Character Creation and Casting
Series creator Ilene Chaiken created Jenny. She based her on her own past experiences of coming out and dealing with the everyday life in the lesbian community as a younger woman. Like Jenny, Chaiken had befriended a group of lesbians who ran a cafe and had her first sexual encounter with a female. Actress Mia Kirshner was cast in the role. Chaiken admitted she had been searching for the right actress to play Jenny "for a long time". Kirshner auditioned via video tape, Chaiken recalled that upon viewing it she thought Kirshner was "stunning". She thought Kirshner had "riveting beauty that is unlike anyone else's, and she was so deep and intense."
Kirshner would often express her concern that she was not challenged enough or not making Jenny as "deep enough" as she could be. Chaiken said it was these qualities that made Kirshner "the bravest and boldest of actors" and branded her "utterly fearless" in her approach to Jenny.
Read more about this topic: Jenny Schecter
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