Maxine Jenkins

**Maxine Jessica Jenkins** is a fictional character in the novel series *The Fabulous Jenkins Girls*, played by Marjandra Delfino and Laura Marano. Her older sister, Sydney is played by Marjandra's real-life sister Marieh Delfino and Laura's own older sister, Vanessa Marano.

Maxine was first introduced in the first episode of the novel series as a 14-year-old beginning her freshman year of high school with her older sister Sydney, who is beginning her junior year. Maxine is the younger of the two sisters. She is described as the "fire", as opposed to Sydney's "ice".

Throughout the entire series, she has been engaged to two different boys. First to English exchange student, Philip and her main love interest, Keith Cooper. Her major storylines in the series have included the feeling inferior to Sydney's school life; her parents' year-long separation; falling for Keith while he was in college and she was in high school, sharing a shocking kiss with her sister's love interest and former crush, Jake Marino; attempting to starve herself to maintain a skinny figure, being uncomforttable with her breast size; her struggles with Dyscalculia, and going through a pregnancy scare and a cancer scare. The character has proved popular with readers.

**Background**

Maryam Wells created Maxine Jenkins in the 1960s as part of the story bible for *The Fabulous Jenkins Girls*, a light-hearted teen soap opera-like novel series focusing on social issues and young love. Wells wrote the series based on her experience with relocating to North Hollywood to pursue a career in entertainment. But she gave up her plan and returned to her old college to pursue fashion. With her other series featuring sisters, she put the Jenkins sisters on hold. Wells revamped the series *All About Us* where she used the model of the Maxine character to revamp character: Nikki Merrick. Nixon said Nikki was Maxine's "precursor to the public" but Nikki was a upper-class version. She detailed Nikki's life as a spoiled fashionable teenager modeled off of some of TV popular teen characters while Maxine wanted to get her mother's attention in order to show her that she can never be like her older sister who is smart and perfect. "What Maxine and Nikki have in common is they both love fashion. both shown to be shallow, but they both have a heart of gold," Wells said. "But that their lives have been anything but fabulous."

After the success of *All About Us*, a series Wells revamped in 2011, she finally had *The Fabulous Jenkins Girls* published. The Maxine character officially debuted in - once the series hit bookstores.

## Storylines

Maxine begins flirting with her hunky next-door neighbor, Jake Marino at the Sunnyside Apartment complex. However, he was interested in talking to her older sister, Sydney, much to Maxine's dismay. When Sydney tells Maxine that Jake invited her to a pool party held at his friend's D-Mac's place, Maxine begs her to take her with her. But Sydney tells her that she isn't invited because it is for high-school juniors, not freshman. Annoyed, Maxine decides to crash the party with the help from her best friend, Echo Ross. At the party, the two snuck in and Maxine sees Jake talking to Sydney and she is jealous that he is taking an interest in her.

## All Grown Up

Maxine is a unemployed fashion designer. It was also revealed that prior to the *All Grown Up* series, Maxine developed a life-threatening complication while pregnant with her twin daughters, Lexi and Lola called Toxemia. Although she was under doctor's orders to stay in bed and stay away from salty foods and stress, Maxine's condition got worse when her vision started to go blurry and she had constant headaches. After she had an emergency c-section, Maxine flatlined until doctors resusitated her. Maxine survives her high-risk pregnancy, but was told by her doctor that if she was considering have more children in the future, she is likely to have complications.

Maxine works her fashion business in her sister's house and online.

## Notes

* She and her older sisters were born in August. While Sydney was born in 2004, Maxine was born in 2007.
* She have her own fashion business called MJ Designs.
* She has a fear of mice.
* She has a unique singing voice.
* She became a mother to twin girls, Lexi and Lola with her long-time boyfriend, Keith Cooper, in the missing years of the Jenkins sisters series.
* Maxine's main storyline was always her strong resentment of her sister's achievements.
* She had numerous love interests in the series. But Keith Cooper was always her main man.
* She made the list of hottest female characters in Literature.
* She is #- on the list of Maryverse's "It" girls.
* It was revealed in *All Grown Up* series that she had Toxemia during her pregnancy with her twin daughters and had to have a c-section.
* She lost her son, Marcus to a stillbirth at seven months pregnant. She developed Eclampsia while pregnant.
* After developing Eclampsia in her first pregnancy and Toxemia in her second pregnancy, Maxine was informed by doctors that it would be dangerous for her to get pregnant again.