# Carolyn Hennesy

Carolyn Hennesy (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress, writer, and animal advocate. Hennesy's early work consisted of guest appearances and roles in shows and television movies, including Dark Justice and in Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare. She rose to prominence when she was cast in a recurring role in Dawson's Creek. She followed this with a series of guest appearances until she gained international acclaim after landing the role of Diane Miller on the daytime television series General Hospital, for which she earned two Daytime Emmy Award nominations. Following this, she was cast in more recurring roles in shows such as Cougar Town, Revenge, and Jessie. She also received much credibility for her role in The Bay, for which she won her first Daytime Emmy Award.
Hennesy has also taken up writing, including with the 2011 novel The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli, featuring characters from General Hospital, which reached #16 on the New York Times Best Seller list. She is also known for her work as an advocate for animals, notable for her work promoting AZA zoos and aquariums, as well as promoting accredited marine parks like SeaWorld.

## Early life and education

Hennesy was born on June 10, 1962, in Encino, California. She is the daughter of production designer and art director Dale Hennesy, who won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction for the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage.

## Career

Hennesy starred as Mrs. Valentine on the teen drama Dawson's Creek in the 2000–2001 season, and she had supporting roles in the films Global Effect (2002), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde (2003), The Heat Chamber (2005), Click (2006), and Cougar Club (2007). She made three appearances on That '70s Show and has guest-starred on Reba as the mother of Reba's son-in-law, Van. She made a guest appearance on Drake & Josh as Mrs. Abernathy, the boss of the Ball & Vance Fish Corp. Additionally, she appeared as Judith Haven in an episode of What I Like About You. She starred as Rosalyn Harris in the fifth season of HBO hit series True Blood. In 2016, she joined the cast of the Netflix production Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
Since 2006, Hennessy has played Diane Miller on the daytime soap opera General Hospital. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for the role in 2010. Hennesy wrote the 2011 novel The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli featuring characters from General Hospital. The novel reached #16 on the New York Times Best Seller list. In October 2011, Hennesy appeared on Jessie as Mrs. Chesterfield, a role she would reprise through the series' entire four-year run, and in November 2011 as Myrna in the "That Still Small Voice" episode of Once Upon a Time. She also guest starred in Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures.
Hennesy has written a series of children's books based on the character Pandora. The first one, called Pandora Gets Jealous, was released January 2008. The sequel, Pandora Gets Vain, was released August 2008. The third book in the series, Pandora Gets Lazy, released March 2009. Book four, Pandora Gets Heart, was released in January 2010. The fifth book, Pandora Gets Angry, was released in February 2011. Book six, Pandora Gets Greedy, was released in June 2012. Book seven, Pandora Gets Frightened, was released in 2013.
In 2016, Hennesy appeared in the soap opera web series The Bay as Karen Blackwell. She won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for the role. Also in 2016, Hennesy was named an American Humane Association celebrity ambassador and spoke before a congressional committee on the organization's new humane conservation initiative. Hennesy is also the producer and host of Animal Magnetism, a radio program featuring wildlife and domestic animal professionals. The program focuses on welfare and conservation issues and examines both the human-animal bond and the global increase in human-wildlife conflict resulting from human over-population growth and climate change.

