Jessalyn Gilsig Biography

Jessalyn Sarah Gilsig (born November 30, 1971) is a Canadian actress known for her roles in the television series Boston Public, as Gina Russo in Nip/Tuck and as Will Schuester's wife/ex-wife, Terri Schuester, in Glee. She also appeared in several episodes of NYPD Blue, Prison Break, and had a recurring role on Heroes, as well as several other series.

Personal life

Gilsig was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the daughter of Claire, a writer and translator, and Toby Gilsig, an engineer. She began acting at age 12. She attended high school at Trafalgar School for Girls in downtown Montreal. She later studied at Harvard University's American Repertory Theater, and attended McGill University from 1989 to 1993, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1993.

Gilsig first met Bobby Salomon when both were Montreal high school students. They briefly dated with Gilsig commenting that Salomon was the "cool guy" and football team quarterback. After Salomon, then a film producer, moved to Hollywood in 2002, he and Gilsig renewed their friendship and began dating again. The pair wed on January 1, 2005. As Salomon is Jewish and Gilsig is Jewish on her father's side, the couple had a traditional Jewish wedding. Gilsig and Salomon have a daughter, Penelope, born on September 26, 2006. Gilsig filed for divorce from Salomon on September 8, 2010, citing irreconcilable differences. They had been separated since 2009.

Career

She began her career as a voice actress. She has done voices in the films Mascarade and The Journey Home and the television series The Little Flying Bears, Young Robin Hood and Gulliver's Travels.

She moved to New York City in 1995 where she appeared in several off-Broadway plays. Although she had appeared in several Canadian productions in the late 1980s/early 1990s, her television career began during the late 1990s when she guest-starred in several television series, including Viper and Seven Days. However, it was her association with David E. Kelley that led to her starring role in Boston Public.

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. Although the series was cancelled before Gilsig's episodes were broadcast, Kelley wrote the part of Lauren Davis in Boston Public specifically for her. The series premiered in September 2000 on FOX. Gilsig left the series after the end of the second season in May 2002.

Following her departure from Boston Public, Gilsig joined the cast of Nip/Tuck in 2003 as Gina Russo, a role she continued until 2008. In 2004, she appeared in five episodes of NYPD Blue, followed by four episodes of FOX's Prison Break in 2005. In early 2006, she guest-starred in an episode of Law & Order.

In addition to her extensive credits in television and theatre, Gilsig also has some experience with films. She had a small role in the 1998 film The Horse Whisperer and provided the speaking voice for Kayley in the animated film Quest for Camelot (Andrea Corr performed the character's songs), also released in 1998. In 2004 she appeared in Chicks with Sticks as well as See This Movie. She appeared in one of the lead roles in the 2007 movie, Flood.

In 2007-2008 she had recurring roles in two television series. On NBC she played Shelley, the sister of Tami Taylor, in Friday Night Lights; and she played as Claire Bennet's biological mother, Meredith Gordon, on Heroes. Gilsig played the main role of Terri Schuester on the Fox show, Glee, from 2009-2011. In 2012 her character returned in the episode "Glee, Actually," in Artie's dream.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Mascarade	(voice)	Short film
1989	'		Short film
	Jacknife	His Girlfriend
1998	The Horse Whisperer	Lucy
	Quest for Camelot	Kayley (voice)
2004	Chicks with Sticks	Paula Taymore
	See This Movie	Annie Nicole
2007	Flood	Samantha 'Sam' Morrison
2008	Prom Night	Aunt Karen Turner
2009	'	Julie King
2011	About Fifty	Jessica
2012	Somewhere Slow	Anna Thompson	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	'	Tina (voice)	TV series
1991"1992	Young Robin Hood	Gertrude of Griswald (voice)	26 episodes
1992	Gulliver's Travels	Folia (voice)	TV series
1998	To Have & to Hold	Paula	Episode: "Stuck in the Blizzard with You"
	Viper	Alyssa	Episode: "Family Matters"
1999	Seven Days	Carla Boyles	Episode: "Last Card Up"
	'	RJ Shannon	Episode: "The Real Deal"
	'	Callie	TV movie
	'	ADA Jennifer	Episode: "Loser's Keepers" Episode: "Victimless Crimes"
2000	Snoops	Suzanne Shivers	Episode: "Swan Chant" Episode: "The Stolen Diskette"
2000"2002	Boston Public	Lauren Davis	44 episodes
2002	Haunted	Elise Martin	Episode: "Three Hour Tour"
2003	Without a Trace	Whitney Ridder	Episode: "Confidence"
2003"2008	Nip/Tuck	Gina Russo	17 episodes
2004	NYPD Blue	Det. Kelly Ronson	5 episodes
2005	Fathers and Sons	Dianne (uncredited)	TV movie
	Prison Break	Lisa Rix	4 episodes
2006	Law & Order	Angela Burquette	Episode: "Heart of Darkness"
2007	Backyards & Bullets	Eileen	TV movie
	Destination: Infestation	Dr. Carolyn Ross	TV movie
2007"2008	Friday Night Lights	Shelley Hayes	6 episodes
	Heroes	Meredith Gordon	10 episodes
2008	'	Christine Rydell	TV movie
	CSI: NY	Jordan Gates	3 episodes
	XIII	Kim Rowland	TV miniseries
2008-2009	Imaginary Bitches	Jessalyn	Episode: "A New Leper in the Colony" Episode: "Three Bitches Is an Imaginary Crowd (Part Two)" Episode: "Bitches Emmy Special"
2009"2012	Glee	Terri Schuester	Regular Seasons 1-2 Guest Season 4 (1 episode, "Glee, Actually") Glee Encore
2013"present	Vikings	Siggy	Main cast
2013	The Good Wife	Janie Ludwig	1 episode