ALMA MATTERS
EXTRAORDINARY ALUM Jennifer Morrison BA ’00 • Actress
mythology of Star Trek and needed to have a fresh energy to bring to it. I think not knowing much about it probably added to it because I didn’t have it in my head that things had to be a certain way.
New challenges • I wasn’t necessar- ily looking to do television when that came my way, because I just finished House. The script [for Once Upon a Time] was really extraordinary. . . . It had such an outrageous concept, but it made sense—it was so clear, so inventive, and so creative.
COURTESY OF DISNEY/ABC TV Jennifer Morrison (BA ‘00) in character on ABC’s Once Upon a Time. By KURT ANTHONY KRUG
and JCPenney. In 1992, she was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for Kids alongside Michael Jordan. Morrison made her film debut at 15 in Intersec- tion, playing the daughter of Richard Gere and Sharon Stone. She also appeared in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Star Trek, among others. Arguably, she is best known as Dr. Allison Cameron on FOX’s acclaimed medical drama
J
ennifer Morrison (BA ‘00) has always been pas- sionate about the arts. As a child model, she ap- peared in ads for Kohl’s
House and Emma Swan on ABC’s award-winning fantasy drama Once Upon A Time.
The play’s the thing • I don’t have a memory of not thinking of myself as an actress. My parents are retired music teachers, so we had music in the house. I used to see the musicals in high school because my dad was conducting the pit orchestra—that was my earliest interaction with any kind of acting. . . . I came home from kindergarten one day and said to my mom, “Well, I’m an actor. Why am I not in a play?”
Finding a home on House • At that point in my career, I wanted to work. It wasn’t so much about “Do I want to do this or not?”—I just wanted to work. I had some offers for other pilots and was considering a couple other things, but the script was so great. It was different than anything else that I ever read.
Playing Captain Kirk’s mother • I honestly didn’t know that much about (Star Trek). I thought it would be to my detriment in my audition, but it turned out, actually, to be in my benefit because J.J. [Abrams] wanted to be very true to the
The endurance of fairy tales • Fairy tales, from a psychological perspective, are really about finding yourself and discovering who you truly are—your morality, your ethics, and your values—that’s all built into the storytelling of [Once Upon a Time]. Whether it’s close to the surface or buried, people respond to that. We’re drawn subconsciously to that kind of storytelling where people are rediscovering themselves with some form of hope underneath it.
Loyolan for life • What I found wonderful and surprising is that I really ended up appreciating that it was a liberal arts education. . . . I actually found (taking) psychology and religion classes served me in the long run as an actress. I really appre- ciated the well-roundedness of the education I got at Loyola. In addi- tion, I made lifelong friends and had incredible experiences on the stage there. I just felt very lucky I chose the right place go to school.
42 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
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