Jenny Ann Biggs ( Mollen) is an American actress and published writer and essayist. She played Nina Ash on the television series ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

'' (2003–04). She appeared on the series ''

Viva Laughlin ''Viva Laughlin'' is an American musical dramedy television series adapted by Bob Lowry and Peter Bowker (creator of the original series) from the popular BBC British serial, ''Blackpool'', and taking its name from the latter program's sequel, ' ...

'' (2007), ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

'' (2008), and ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

'' (2014). Mollen has published two collections of essays, and has written articles for various publications, including '' Cosmopolitan'' and ''

Parents A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

''. She has appeared on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list twice with her books ''I Like You Just The Way I Am'' (2014) and ''Live Fast Die Hot'' (2016).

Early life

Mollen was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. Mollen's father is Jewish and her mother is Christian, she was raised culturally Jewish. She has a sister and a half-brother. In the late 1990s, Mollen graduated from Chaparral High School in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

. She studied theater and graduated from

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

. Mollen briefly attended graduate school to study psychology. Mollen worked in local theater as a child. She worked at

Old Globe Theatre The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, the

Idyllwild Arts Academy Idyllwild Arts Academy is a private school located in Idyllwild, in the San Jacinto Mountains and San Bernardino National Forest, within western Riverside County, California. The school was founded in 1946. It was previously known as Idyllwild S ...

, and the

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary pla ...

in Ashland,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Career

Acting

In 2005, Mollen announced in an interview about her plans to perform in London in a play she wrote about her dog. In 2009, Mollen wrote the

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''Kidnapping Caitlynn'', which stars

Jason Biggs Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Jim Levenstein in the '' American Pie'' comedy film series and Larry Bloom in the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black''. He als ...

Julie Benz Julie Benz (born May 1, 1972) l is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Darla on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel'' (1997–2004), and as Rita Bennett on ''Dexter'' (2006–2010), for which she won the 2006 Satellite Award ...

and herself. The film is directed by Katherine Cunningham Eves. In 2016, Mollen co-starred with her husband Jason Biggs as fictional husband and wife characters in comedy film '' Amateur Night''.

Writing

In 2012 and 2013, Mollen wrote a humor column for ''The Smoking Jacket'', a website affiliated with ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'', as well as an advice column for ''Playboy''. In January 2013, Mollen's signed with St. Martin's Press to write a book of comedic essays, ''I Like You Just The Way I Am''. The book reached #10 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for Print & E-Book Nonfiction on its debut in June 2014. On August 4, 2016, it was announced that ABC Digital acquired a single-camera comedy written and starring Mollen based on her NYT Best Seller ''I Like You Just The Way I Am''. In June 2016, Mollen published a follow-up, ''Live Fast Die Hot'', which also subsequently became '' New York Times Best Seller'' at #8 in Humor. In August 2016, it was reported that the film rights had been acquired by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

with

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2 ...

attached to star and Mollen attached to write and executive produce.

Personal life

Mollen met actor

while filming '' My Best Friend's Girl'' and they were engaged by January 2008. On April 23, 2008, the couple eloped and got married in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California. In July 2008, they had a formal wedding ceremony in

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

. Their son, Sid, was born on February 15, 2014. Their second son, Lazlo was born on October 2, 2017. After living in Los Angeles for some time, the Biggs family moved to New York City in 2018. Mollen speaks German fluently.

Filmography

Selected works and publications

Books

* *

Periodicals

* * * * * * *

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mollen, Jenny Actresses from Phoenix, Arizona American film actresses American television actresses 21st-century American memoirists 21st-century American actresses Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni Jewish American actresses 21st-century American women writers Writers from Phoenix, Arizona American women memoirists 21st-century American Jews Year of birth missing (living people)