Spotlight On: Former Fair City star and new mum Jenny Dixon

Jenny Dixon became a household name in Ireland when she landed a role on one of the biggest shows in the country.

The actress is Goss.ie’s latest Spotlight On cover star and in this exclusive interview, she opens up about Fair City changed her life forever.

The Dubliner also speaks about her marriage to former TD Tom Neville, the birth of her beautiful twins Belle and Capri, her time in the Playboy mansion, and more.

Jenny is best known for playing Kerri-Ann on RTÉ’s Fair City, but acting was never her original career plan. 

After receiving an honours degree in Science, specialising in Zoology and Genetics, she received qualifications in Education and Teaching.

Jenny taught Science and Maths, and worked a lot with the autism units in schools.  

So, how did she go from this to becoming one of the biggest soap stars in the country?

In this exclusive interview, Jenny tells us that while acting started off as a hobby for her, it then became her passion. 

She landed a spot in a top acting college in Hollywood and after learning the tricks of the trade, she auditioned for a role in RTÉ’s hit soap Fair City. 

Jenny really impressed the producers but wasn’t the right fit for the character, so she didn’t get the role. 

But what Jenny didn’t realise was that she left such a lasting impression that a character was later created especially for her – the role of the lovable Kerri-Anne. 

After five years on the popular soap, Jenny’s character was killed off the show in 2018, leaving fans devastated. 

She tells us why she felt it was time to say goodbye to the Kerri-Anne, and reveals her plans to return to acting in the near future. 

The actress also candidly opens up about her struggle to become a mother, how life has been since the birth of her baby girls, and more in this tell-all interview.

Check out our full chat below:

First of all, congratulations on the birth of your beautiful baby girls. How has motherhood been for you? Is it everything you expected it to be? 

“Motherhood is lovely. It’s contentment and it’s happiness, and that’s the simple and organic way to describe it. There’s no real need for frills, it’s just an overriding feeling of contentment and happiness. It’s something that I didn’t know I’d get to experience, and I feel very blessed and grateful that I have.

“There’s a sense of magic in the air every day. When I walk into the bedroom and see the two little co-sleepers, sleeping on either side of the bed, it’s just really really lovely.”

When you found out you were expecting twins, was it a bit of a shock?

“Yes. There aren’t twins on my side, but there are twins in Tom’s family. He also had a dream years ago, before he met me, that he told me about on our third date. It was a really vivid dream that he had twin baby girls that were running around the back garden. So when he heard that we were having two babies, he put his head into his hands and said, ‘If there’s ever a doubt that there’s a God, or some big power out there…’

“He had seen this in a dream, and he was convinced then that our babies would be two girls too. He said, ‘I don’t even need to see the results of the gender reveal, I know it’s two girls.’ We told the consultant the dream story, and she then wrote down the results of the gender test on a piece of paper. When we opened it, it said: ‘Your dream came true, it’s two girls.’ I just shrieked with joy at the thoughts of dressing them up in ribbons and dresses. Funnily enough, Tom said the girls in the dream were dressed in the same style I would wear.”

The girls were in NICU for a few weeks after they were born. What was that experience like for you, and how are they doing now that they are home?

“It was definitely scary at times. We knew that we would have a few weeks in NICU. Because they were being delivered a little earlier so in order to develop their suck mechanisms, and to gain a little more size and weight, we knew that it would be a little while before they were able to come home. But nothing really prepares you for when you’re in the environment of all these wires and alarms, and babies.

“The nurses and staff are amazing, but it’s their everyday environment so they’re so used to it. They’re these superstars that walk around and grow babies into the perfect health. But for the mum that’s just given birth, and for the dad, it can be a lot to take in. I can only imagine what it would’ve been like if I wasn’t prepared for it, like if it was an emergency situation… After a while, you just adapt to the NICU environment and you get amazing training how to feed them and wind them, and change their nappies and bathe them and everything. You get this amazing expertise and 1 on 1 guidance before you take them home. The staff really were a great help, and I’ve a lot to thank them for.

“It’s like a ‘pinch me’ moment everyday when I see these two little angels…”

“They’re doing great now. It’s like a little sleepover every night! In the bedroom there’s myself and Tom and then either side of us we have a twin we joke that we specialise in. It’s been life-changing. It’s like an instant family. No matter how hard it is with the lack of sleep, the feeling of gratitude we have just overrides everything else. It’s like a ‘pinch me’ moment everyday when I see these two little angels.”

You’ve candidly spoken about how your journey to motherhood was not an easy one. Why was it important to you to share such a private part of your life so publicly? 

“I’ve thought about this a lot. It wasn’t a decision I made lightly. I never knew which way it would go for me. I held onto hope and positivity and faith. I always manifested, and remained hopeful that I would be blessed and have success in starting a family.

