In a show full of hilarious, off-the-wall characters, 30 Rock’s Jenna Maroney still managed to stand out. Jane Krakowski portrayed Jenna as every actor stereotype in one – unbelievably vain, shallow, manipulative, unstable, thin-skinned…
“Oh don’t be so dramatic. That’s my thing, and if you take it away from me I will kill myself… and then you.”
But instead of being annoying and unlikable, she became one of the most entertaining, iconic characters of modern television. So, how did Jenna manage to capture that ‘beloved star’ status that she was so desperate for on the show in real life? Let’s take a deeper look at Jenna’s character arc, the way she perfectly embodied all of the wild pressures that the industry puts on aging actresses, and how such an outlandish character managed to be so oddly relatable.
“My whole life is thunder.”
The Satirizing The C-List Struggle
In 2006, NBC premiered 30 Rock, the workplace comedy set in 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, created by and starring Saturday Night Live alum Tina Fey. The series followed the life and career of Fey’s neurotic Liz Lemon, head writer of the fictional comedy sketch program TGS (aka The Girlie Show,) a not so subtle riff on SNL. Starring in the weekly show is her longtime best friend and former roommate, Jenna Maroney. The role of Jenna was originally played by Fey’s equally hilarious SNL co-star Rachel Dratch, who appeared in the unaired pilot as Jenna DeCarlo. This version of Jenna was a lot more like Liz Lemon and pretty much nothing like the Jenna Maroney we’d come to know. After seeing the pilot, the studio heads decided to go in a different direction with the character, and Tony award winner Jane Krakowski was brought in.
Krakowski’s Jenna bundled together pretty much every ‘actress desperately holding onto stardom’ stereotype under the sun.
“You’re so insecure you get jealous of babies for their soft skin.” “And how much attention they get!”
She was a self-obsessed actress who would do anything to stay young and sees to her sexuality as her secret weapon. Coming from humble beginnings, Jenna clawed her way into stardom on the sheer power of her desire for attention – and her desperate need for validation sees her taking on wild schemes that never seem to end up having the desired outcome (and, if anything, just make her and everyone else’s lives more difficult.) While she is self-aware of her overly-dramatic behavior, she maintains that endless pursuit for recognition at any cost.
“Okay I’ll do it, but only for the attention.”
She’s known for taking every opportunity to make something about her, always being ready to spontaneously sing no matter the setting or audience, and constantly trying to remind people that she is (or, at least, was) a big deal. The C-list actress loves a name-drop, often casually references her various celebrity feuds and sexual escapades – her alleged romps with notable figures are particularly wild and… seemingly always mentioned at an inappropriate time.
Liz and Jenna’s chaos vs. order dynamic was quickly established in the pilot when they got news that Tracy Jordan had joined the show. Unafraid to make her feelings known loudly, Jenna immediately overreacts at the thought of having to share the spotlight. The difference between Liz and Jenna’s personalities mean that they’re often butting heads or confused by the other’s choices, but as Jenna is her friend and the star of her show, Liz is usually willing to cater to her ego. Liz often has to deal with the fallout of Jenna’s bad behavior, but she’s also possibly responsible for enabling Jenna to continue being the way that she is.
In interviews, Krakowski has shared that Jenna was inspired by several celebrities and reality stars, as well as the inherent insecurities of all actors. Jenna is unmistakably a narcissist, and even shows signs of a possible Histrionic Personality Disorder, which Psychology Today describes as someone who is characterized by “constant attention-seeking, emotional overreaction, and seductive behavior.” The character was demanding, displayed lowkey sociopathic behavior, and was generally unsympathetic to others. But she avoided coming across as cruel because at the end of the day she’s too silly and delusional to truly be a mean girl. Early on in the series, Jenna has a pessimistic view of love and mostly focuses on physical interactions. That is until season4, when she meets Paul L’Astname, the man who works as a Jenna Maroney impersonator. It’s fitting that the only person she could truly love is, well, herself.
The Pressures (and Absurdity) of Stardom
Jenna may be an over-the-top character littered with flaws but her manic insecurities stem from real problems: the ageism and sexism in Hollywood. As an aging actress, she’s relentlessly trying to maintain any semblance of youth by any means necessary – and because she’s reckless and easily influenced, she frequently uses questionable products and listens to bad medical advice. One of the longest running jokes on 30 Rock is that she lies about her age.
“How old are you?” “I’m 29.” “What year were you born?” “1977.” “What year did you graduate high school?” “1994.” “What year do you turn 40?” “2017!” “Junior High crush?” “Kirk Cameron.” “Prom theme?” “Motown Philly Boys II Men!”
She’s instantly threatened by the sight or even suggestion of a younger woman, especially if she can act or sing. It’s a fiercely competitive business and Hollywood’s preoccupation with youthful beauty has been ingrained in Jenna. When she lands an audition for Gossip Girl, she delusionally believes she’s trying out for a part as a college student and not the mother.
“In the scene they gave me I’m fighting with my mother, a washed-up actress who’s clinging to her last scraps of faded glamor.” “It’s interesting they’ve highlighted the mother’s lines.” “Well, that’s so I’ll know what part not to read.”
