For Jen Lilley, who is temporarily playing Maxie Jones on General Hospital, the glass is always full. And in the past year or so, this has been especially true for the petite blond with the huge blue eyes and winning smile. She not only has a steady job on General Hospital until Kirsten Storms returns to her role, but she appears in one of the most heralded films of 2011 -- The Artist. It's a film very close to her heart because of her love for silent and classic films, and she's extremely proud of her involvement.
A Roanoke, Virginia native, Lilley's father is a judge and her mother is a marketing and event planner. Her parents always believed that their daughter would grow up to be a teacher (so did mine). However, she surprised them, first with the ambition of singing, then in high school with her interest in becoming a journalist or lawyer, and finally, the desire to go into acting.
Lilley graduated from Cave Spring High School in 2003. Always industrious, during high school, she owned and operated a wedding cake business out of her parents' kitchen! She attended University of Virginia, majoring in drama with a minor in environmental science. While in college, she auditioned for a role in an independent film and got it. Film acting became her first love.
After graduation in 2007, Lilley packed her car from floor to roof, not to mention the trunk, and moved to Los Angeles. She started looking for work immediately while living in a less than desirable locale. She worked in two productions, one as a production designer and one as a production manager, and then won a role as a swimsuit model on Hannah Montana. In 2008, more roles came her way, including an appearance on Two and A Half Men and a regular gig as Sirena in a TV series, Ingles Ya!, which ran for 19 episodes.
Lilley went on to appear on Criminal Minds, Castle, Rules of Engagement, iCarly, several short films, and in 2011, the TV series Disaster Date.
Then came General Hospital. The role she initially auditioned for was The Woman in White, who was described as a very mysterious woman, ethereal and almost angel-like. Lilley attended the audition in a long white dress, locked eyes with casting director Mark Teschner, and did her entire reading that way. Teschner liked her work but didn't feel she was quite right for The Woman in White.
About six weeks later, GH was casting for a character that sounded like Lilley's description, and her manager submitted her comedy reel. Teschner studied 1400 audition reels, which are samplings of the actor's work, and chose eight young women to audition for the producers the next day. Lilley's manager was under the impression that a star had already been offered the role, so he advised Lilley to just go and have fun.
Teschner and the then-producer, Jill Farren Phelps, loved her audition and called her back to read with Bradford Anderson (Spinelli). Lilley saw only two other women at the audition, and she knew that she was close to getting the role. After her audition, the auditioners asked Lilley to wait outside. Five minutes later, the role was hers. She was handed twelve scripts, told she was replacing Kirsten Storms temporarily, and that she would start taping the next day. Whew.
Lilley finds the amount of work a challenge but also says that the memorization and the fact that the soap only does one or two takes has been very helpful in her development as an actress. She adds that replacing Kirsten Storms, whom she admires very much, hasn't been easy. Her analogy is that her favorite show is Dexter, and if anyone besides Michael C. Hall was playing Dexter, she would be very unhappy. Lilley is grateful for the support she has received from fans and her fellow actors.
When Lilley is not playing Maxie, she's deeply involved in two charities – and by the way, this lady donates half of her salary to charity. One, Charity Water, builds wells in impoverished areas, and her other charity is Generosity Water, which aims to end the clean water crisis in developing countries, one community at a time. A self-described workaholic, Jen Lilley is focused on doing her best at all times and continuing to make progress in her career. With her energy and drive, she will succeed in achieving her goals.
