Jennie McAlpine was born on 12th February 1984 and brought up in Bury. Her parents divorced when she was a child but she was encouraged to take up acting by her father, Tom, and she made her debut alongside her older brother (also called Tom) in pantomime. When she was thirteen she reached the finals of the Young Comedian of the Year competition and made her television debut in Emmerdale in 1999.