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]

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]

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]

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]

Film edit

Television edit

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