“There are millions of other men and women who are going through journeys, and they can’t speak because they’re focused on achieving what they want to achieve. And if I am in this privileged position, I have somewhat of a stage to be able to speak, and if it gives hope to even one person it’s worth it. I got hope from other people and situations, so it’s a giving back thing.

“I never knew which way it would go for me…”

“It’s easier to speak after the struggles than during it. So it’s almost like speaking on behalf of those who are currently going through their journeys and letting them know that there’s people thinking of them, and that it’s not easy, and that there is many success stories. And to look after themselves, and to keep your eye on the goal but also to know that life has many different directions, and it will be beautiful no matter what direction life takes.

“You don’t know what your path or your destiny, or your family, will look like. So whether you are your own tribe, or whether you’re to have additional members to your tribe, it will still be beautiful. Just know that you’re not in a minority, there’s a huge number of people going through individual journeys, more so then the documented statics. There are so many undocumented journeys.

“So why did I decide to speak about it? I wanted to give back and to give some positive manifestation to those who need it. And also just to speak of the story for those who can’t but they’re currently experiencing it. A problem shared is a problem halved.

“There’s been so many lovely messages and a nice community. It’s the real stuff really. Social media is lovely and if I can do something positive with it, it makes it even more great.”

Jenny met her husband Tom, who is a former TD, six years ago.

The couple tied the knot in a star-studded wedding in Dublin in 2019 and now, they are happier than ever with their two beautiful daughters. 

Jenny now tells us their love story, from their first meeting to the moment she realised he was ‘The One’…

Tell me your love story. 

“I had been living quite a bit in LA, doing some acting. I had come back to Ireland in July and in September, I was asked to attend a film festival to present a style award. It was the Richard Harris International Film Festival in Limerick. And they were having a launch party for it in Dublin, so I went along to that.

“Tom was the TD for Co. Limerick at the time, and he had trained in the arts. He has a Master’s in Music Technology, and he trained in acting when he lived in Australia, so he was representing the arts for Co. Limerick as TD and he was at the launch party.

“He had just come straight from Dáil Eireann, and he was in this pretty nice suit which stood out and caught my attention. He asked to buy me a drink, and I wasn’t drinking so I got a 7UP. I was filming Fair City early the next day so I kind’ve did a Cinderella at it and had to dash early before I even got to have the drink. He stayed in contact with me and we met up, but I wasn’t sure if it was a date or a friend thing because I didn’t know his intentions. We had a lovely chat, and then decided to meet up again.

“I knew pretty early on that Tom was ‘The One’…”

“I was really busy with filming so we hadn’t talked in a while, but then I was due to go down to Limerick for the festival and I was like, ‘Who do I know in Limerick? Oh yeah, that guy I’ve been chatting to!’ So we chatted briefly then at the festival, and then we met up properly in Dublin and had an amazing time. The rest is history I guess!

“I knew pretty early on that he was ‘The One’. I knew at the time that I wasn’t going to be a girlfriend again unless I was going to be their wife. We went to Milan within a few weeks of dating, and when he asked me to be his asked me to be his girlfriend in Killarney, I was certain it was him. We had so much in common, between appreciation of the arts and acting, to travelling and music and helping each other. We had a lot of similar viewpoints.

“Three years later, we were holidaying in Capri in Italy when Tom proposed to me. That’s why one of our daughters is called Capri. Then less than a year later, we were married. And now, three years later, we have twin baby girl daughters.”

What was it about Tom that made him stand out from your previous relationships, and made you realise he was ‘The One’ for you? 

“His kindness, his intelligence, and his cuteness – he was always very cute and attractive. I also feel like I can say anything to him, we can talk about any topic!”

As Jenny mentioned, Tom was a TD for the Limerick County constituency from 2016 until 2020 – when he lost his seat. 

The 47-year-old, who is the son of former Fine Gael TD Dan Neville, went on to pursue a career in DJing and acting.

He now works as a Brand Partnerships Manager in TikTok, and goes between Ireland and London for his job. 

Were you supportive of Tom’s decision to quit politics and change his career path? 

“Yes definitely. We both have interests in lots of things. I love encouraging his dreams, as he does with mine. I love him doing whatever makes him happy. I love that he does have all these interesting interests – DJing, acting, politics, and now he’s working for this amazing company TikTok.

“Politics will always be in him because his dad was a TD for 30 years before him. He still meets up with his former colleagues and has such a passion for politics. He also loves the creativity of working behind the scenes in TikTok London as well.”

Do you think he has closed the door fully politics, or has he expressed any interest in going up for re-election down the line? 

“I wouldn’t say he’s closed the door no. I think that door is always open. So anything is possible there I’d say!”

Do you think your relationship with your husband Tom has changed since you’ve become parents? 

“I think he changed the day the girls were born. He changed for the better. He had warned all of the medical staff that he would be no good in the C-section room. That if they made him do anything, he would faint. That he would cause a lot more work for them, and that he wouldn’t be able to look at the babies when they were coming out. He was telling everyone this!

“Then the day of the C-section, he came in in the scrubs, and he was really upbeat and helping me get through it. I really enjoyed the C-section as well, I found it really lovely. And then when the moment came that they raised the first baby girl, Capri, he absolutely did look. Not only did he look, but he was transfixed on her. He didn’t look away for a millisecond. It was such a moment. There wasn’t an ounce of squeamishness or flinching.

“From that moment on, he definitely changed for the better and I fell in love with him more. When you’re in the depths of newborns, it’s not all petals and roses, but the overriding feeling is. So becoming parents has definitely deepened our relationship and I’ve become more attracted to and in love with him.”

“I’ve fallen more in love with my husband since the birth of our children…”

What do you think is the secret to a happy and healthy marriage? 

“Just loving your partner so much that you allow them grow, and support them when they need extra support. You allow them to recharge their batteries, whether that’s physically or in a more metaphorical sense. And then just doing kind things like making them a sandwich, little surprises. Thoughtfulness is important.”

Let’s take it back to the beginning of your career. How did you first get into acting? 

“I had broken up with a boyfriend and I just decided that I needed to get more confident and make more friends, and maybe meet my next boyfriend! So to help build my confidence, I decided to take an acting class and I absolutely loved it. I threw myself in, I got some encouragement from my mentor who told me I was very brave in the choices I made, and that bit of encouragement sent me skyrocketing.

“I was teaching at the time and as soon as the summer holidays came, I had everything lined up. I had booked a ticket to LA and I had an audition with an acting school in Hollywood. I went over to LA and I had a couple of goals that summer. 1, to increase my personal confidence and development. 2, to travel to a city where I didn’t know anybody and see if my personality alone would suffice. Could Jennifer Dixon make a circle of friends by herself? If I could only last a week and then went home, I would do that, but the goal was to go for a few months and to do this acting course.

“When I originally went over, I was booked into a hostel in Inglewood which is just outside Compton, and that was an interesting baptism into LA. It wasn’t the bright lights of Hollywood, it was Compton. And I was the token white chick on the block. That was my introduction to LA. But I actually had great experiences there, and I’m still in touch with some of the people I made friends with there.

“When I did eventually make it to West Hollywood, I found myself a flatmate and auditioned for the acting school. By my lucky stars, I got a place in the acting school and it was a class of 12 actors – including Keegan-Michael Key who is a massive star right now. There was actors from CSI and Vampire Diaries there too and for some reason, they gave me a spot in the class. All these actors who had way more experience than me took me under their wings. I really got a great grounding and I’m still friends with them today.

“Then I went back to Ireland and carried on teaching. At the time, I was just immersing myself into every student production and doing anything film related to get experience. But I never thought I would to acting as a career. I still was just using it to build my confidence. I went back and forth from Ireland to LA for a couple of years then, spending six months of the year in LA studying.

“I then applied for an O-1 visa to work as an artist in the US, and that can be tricky enough to get but I did get it and the same week, Fair City called me for an audition. It was two blessings, but two paths as well.”

Why did you decide to stay in Ireland and take the Fair City audition? 

“I decided that the biggest opportunity in front of me was Fair City. Even though I had the visa for the US. So I gave me all into the audition. Afterwards, they told me that they really liked the audition and that they appreciated how much work I had put into it, but that I didn’t look similar enough to the family that they wanted to fit me into. So they asked if they could keep my audition on file, and I just thought they were being really nice and polite. That week, I went off to LA with my visa to go live there for a year and work.

“At that point, I had left teaching and I wanted to see could I pay my bills based on the acting skills I had acquired. I worked every job in that realm, from $50 jobs to bigger jobs with bigger money, to pay my bills as an actress and a model in Los Angeles. I met great people and great friends, and I absolutely loved it. And then I got a really big job that was going to involve really big stars but a week later, I was let go from it. Because contracts dissolve and projects don’t get made, and so on. The next day, I got a call from Fair City saying they had a new part, and asked if I’d consider coming home for it. And I did.

“My mom was like, ‘Are you sure you want to come home just for an audition?’ And I said absolutely yes, because I knew in my heart that it was right. Again, I immersed myself into the script, and I do that with every script I get. I applied myself with every ounce of being into it, because it’s a passion. I assumed I was going to be against eight other actors like the last time but when I got to the audition, it was just me. I didn’t realise that it was actually a screen test with George McMahon to see if we were compatible. They had actually written the part especially for me based on my first audition, and I had no idea.

“Two days after the screen test, one of the casting directors called and said, ‘We’re going to go ahead with the role of Kerri-Anne and would like you to play it if you’re interested.’ It was one of those euphoric moments where you’ve wanted something for so long, and you’ve finally got it. It was a three-week contract but before my episode aired, they signed me for a year. And I was resigned for five seasons, for five years. And that’s something I’m so grateful for.”

Was it a mutual decision between you and the producers to leave the show in 2019?

“Yes, I guess it was. I had done five years there and felt I had done all the big storylines. I had done the big soap wedding, I had done the love triangles, the murder storylines, I had done all the arcs of the character. So I guess we mutually discussed how best to do the character justice. Five years was a nice amount of time, and a nice amount of stories for the character.”

Obviously Kerri-Anne was killed off the show, but sometimes characters return to soaps as ghosts or evil twin sisters. Would you ever return to the soap if you had the opportunity to? 

“I never know what project will come next, so I can never anticipate these things. But I’m open to every opportunity that comes. Whatever role is right for me, I definitely look at.”

Obviously your hands are full at the moment, but do you have any plans to get back into acting in the future? 

“Yes. I have a passion for acting. I love it and I love the characters I’ve played. I’ve been talking with different companies and I think when the right role is there, that’s when I’ll throw myself in. I have a couple of things in mind, but it depends on what materialises or how it goes. But definitely. Acting is part of me, just like politics in part of Tom. I love creating, whatever form that takes, so that artist part of me is always open to new projects. That will obviously have to work around the babies now, but everything is possible.”

What would your dream role be?

“There’s something that I’m manifesting at the moment, and I’ve been talking to a few people about it, but it’s too early to say yes on it. I definitely have something in mind, but I can’t say it right now…”

While Jenny was in Los Angeles, she spent some time in the Playboy Mansion – partying with Hugh Hefner and a host of well-known celebs. 

I ask her how that came to be, and what her experience was like in the infamous multi-million dollar estate…

You’ve spoken in the past about spending a lot of time in the Playboy Mansion while you were living in LA. Tell us how that came about. 

“I was living with an older lady in her 80s and she told me that I looked more Californian than Irish. She had all these magazine covers on her walls like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and I asked her, ‘Who is this lady on the covers?’ And she said, ‘That lady is me.’ She was a supermodel in the ’50s. We were living not far from the Playboy Mansion and she said, ‘You need to meet everybody in the US, you need to meet everyone in LA. You’re way more Californian looking. You need to go to the mansion and meet Hugh Hefner and all his friends.’ So I just did what I was told.

“Everything is possible if you have enough audacity and enough boldness…”

“I sent off a letter and two weeks later, I got an invite to the biggest party of the year and I got to meet huge superstars. Here was this little Irish chick walking in, thinking about the audacity I have hanging out with all these beautiful people. I got to meet amazing musicians, popstars, actors, and I was put on the ‘Bunny List’. The following week, I got invited back to a dinner there with just 30 people, and I got chatting with Hugh Hefner and his friends. Simon Cowell was there too. I’m still friends with lots of the girls I met there.

“It was a surreal experience. Everything is possible if you have enough audacity and enough boldness.”

In recent years, some former Playboy Bunnies have made accusations against Hugh Hefner and claimed there was a toxic environment in the mansion. What was your own experience like there? 

“My experience was definitely positive. I’m sorry to hear stories of those who haven’t found it positive, but I was always treated with great respect. I found the security there was amazing, and the staff always welcomed me with open arms. I got to attend amazing parties in LA, and got to know a lot of great people there. So yeah, I had a great experience there. It was amazing and I’m very grateful for those experiences.”

As we come to the end our interview, I commend Jenny on her positive outlook on life. I note that she expresses a lot of gratitude, and that she seems to have manifested everything that has come into her life.

She explains how she is so positive, before revealing her plans for the coming months…

“It’s just my mindset. Whenever I’m off centre, I just remember that I have so much to be grateful for and that’s my foundation. I just take things lightly, where they can be, and say yes to opportunities – as scary as they can be.”

What’s next for you? 

“It’s funny because when you achieve something you’ve manifested and that you’ve always wanted, you can start looking at other things. I actually need to sit down and make a new vision board. I made one before that included the girls, so we’re so very grateful that it manifested into being. I wanted to do panto, I wanted to do a soap, and I’ve done those things.”

“There’s definitely other things that are going to go on the 2023 vision board, I’ll make one myself and one with my husband with our next set of goals, and then we’ll work towards making that happen. There’s lots that I want to do, and I’m feeling strong now and in a good position to start putting pen to paper and manifesting them.”