Jennifer Lien
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| Jennifer Lien | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jennifer Ann Lien August 24, 1974 Palos Heights, Illinois, U.S.A. |
| Spouse(s) | Phil Hwang |
Jennifer Ann Lien (born 24 August 1974) is an American actress, best known for playing the alien Kes on the television series Star Trek: Voyager.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
The youngest of three children, Lien was born in Palos Heights, Illinois. Her mother, Delores Lien, was a college teacher.[1] Lien moved to New York to pursue an acting career at the age of 16.
[edit] Career
Her first TV appearance was in a bubblegum advert playing twins. Her first appearance on a show was playing a music academy student in 1990 in an episode of Brewster Place starring Oprah Winfrey.
She provided her voice for the dubbed English version of Baby Blood, a French horror film.
Lien landed the role of Hannah Moore on the series Another World in 1991.
In 1993 she was cast as Roanne in Phenom, a sitcom starring Judith Light (of Who's the Boss? fame). That year 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."
In 1994, she was cast as Kes on Star Trek: Voyager. When the crew of the starship Voyager are stranded 75,000 light years from home by a being known as the Caretaker, they meet Kes who helps them rescue crew members and joins the crew with her partner Neelix. Kes is an Ocampan, a species that live for just 9 years. They have an ability to learn at great speeds, which allows her to learn medicine quickly and work with the Holographic Doctor.[2]
Kes gradually develops mental and telepathic abilities first seen in "Time and Again," and later used to great effect in "Cold Fire" in which the crew find another group of Ocampa and a female caretaker. Alongside the latter, some of the episodes that focussed on Kes were: "Elogium" in which she prematurely reaches the period in her life where she can have a child. "Persistance of Vision" that sees Kes save the crew from an alien giving them all hallucinations. "Tuvix" in which her lover and mentor are merged as one in a transporter accident. "Warlord" sees Kes possessed by a powerful leader on an alien world. "Darkling" has Kes going through a rebellious stage in her life and meeting a new love interest. "Before and After" begins when Kes is an old woman and she is travelling backwards through time, at one point witnessing events from "Year of Hell" from the next season.
Lien was let go from the series in 1997, which coincided with the casting of Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine. Lien was featured in the first two episodes of season four, losing control of her mental abilities and ascending to a higher level of existence in her final episode "The Gift," and sending the crew 10 years closer to home.
Following her departure from Voyager, Lien appeared in the films American History X, playing Edward Norton's sister, and SLC Punk!, playing the wild girlfriend of Matthew Lillard's character. She also gave her voice to the character of adult Vitani in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and voiced Agent "L" for three years on Men in Black: The Series.[3]
Lien was asked to return for a special episode of Star Trek: Voyager in 2000 entitled "Fury." An angry older Kes returns to Voyager and goes back in time in an attempt to alter events. Lien had input to the script.
[edit] Personal life
She is married to Phil Hwang; their first child, Jonah, was born on September 5, 2002.[4] Since the birth of her son, Lien has given up acting and voice over work. However, she was credited as executive producer on her husband's comedy film entitled Geek Mythology (2008).[5]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Jennifer Lien at the Internet Movie Database
- Jennifer Lien at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
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