Jessalyn Sarah Gilsig (born November 30, 1971) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Meredith Gordon in Heroes, Kayley in Quest for Camelot, Lauren Davis in Boston Public, Gina Russo in Nip/Tuck, Det. Kelly Ronson in NYPD Blue, Terri Schuester in Glee, and as Siggy Haraldson in Vikings.
Early life
Gilsig was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the daughter of Claire, a writer and translator, and Toby Gilsig, an engineer. She began her acting in a voice work part at age 12 for a National Film Board of Canada production, Masquerade. She later pursued her acting studies further at Harvard University's Institute for Advanced Theater Training.
She moved to New York City in 1995 where she appeared in several off-Broadway plays. However, it was her association with David E. Kelley that led to her starring role in Boston Public. Gilsig would leave 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,
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. appeared in See This Movie, and in one of the lead roles in the 2007 film Flood.
In 2007–2008 she had recurring roles in two television series, playing Shelley, the sister of Tami Taylor, on NBC's Friday Night Lights, and Claire Bennet's biological mother, Meredith Gordon, on Heroes. Gilsig went on to play the main role of Terri Schuester on the Fox show, Glee, from 2009 to 2012.
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. In 2017 she joined the cast of Scandal.
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.
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Personal life
thumb|right|upright|[[Ian Brennan (writer)|Ian Brennan, Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison and Gilsig at Waldorf Astoria New York May 17, 2010]]
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. They were married on January 1, 2005, in a traditional Jewish wedding (Gilsig's father is Jewish). Gilsig and Salomon have a daughter.
Gilsig filed for divorce from Salomon on September 8, 2010, citing irreconcilable differences, having been separated since 2009. In 2013, Gilsig became an American citizen.
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|2011
|About Fifty
|Jessica
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|2013
|Somewhere Slow
|Anna Thompson
|Television film
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|Destination: Infestation
|Dr. Carolyn Ross
|Television film
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|rowspan="2"|2007–2008
|Friday Night Lights
|Shelley Hayes
|Television film
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|CSI: NY
|Jordan Gates
|3 episodes
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|XIII
|Kim Rowland
|TV miniseries
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|2008–2009
|Imaginary Bitches
|Jessalyn
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|Glee
|Terri Schuester
|Television film
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|2013–2015
|Vikings
|Siggy
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|2013
|data-sort-value="Good Wife, The" | The Good Wife
|Janie Ludwig
|Television film
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|2015
|Evil Men
|Adela
|Television film
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|2016
|Scandal
|Vanessa Moss
|5 episodes
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|2018
|data-sort-value="Sweetheart, The" | The Sweetheart
|Samantha
|Television film
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|2019
|Grand Hotel
|Roxanne
|Episode: "A Perfect Storm"
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|2021–2022
|Big Shot
|Holly Barrett
|Main role
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|2023
|1923
|Beverly Strafford
|Episode: "War and the Turquoise Tide"
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|2025
|Chicago Med
| Ainsley Towne
| Episode "Down in a Hole"
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- PLEASE ALSO TRY TO REMEDIATE THE COMPLETE EXISTING LACK OF SOURCES IN THIS PRINCIPLE SECTION (OCTOBER 2015). THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE 2009.
- NOTE, IMDB IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE SOURCE.
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Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of awards and nominations received by Jessaly Gilsig<!-- Per WP:ACCESSIBILITY & MOS:TABLECAPTION, data tables should always include a descriptive caption.-->
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! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Nominated work
! scope="col" | Result
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| 2008
| Shanghai International TV Festival Magnolia Award
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Film
| Flood
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| 2009
| 36th Daytime Emmy Awards
| New Approaches – Daytime Entertainment
| Imaginary Bitches
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| rowspan="3" | 2010
| 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
| rowspan="3" | Glee
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| Teen Choice Awards
| Most Fanatic Fans
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| Gold Derby Awards
| Ensemble of the Year
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| 2013
| Brooklyn Film Festival
| Best Narrative Feature
| Somewhere Slow
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| 2015
| Golden Maple Awards
| Best Actress in a TV Series Broadcasted in the US
| Vikings
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