## Personal life

Hennesy is the niece of actress Barbara Rush and cousin of Fox News reporter Claudia Cowan. She lives in Los Angeles. In 2007, Hennesy married Donald Agnelli. They divorced in 2013. She is a trapeze artist, a skill she demonstrated during a 2015 episode of Jessie.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1992 | I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore | Bowling Alley Waitress | credited as Carolyn Henessey |
| 1993 | Lightning in a Bottle | Marsha Timmons | |
| 2001 | Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation | Rose | Voice role (English version) |
| 2001 | The Elite | Elaine | |
| 2002 | Global Effect | Meredith Tripp | |
| 2002 | Engaging Peter | Vivian | |
| 2003 | Wave Babes | Maureen | Direct-to-video film |
| 2003 | Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | Rich Woman | |
| 2003 | Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde | Congresswoman with Haircut | |
| 2004 | The Second Degree | Chrissy Le Matin | |
| 2005 | Appleseed | Athena Aerios | Voice role; credited as Lee West |
| 2005 | The Heat Chamber | Lila | |
| 2006 | Outta Sync | Phaedra Lee | |
| 2006 | Bambi II | Bambi's Mother | Voice role; direct-to-video film |
| 2006 | Click | Kathy O'Doyle | |
| 2006 | Conversations with God | Sharon Parker | |
| 2007 | Sublime | Cheryl | Direct-to-video film |
| 2007 | Cougar Club | Judge Margaret Emerson | |
| 2007 | Believers | Lina Vance | Direct-to-video film |
| 2008 | Shattered! | Adrienne | |
| 2008 | Necessary Evil | Carole Fielding | |
| 2009 | Scream of the Bikini | Ronda | Voice role |
| 2014 | Platinum the Dance Movie | Mary | |
| 2015 | Hybrids | Aradia | |
| 2015 | Mothers of the Bride | Kelly Court | |
| 2015 | You're Killing Me | Candice | |
| 2015 | A Kind of Magic | Maggie | |
| 2016 | Courting Des Moines | Gov. Joanna Sampson | |
| 2016 | The Holy Man | Betty Rodriguez | |
| 2016 | Better Criminal | Police Chief Ackerman | |
| 2018 | St. Agatha | Mother | |
| 2019 | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Domine Lithe | |
| 2020 | Fatal Affair | Janice | |
| TBA | The Swing of Things | Mama McGursky | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Series | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | Dark Justice | Jill | Episode: "Pygmalion" |
| 1995 | Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare | USDA Representative | Television film |
| 1995 | Grace Under Fire | Gloria | Episode: "Jimmy Goes Away" |
| 1995 | Night Stand with Dick Dietrick | Layla | Episode: "The Fame Show" |
| 1996 | Night Stand with Dick Dietrick | Amanda | Episode: "Sexaholics" |
| 1997 | Wings | Flight Attendant | Episode: "Just Call Me Angel" |
| 1997 | Party of Five | Alice | Episode: "Leap of Faith" |
| 1997 | The Naked Truth | Flight Attendant | Episode: "We Almost Had Paris" |
| 1997–1998 | Jenny | Chase Gardner | Recurring role |
| 1998 | Encore! Encore! | Barbara | Episode: "The Diary" |
| 1999 | That '70s Show | Sharon Singer | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | It's Like, You Know... | Cathy | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1999 | Thanks | Henrietta Randolph | Episode: "Tobacco" |
| 1999 | The Big O | Vera Ronstadt | Contract role: Season 2 only |
| 2000 | Moesha | Dr. Miller | Episode: "He Doth Protest Too Much" |
| 2000–2001 | Dawson's Creek | Mrs. Valentine | Recurring role |
| 2001 | Strip Mall | Caroline Cantwell | Episode: "Barry Boinks Caroline" |
| 2001 | Reba | Mrs. Montgomery | Episode: "Tea and Antipathy" |
| 2002 | Any Day Now | Phyllis | Episode: "Boys Will Be Boys" |
| 2002 | The Young and the Restless | Penelope Quinlan | Episode #7351 |
| 2002 | Judging Amy | Louise Rodericks | Episode: "Come Back Soon" |
| 2002 | Bram & Alice | Patricia | Episode: "Goody Two Shoes" |
| 2002 | Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex | Kago's Mother (voice: English version) | Episode: "Testation" |
| 2003 | Android Kidaider | Chigusa Sakamoto (voice: English version) | Unknown episodes |
| 2003 | Half & Half | Mrs. Scranton | Episode: "The Big Sexy Shame Episode" |
| 2003 | Recipe for Disaster | Mrs. Devries | Television film |
| 2003 | What I Like About You | Dr. Judith 'Judy' Haven | Episode: "When Holly Met Tina" |
| 2004 | Significant Others | Realtor | Episode: "The Right House, the Wrong Gender & a Turn" |
| 2004 | That '70s Show | Patty Ryals | Episode: "Winter" |
| 2005 | Barbershop | Mrs. Kane | Episode: "Debates and Dead People" |
| 2006 | Girlfriends | Melora Stewart | Episode: "The Music in Me" |
| 2006 | Commander in Chief | TV Interviewer | Episode: "Wind Beneath My Wing" |
| 2006 | Drake & Josh | Mrs. Abernathy | Episode: "I Love Sushi" |
| 2006–present | General Hospital | Diane Miller | Recurring role, 419 episodes |
| 2007 | General Hospital: Night Shift | Diane Miller | Episode: "Falling Star" |
| 2008 | Little Miss CEO | Ms. Rivers | Television film |
| 2009 | Penny Dreadfuls | Carolyn | Episode: "Feeding" |
| 2009–2012 | Cougar Town | Barb | Recurring role |
| 2009 | Penny Dreadfuls | Dorothy | Episode: "All Tomorrow's Parties" |
| 2010 | Everyone Counts | Sheila | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Better People | Ivy | Television film |
| 2011 | Everyone Counts | Sheila | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Shameless | Mrs. Neidereiter | Episode: "But at Last Came a Knock" |
| 2011 | Once Upon a Time | Myrna | Episode: "That Still Small Voice" |
| 2011–2015 | Jessie | Mrs. Rhoda Chesterfield | Recurring role |
| 2012 | Bucket and Skinner's Epic Adventures | R.J. Caldwell | Episode: "Epic Cuffs" |
| 2012 | True Blood | Rosalyn | Recurring role (season 5) |
| 2013 | The Middle | Connie McDonald | Episode: "Winners and Losers" |
| 2014 | Devious Maids | Mrs. Parker | Episode: "You Can't Take It With You" |
| 2014 | Revenge | Mrs Ellis | Recurring role |
| 2016 | Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life | Toni | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | The Bay | Karen Blackwell | Web series |
| 2017 | Future Man | Wanda | Episode: "A Blowjob Before Dying" |
| 2018 | Champions | Grandma Gayle | Episode: "Grandma Dearest" |
| 2018 | Lego Star Wars: All-Stars | General Leia Organa (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Star Wars Resistance | General Leia Organa (voice) | Episode: "Station Theta Black" |
| 2018 | He Knows Your Every Move | Caitlin | Television film |
| 2019 | Adam Ruins Everything | Miranda | Episode: "Adam Ruins Little Bugs" |
| 2022 | Big Nate | Mrs. Godfrey (voice) | Main role |

