Date of Birth

8 January 1981, San Francisco, California, USA

Birth Name

Jennifer Cortese

Nickname

Gen Genny

Height

5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography

Making her television debut as Kris Furillo, Genevieve is an experienced stage actress. She has performed in regional productions of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Crimes of the Heart" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Genevieve holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in drama and a bachelor of arts in English from the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

Trivia

She received a BFA in Drama and BA in English at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where she attended the Stella Adler Acting Studio and Atlantic Theater Co.

Her favorite books are "Lolita" and "The Sound and the Fury".

Has one sister, two brothers.

Her interests include acting, snowboarding, surfing, soccer, running and reading.

Gen's favorite TV shows are Alias and Reno 911 and her favorite movies include The Breakfast Club, Napolean Dynamite, To Kill A Mockingbird, North Shore, and The Great Escape.

Likes to travel and spend time with her friends and family, but dislikes driving, running errands, clean, and when people talk on their cell phones in public.

Some of her favorite bands include, The Kooks, the Kinks and Interpol.

Shares birthdays with "Buffy" star Amber Benson.

Genevieve grew up outside San Francisco until she was 13 when her parents decided to move to the ski town, Whitefish, Montana. After a year her family went on a road trip looking at different ski towns and ended up in Sun Valley, Idaho, where Genevieve considers home.

Personal Quotes

"I love the possibility that anything can happen in any moment with acting. That you have the opportunity to experience lives and adventures that you may not have otherwise."

"Kris has never really had a mother, she's always been the mother. That whole definition of mother is a new thing for her, so it's a power struggle. Does she submit, or does she fight? A big part of her wants to be loved so badly. It's hard, because she has to challenge that. She's never been loved. She's been hurt very badly."

"For the series we are using a couple of horses, most of which have worked on Sea Biscuit. Mattie, Reno, Finder and Houdini, all of which have extraordinary talents. Bobby, their trainer has them so well trained and attentive, they hit their marks without anyone holding on to them. They can rear, lope and stop when asked. Bobby even had me train on his horse Houdini with no hands while he told him how fast and where to go. It was an incredible and liberating experience and I gained a lot of trust and confidence from it."

"I learned to ride from my mom, she is the ultimate rider. When she was Kris's age she used her horse to escape and ride up Mount Diablo. I learned a lot from her and a ton that I incorporate into the character of Kris."

"I love Kris's simplicity when getting her point across. I use circumlocution too often and instead of getting my point across I tend to babble."

"I have some cool talents. I'm really flexible and can do all sorts of twisted yoga positions. And I'm a big athlete and especially love soccer."

My biggest thing is, I'm learning what it's like to carry myself in a personal way and also a professional way, how I can be a leader and do multitasking."

"I'm a very competitive person, so I identify with Kris in that way. Sometimes she has a little more confidence than I do, which is cool. I'm a big tomboy and I like sports, but I'm also girly and I giggle a lot more."

~ Updated: 2008-06-11 ~