She has always had a close relationship with her two sisters, Melissa (who is older) and Suzannah (who is younger). Even though Jennifer has said "We did have raging fights about [borrowing clothes] and using the phone". You can tell that Jennifer really respects and admires her sisters. "My big sister Melissa, is such a stud and my little sister Suzannah, has always had a perfect body and big blue eyes. We were a force." The family often has foreign exchange students in their home, so Jen often shared a room with her sister Melissa.

Melissa was the class valedictorian and a champion majorette. Jennifer wanted to stand out so she took up the saxophone and joined the swim team. Jennifer graduated from George Washington High School in the class of 1990 and went on to attend Denison University. She started college majoring in Chemistry. She later changed her major to drama when she realized that her passion for the stage outweighed her love of science. After graduating from Denison in 1994 she headed to New York City to pursue her career. When she first moved to NYC, she got a job being an understudy in a play earning $150 a week. "I would roll up pennies to take the subway to work in Times Square. I was broke, but I was happy." It might not have been easy, but it was here that Jen scored her first television role as Melissa Gilbert's daughter on the miniseries "Zoya" based on Danielle Steel's book. The next few roles that Jennifer received were in two Hallmark Hall of Fame films, "Harvest of Fire" and "Rose Hill". Jennifer did a few other feature films before landing her first role on a television series, "Significant Others". The show started during mid-season and didn't do well in its time slot and was quickly cancelled. "I loved this show. It was well written and I loved the guys. We had a blast. I was really bummed when it was cancelled." The next step in Jennifer's life was to move to Los Angeles (following a boyfriend, which didn't work out) where she got a job as a hostess at the restaurant Isabella's. It was then that things started to change for Jen as she got a role on the WB series, "Felicity" as Hanna Bibb, the girlfriend of Noel played by Scott Foley. The role as Hanna Bibb helped Jennifer get some recognition, but it also helped her meet the man who would later become her husband.