Jennifer Lien
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Jennifer Anne Lien (born August 24, 1974)<ref name="SimpsonandThomas2000">Template:Cite magazine</ref> is an American former actress known for playing the alien Kes on the television series Star Trek: Voyager.
Early lifeEdit
Lien was born Jennifer Anne Lien on August 24, 1974,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> in Illinois, the youngest of three children, and joined the Illinois Theatre Center at the age of 13.<ref name="SimpsonandThomas2000"/>
In a 1992 interview, she said: "My childhood was wild because I was very uncomfortable living where I lived (the South Side of Chicago). It was very industrial—if you didn't fit in, you got your ass kicked. I was just my own person, and I adopted this really tough skin because I had to if I wanted to survive. A lot of my friends were into drugs, and I saw a lot of them die."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In a 1993 interview, she said:
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When I was a little kid in Chicago, I always used to pretend I was somebody else. I wrote little plays, I was a tomboy, I hung out with the guys a lot. I never had much interest in hanging out with girls. I was always writing plays or watching movies or reading books, and when I was in seventh grade, I joined the drama club and found that I could fit right in, I could relax, I could do anything I wanted. I began to think I could make a difference, I could make people happy. I felt like I made the world just a little better for a while. Then, on the advice of an eighth grade teacher, I went to acting class, and then got an agent. I did industrial films and some theatre. Soon, casting directors started hiring me and then I got an interview with the people from AW. They liked me, asked me to come to New York, so here I am!<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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CareerEdit
Lien's first television appearance was in a bubble gum commercial playing twins.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Her first appearance on a television series was as a music academy student in a 1990 episode of Brewster Place, starring Oprah Winfrey. The same year she provided her voice for the dubbed English language version of Baby Blood, a French horror film. Lien moved to New York in 1991 after she was cast as Hannah Moore on the soap opera Another World. She attended and graduated from the Professional Children's School while working on this series.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In a 1992 interview, Lien said: "A couple of years ago, I was trying to get an audition for a baseball movie, so I said that I could play baseball. We'd always played a lot while I was growing up, like in the backyard. But when I showed up at the audition, I was faced with these Goliath-like, testosterone women who could really play. I did survive the two days of training and auditions, but I basically pulled every muscle in my body!".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In 1993, Lien was cast as Roanne in Phenom, a sitcom starring Judith Light. She also participated in the recording of Adam Sandler's comedy album They're All Gonna Laugh at You! in which she played the part of the valedictorian on the track "The Buffoon And The Valedictorian", as well as one of the daughters on the track "Oh, mom..."<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
In 1994, Lien was cast as Kes on Star Trek: Voyager. Her character was an Ocampa, a species in the Star Trek universe that lives for only eight to nine years, who joins the starship's crew after it is stranded 70,000 light-years from Earth.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the same year, Lien voiced the character Valerie Fox in the pilot episode of The Critic.
Richard Lutz wrote, "The medical personnel in Star Trek best embody the humane values embedded in this franchise; the most notable of which is Kes, thanks in large part to Jennifer Lien whose remarkable performance brought to life a beautiful child-like being (Ocampa) whose short lifespan and humanity reminds us that the most important element in a life worth living is a loving connection with our fellow human beings."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The showrunners reluctantly terminated Lien's contract as a member of Voyager's main cast due to unresolved personal issues that affected her performance.<ref name="Zabiegalski">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2000, Lien returned as a guest actor in the episode "Fury".<ref name="fury">Template:Cite episode</ref><ref name="startrek1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
After Voyager, Lien appeared in the film American History X as the younger sister of Edward Norton's character. In 1998, she appeared in SLC Punk! playing Sandy, the wild girlfriend of Matthew Lillard's character. She also voiced Agent L for the first three seasons of Men in Black: The Animated Series (1997–1999) and the first seven episodes of the fourth season before being replaced by Jennifer Martin.
ConventionsEdit
Lien has attended science fiction conventions in relation to her role as Kes when she was working on Voyager and after her film career ended. In a 1995 interview,<ref name="Spelling1996">Template:Cite magazine</ref> she said about these conventions:Template:Quote
Personal lifeEdit
Lien is married to writer and filmmaker Phil Hwang; their son was born on September 5, 2002.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Upon his birth, Lien retired from acting and voice-over work but was credited as executive producer on her husband's 2008 film Geek Mythology.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In August 2010, Lien said she intended to work as a nutritionist after completing her studies.<ref name="startrek1"/>
Legal issuesEdit
Between 2015 and 2018, Lien was arrested and charged with a variety of offenses including indecent exposure;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> several of these charges were later dropped.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The court eventually ordered her to undergo mental health treatment.<ref name="Lawrence2015">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
FilmographyEdit
FilmEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Baby Blood | Yanka (voice) | |
| 1998 | American History X | Davina Vinyard | |
| SLC Punk! | Sandy | ||
| 2001 | Rubbernecking | Nurse |
TelevisionEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Brewster Place | Music Academy Student | Episode: "One Small Step at a Time" |
| 1991–1992 | Another World | Hannah Moore | Recurring role; unknown number episodes |
| 1993–1994 | Phenom | Roanne | 22 episodes |
| 1994 | The Critic | Valerie Fox | Episode: "The Pilot" |
| 1995 | Inside the New AdventureTemplate:SndStar Trek: Voyager | Herself | TV special |
| 1995–1997; 2000 | Star Trek: Voyager | Kes | 72 episodes; regular cast member for three seasons |
| 1996 | Duckman | Movie Actress (voice) | Episode: "Apocalypse Not" |
| The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | Elise (voice) | citation | CitationClass=web
}} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref> |
| Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond | HerselfTemplate:\Kes | TV special | |
| 1997 | Superman: The Animated Series | Inza Nelson (voice) | Episode: "The Hand of Fate"<ref name="btva" /> |
| 1997–2000 | Men in Black: The Series | Agent L (voice) | 40 episodes |
Video gamesEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure | Vitani | <ref name="btva" /> |
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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