performing short bio ✦
Jennifer is a New York native who has starred on stage and screen in projects both domestic and international. She can be seen in the acclaimed episode “New York, I Love You” of the Emmy-Award winning series Master of None (Netflix). Stage credits include: Into the Woods as the Baker’s Wife and Cinderella in three separate productions (CMPAC, Merrick Theatre, Play Group Theatre), Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins), Li’l Abner (Daisy Mae), The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy), Grease (Patty Simcox), Company (Susan), The Odd Couple (Cecily Pigeon), Lemon Tree (Theater for the New City and Theater 294), and as Sister James in Doubt with the Long Island Repertory Co. for which she garnered stellar reviews. Film/TV credits include: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central), The Chris Kepford Show (Funny or Die), Mysteries of Laura (NBC), Nancy on Kevin Can Wait (CBS), Z: The Beginning of Everything (Amazon), and as Kathleen Kennedy in "A Kennedy Family Story" on the Japanese TV series Gyoten Astonishing News. Jennifer voiced the character of Misato in an English-language version of anime The End of Evangelion and during her time in Australia she worked on Emmy Award-winning series Animalia (BBC) and the feature film Suing the Devil starring Malcolm McDowell. She holds a bachelor's degree in Music, Philosophy, and Sociology from Hofstra University and continued to study at The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and the Actors Centre Australia in Sydney. Member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA.
performing long bio ✦
Jennifer is a native New Yorker and has been performing as long as she can remember. Growing up in a large family on Long Island, the daughter of a racehorse jockey/musician and interpreter for the deaf, she was always surrounded by music at home and was given full support to explore and express herself creatively. She began dancing at 3, cheerleading at 6, singing and instrumental instruction at 8, and competed in all three throughout her childhood. By the age of 5 she signed with an agent and was already attuned to the art of taxiing around the city auditioning for commercials and walked the beauty pageant red carpet on occasion, spilling the truth to pageant hosts and casting directors instead of providing typical responses (which unfailingly mention a quest for world peace), and was awarded the title of Little Miss Half-Pint sponsored by Carvel. Teamed with her brother, Steven, she toured the eastern seaboard competing in tap and won the title of Regional Tap Dance Champions at ages 9 and 8, placing 5th in the nation. As a brother/sister dance team they regularly performed at venues across Long Island and NYC including the prestigious Waldorf Astoria and were invited back to audition four times to appear on the television show Star Search hosted by Ed McMahon.
Jennifer continued music instruction and in addition to being a member of her school’s concert and marching bands, chorus, jazz choir, and a cappella groups singing both soprano and alto, she performed six years with the All-County Chorus, earned perfect scores through NYSSMA, and was one of only nine 1st sopranos in New York State to be selected to perform with the All-State Women’s Chorus. Further, she achieved the distinction of being selected to perform with the MENC All-Eastern Honors Chorus.
Though music kept her busy, her well-rounded student career involved a full list of activities and achievements: Student Government President, Scripps National Spelling Bee Regional Finalist, Mathletes, Volleyball, Peer Leadership, National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Varsity Cheerleading Captain, Head Coach of the Levittown Red Devils junior cheerleading competition medal-winning teams, Founding Captain of the Mat-Mates which included scorekeeping for the Wrestling team, broadcasting daily school announcements, volunteering with various organizations, and during her senior year she elected to squeeze in a 1:1 university-level French course during her lunch period.
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She became enamored with musical theatre while in high school as it combined her love of performing on stage with her love of music, and performed in her first show as part of the tap corps in Rodgers and Hart’s On Your Toes. She continued to perform on stages throughout Long Island and NYC, fulfilled by being able to express a character's inner life and story through song. With lead roles in upwards of 80 productions, Jennifer is especially noted for her performances in Into the Woods, playing the Baker’s Wife and Cinderella in three separate productions (CMPAC, Merrick Theatre, Play Group Theatre). Highlights include: Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins), Li’l Abner (Daisy Mae), The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy), Grease (Patty Simcox), Company (Susan), The Odd Couple (Cecily Pigeon), Lemon Tree (Textile Co./Theater for the New City and Theater 294), and Sister James in Doubt with Long Island Repertory Co. for which she garnered stellar reviews.
Jennifer attended Hofstra University on a vocal scholarship where she trained classically as a mezzo-soprano and performed with various theatre groups, the Collegium Musicum singing early music, and was also a member of Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society and Alpha Theta Beta Sorority, Hofstra’s first Greek organization in which she held positions on the executive board. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts with specializations in Music, Philosophy, and Sociology and went on to study acting at The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and the Actors Centre Australia in Sydney.
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Jennifer has always had a huge love of movies, greatly inspired at a young age by fun outtakes and gag reels during the end credits. As her fascination with filmmaking and the depth of roles available in the medium grew, she went on to secure more roles in film and television. She has also enjoyed working extensively as a stand-in, collaborating on set with all levels of the creative and technical teams to help fine-tune the details of camera, lighting, and action.
She voiced the commanding yet playful anime character of Misato in one of the first English versions of The End of Evangelion, the penultimate film in the popular Neon Genesis Evangelion series. She played Vicki (the robot from Small Wonder) in the indie comedy Mission Idiot which premiered at The Screening Room in Tribeca, and portrayed Kathleen Kennedy, sister of JFK with a tragic tale of her own in "A Kennedy Family Story" as part of the popular Japanese TV series Gyoten Astonishing News. Jennifer resided in Australia for several years and while on the Gold Coast she lent her voice to the Emmy Award-winning CGI-animated BBC series Animalia which aired worldwide and filmed the faith-based courtroom drama Suing the Devil starring Malcolm McDowell on location in Sydney.
She has made appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Chris Kepford Show (Funny or Die, Vimeo on Demand, MNN), Z: The Beginning of Everything (Amazon), and on the CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait as Nancy, part of the book club girls.
In the spring of 2015 she took on the role of Associate Producer having helped produce a concert featuring Oxford University's a cappella group Out of the Blue with special guest artist Broadway's Kristy Cates at the renowned Feinstein's/54 Below in New York City.
Jennifer is a member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA and is currently based in New York. ✧