, in a traditional Jewish wedding (Gilsig's father is Jewish).[3][4] Gilsig and Salomon have a daughter.[23]
Gilsig filed for divorce from Salomon on September 8, 2010, citing irreconcilable differences, having been separated since 2009.[4][24] In 2013, Gilsig became an American citizen.[7]
Remove ads
Filmography
Film
.jpg)
Television
Remove ads
Awards and nominations
Remove ads
References
Further reading
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads