Jessalyn Gilsig

Gilsig was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the daughter of Claire, a writer and translator, and Toby Gilsig, an engineer.[1] She began her acting in a voice work part at age 12 for a National Film Board of Canada production, Masquerade.[1] She is of Jewish descent.[2][3]

Gilsig attended McGill University in Montreal, from 1989 to 1993, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1993.[4] She later pursued her acting studies further at Harvard University's Institute for Advanced Theater Training.[4]

Jessalyn Gilsig at premiere party of TV series, Glee, Santa Monica, California on May 11, 2009

Gilsig began her career as a voice actress.[1] She has done voices in the films such as Masquerade,[1] and for television series such as Young Robin Hood.[5]

She moved to New York City in 1995 where she appeared in several off-Broadway plays.[6] However, it was her association with David E. Kelley that led to her starring role in Boston Public.[7]

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.[7] 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;[7] Gilsig would leave the series after the end of the second season in May 2002.[8]

Following her departure from Boston Public, Gilsig joined the cast of Nip/Tuck in 2003 as Gina Russo, a role she continued until 2008.[9] In 2004, she appeared in five episodes of NYPD Blue,[9] followed by four episodes of FOX's Prison Break in 2005.[10]

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.[7] She then provided the speaking voice for Kayley in the animated film Quest for Camelot (1998), with Andrea Corr performing the character's songs.[7] In 2004 she appeared in Chicks with Sticks,[11] as well as See This Movie,[12] and in one of the lead roles in the 2007 movie Flood.[13]

In 2007–2008 she had recurring roles in two television series, playing Shelley, the sister of Tami Taylor, on NBC's Friday Night Lights,[14] and Claire Bennet's biological mother, Meredith Gordon, on Heroes.[15] Gilsig went on to play the main role of Terri Schuester on the Fox show, Glee, from 2009 to 2012.[16]

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.[17][18] In 2017 she joined the cast of Scandal.[19]

On January 24, 2020, Gilsig joined the cast of the Disney+ sports comedy-drama series Big Shot as Bertha Russell with John Stamos to replace Shiri Appleby.[20]

Gilsig met and briefly dated her future husband 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.[2] They were married on January 1, 2005 in a traditional Jewish wedding (Gilsig's father is Jewish).[2][3] Gilsig and Salomon have a daughter who was born in September 2006.[21]

Gilsig filed for divorce from Salomon on September 8, 2010, citing irreconcilable differences, having been separated since 2009.[3][22] In 2013 Gilsig became an American citizen.[6]

• Rohan, Virginia (6 February 2001). "Gilsig Goes 'Public' And Grapples With Racism". Chicago Tribune. p. 8. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
• Stebbins, Sarah (4 July 2005). "School Ties". InStyle. p. 272f. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
• "Jessalyn Gilsig—Actor, Painter". Hollywood.com. 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.

• Jessalyn Gilsig at IMDb
• Jessalyn Gilsig at AllMovie
• Jessalyn Gilsig at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Jessalyn Gilsig at the TCM Movie Database
• Jessalyn Gilsig at Rotten Tomatoes
• Jessalyn Gilsig at TV Guide