### Web

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2019 | Liza on Demand | Cora Reeves | Episode "What Up, Fam" |

### Video games

| Year | Game | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Jump Start 1st Grade | Ms. Nobel | Credited as Carolyn Hennessy |
| 2000 | Casper: Friends Around the World | Casper the Friendly Ghost | |
| 2001 | Star Trek: Away Team | Aloram Vas (voice) | Credited as Carolyn Hennessy |
| 2001 | Casper: Spirit Dimensions | Casper the Friendly Ghost (voice) | |
| 2002 | Star Trek: Bridge Commander | Captain Eina Zeiss/Captain Elizabeth Haley/Captain Torenn (voice) | Credited as Carolyn Hennesey |
| 2002 | .hack//Infection | Gardenia (voice: English version) | |
| 2002 | .hack//Mutation | Gardenia (voice: English version) | |
| 2002 | .hack//Outbreak | Gardenia (voice: English version) | |
| 2002 | .hack//Outbreak | Gardenia (voice: English version) | |
| 2006 | Suikoden V | Arshtat (voice: English version) |
| 2007 | Golden Axe: Beast Rider | (voice) | |
| 2007 | Ghost Rider | Lilith (voice) | |
| 2009 | World in Conflict: Soviet Assault | (voice) | |
| 2010 | Metro 2033 | (voice) | |
| 2016 | The Technomancer | Angela Seeker, Additional Voices | |
| 2017 | Star Trek: Bridge Crew | Lieutenant T'Nar, Additional Voices (voice) | |
| 2018 | Blade Runner: Revelations | Lilith Tyrell, Background Voices (voice) | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Result | Category | Series |
| 2000 | Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle | Won | Outstanding Comedic Actress | Career |
| 2004 | Ovation Award | Won | Featured Actress in a Play | "The Fan Maroo" |
| 2007 | TV Guide's "Best of 2007" Awards | Won | Best Supporting Actress | General Hospital |
| 2009 | Canadian Spirit Award | Won | | General Hospital |
| 2010 | Daytime Emmy Award | Nominated | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | General Hospital |
| 2017 | Daytime Emmy Award | Won | Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series | The Bay |
| 2017 | Indie Series Award | Won | Best Guest Actress — Drama | The Bay |
| 2021 | Daytime Emmy Award | Nominated | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | General Hospital |