From Rosiclare, Illinois, Jennifer headed for the Drama Department at Southern Illinois University where, after touring a semester playing "Cherie" in "Bus Stop", she was hooked. She went to New York where she studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio, performed Off-Broadway, toured with the Stanley Wolff Players in the Catskills and did two seasons of Summer Stock.
After moving to Los Angeles, she appeared in over 80 television shows and films, She is best known for playing the Grande Dame Witch, Penny 'Grams' Halliwell, in "Charmed". Guest Starring roles include "Lou Grant", "L.A. Law", "Murphy Brown", "Fame", "Designing Women", "Friends", "Ally McBeal" and "Grey's Anatomy". In the cult film, "Heathers", she played Winona Ryder's off-the-wall mother.
