Jenny Schecter
| Jenny Schecter | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| The L Word character | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Mia Kirshner | ||||||
| Duration | 2004–09 | ||||||
| First appearance | 18 January 2004 | ||||||
| Last appearance | 8 March 2009 | ||||||
| Created by | Ilene Chaiken | ||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||
| Profile | |||||||
| Occupation |
Writer Grocery clerk Waitress Stripper Movie director |
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| Mother | Sandy Schecter |
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| Stepfather | Warren Ziskin |
| Husband | Tim Haspel (2004) |
Jennifer "Jenny" Diane Schecter is a fictional character from the American Showtime television drama series The L Word, played by Mia Kirshner. Jenny debuted on-screen during the pilot episode and remained until the series' final episode. Jenny became well documented in the media for her outlandish plots. Jenny was created by series creator Ilene Chaiken, based on herself as a younger woman living in the lesbian community. Chaiken implemented a series of changes to the character, one of which being the inclusion of a sexual abuse storyline and self-harm, which some critics observed as being attempts to make her likable in the LGBT community. One storyline that gained mainstream attention was adopting a homeless dog, only to have it put down for personal gain. Other storylines include stripping, writing novels, coming out, directing a film, affairs, and her possible murder. The final season is based around the lead-up to her death, during which Jenny made herself extremely unpopular with her friends, who became suspects.
Jenny's character was unpopular with both fans and critics throughout the entire series because of her frequent narcissistic tendencies, her prima donna ways, her egotistical attitude, irresponsibility, frequent self-pity and selfish persona. She has also been labeled a "love to hate" character. The majority of critics have been intrigued by her "polarising personality" and branded it as one of the main reasons to watch the series. New York magazine gave a large amount of praise to Jenny and on one occasion stated: "Jenny Schecter is The L Word, and the death of her is the death of the show." Kirshner received critical praise for her portrayal of the character. Kirshner has stated she loved playing Jenny because she felt like a brand new character during each season. She has also stated that it is difficult for people to like the character as she can be "very despicable" and even the LGBT community does not like her because of her "duplicity and confusion".
Series creator Ilene Chaiken created Jennifer. 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 Jennifer "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."
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