Jenna tries everything she can to stay relevant – which means she always does the most to gain notoriety, no matter how humiliating. In season 2, Jenna returns to TGS after doing Mystic Pizza: The Musical having gained weight from consuming a significant amount of pizza. She initially wants to drop the extra pounds in an unrealistic amount of time with a crash diet. But after seeing the recognition she’s getting from her new image and catchphrase “Me want food,” she decides to play into it, even signing on to be the spokeswoman for the plus-sized women’s fragrance, Enormé.
Over the course of the show, Jenna drops little tidbits about her life, and every time we learn an absurd new fact about her, her character being the way that she is starts to make a little more sense. She started having to deal with the more toxic side of Hollywood early in her career: even Jenna’s stories about her acting training poke fun at the types of roles available for actresses in the business. At the Royal Tampa Academy of Dramatic Tricks, she majored in “prom queens and murdered runaways”, studying “theatre superstition” and “game show pointing.” And while the entertainment industry demands a lot from actors, her history of body image anxieties goes back to her childhood. Growing up, she participated in beauty pageants and appeared in commercials. Her mother Verna was a strict stage-mom who withheld affection if she performed poorly.
“Verna’s been using me my whole life, Jack. I never saw a penny from any of the commercials I booked.”
So it’s no surprise Jenna still seeks out this form of validation even as a grown adult. On occasion, Jenna even uses that stage mom attitude she picked up from her mother to try to influence other people’s lives. When Kenneth needs help impressing human resources so that he can be readmitted into the NBC page program, Jenna hires herself as his coach. Right away, she’s putting him through the ringer – and ends up berating him after he’s rejected, just like her mom did to her. Jenna similarly tries to exploit her biological children from when she donated her eggs, rejecting the one she thinks lacks talent and beauty. But, as it turns out, her kids are even more brutal and kick her out of their budding reality TV careers.
At the end of the series Jenna initially plans to move out to Los Angeles, but changes her mind once she realizes she’d be competing with young actresses. But it’s not just women she thinks are out to steal her spotlight. She sees her male co-stars as a threat, too.
“Is your nose bleeding?” “Yes…because I’m so happy for you. It’s definitely not a rage stroke.”
Tracy Jordan’s behavior is almost on her same level of crazy, though he strives for weirdness and street cred. They don’t exactly get off on the right foot, but Jenna and Tracy do end up bonding over their similarities: ridiculous egos, high-maintenance demands, selfishness. But their similar personalities also mean that when they clash, it’s a disaster. Despite their frequent spats and inherent competitiveness, the co-stars both know what it’s like to be in the spotlight and to get pushed to the sidelines. So when they do work together, it’s usually on a hair-brained scheme to work together to take someone else down or enact revenge.
Renewed Relevance and Relatability
No matter how out of touch, problematic, and narcissistic she may be, Jenna Maroney remains a beloved and heavily-quoted character.
“Listen up fives, a ten is speaking.”
Liz Lemon was always positioned as the relatable “hot mess” who had a drastically different life than her eccentric employees. But between her increasingly strange asides, deep-seated psychological issues, and commitment to projecting unwavering self-confidence, Jenna actually managed to become a surprisingly relatable character in her own way. She was someone who voiced the universal struggles of being a woman in society and in showbiz – even if she didn’t always realize that was what she was doing. She’s shameless, unapologetic, and always strives to gain the affection of others – and it’s that me-first mentality that makes her the embodiment of main character energy. While most of us probably don’t act like Jenna in real life, her quirks do speak to the parts of our personalities we often try to hide.
“Jenna you’re always a high-strung perfectionist.” “I prefer soul-sucking monster.” “How could your wedding make you any worse?” “I don’t know but it’s a fun little journey we’re all gonna go on together.”
Two years after 30 Rock ended, Tina Fey brought another hit series to life – and with the help of Jane Krakowski, introduced a new unhinged blonde for fans to laugh at and root for. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt centered around the titular character’s newfound freedom from a bunker and fresh start in New York City. Krakowski played Kimmy’s wealthy employer Jacqueline Vorhees. Right away people saw similarities between Jacqueline, a socialite in denial about losing her money and upper-class status, and Jenna, an actress in denial about losing her youth and relevance. Biggest difference between the characters is that Jaqueline actually has the ability to become a better person, while Jenna was never really interested in changing. But this slightly-different character popping up and becoming a fan favorite again speaks both to how much the audience connects to the character and how hilarious Jane Krakowski is.
Most people don’t want to outright admit their shortcomings – but many will freely share a peek into that part of their psyche by disclosing how they see themselves in some of the most problematic film and TV characters. These characters provide a kind of catharsis through which we’re able to explore (and laugh at) these less wholesome, less kind parts of ourselves.
Conclusion
Jenna’s the unhinged character who can be brutally honest, reckless, and rarely suffer the consequences, just like real-life public figures. Celebrity culture has always sensationalized the most scandalous, embarrassing behavior and Jenna is the perfect lampooning of that behavior. Even though the show ended over a decade ago, people still reference Jenna when a celebrity does something particularly greedy or opaquely self-serving. The best satire comes from a place of truth, and that’s what makes Jenna and 30 Rock as a whole work so well and continue to stand the test of time. Jenna Maroney is simultaneously a cautionary tale and a hilarious self-confidence icon, and we wouldn’t have her any other way.
“Wow. How ‘Sex And The City’ are we right now? I’m Samantha. You’re Charlotte. And you’re the lady at home who watches it.”