Jennifer Munson
Encyclopedia
Jennifer Louise Donovan was a fictional character
on the CBS
soap opera
As the World Turns
. The character was the daughter of late police chief, Hal Munson
, and fashion designer, Barbara Ryan
. She was born on-screen on October 29, 1990 and died on-screen on July 7, 2006 of cardiovascular myopathy
brought on by a pneumonic
infection.
The role was portrayed by Jennifer Ferrin
at the time of the character's death. She received two Daytime Emmy
nominations in 2005 and 2006 for "Outstanding Younger Actress" and "Outstanding Supporting Actress" respectively.
and Darryl Crawford but was adopted by Hal Munson
. Her birth date was later revised to 1983 after she aged to 16 years old in 1999.
. Craig, along with his wife Rosanna Cabot
, made plans to adopt Gwen's baby. Realizing the opportunity, Craig switched his and Jennifer's son and Gwen's son while the babies were in the hospital nursery. This way, Rosanna and himself could raise his biological son. Gwen's baby, unfortunately, died and Jennifer was told that it was her son that died. Rosanna found out what Craig had done and was horrified. On the way to expose Craig, Rosanna's car was run off the road. Craig was revealed to have caused the accident and was sent to jail, while Rosanna slipped into a coma. She tried to tell her ex-husband, Paul Ryan
, about the switch, able to only say the word "Wrong foot" before falling into the coma. Rosanna was sent to a hospital in Switzerland
and Paul was left to figure out what she had tried to tell him.
Jennifer was distraught over the "death" of her son. She eventually became addicted to crystal meth
. Dusty Donovan
and Meg Snyder realized Jennifer's addiction and got her help. Jennifer eventually fell in love with Dusty, and she told him that she believed her son was still alive. Dusty was able to find enough information that confirmed that Gwen's baby was born the same day as Jennifer's, meaning Billy (Gwen's son) could be Jennifer's. A DNA test confirmed this, and baby "Billy" was returned to his rightful mother. Jennifer gave her son the name John Dustin Munson, after her deceased half-brother John, and Dusty, who had done so much for her.
, who was pregnant with Paul's baby and Johnny's cousin. On the day that Johnny was set to be released from the hospital, Jennifer fell ill herself and was diagnosed with viral pneumonia. Despite pleas from her doctors to stay in the hospital, Jennifer was adamant about going home to be with her son, and left the hospital when Lucy Montgomery told her of her right to leave against doctor's orders. Leaving the hospital proved to be fatal for Jennifer, and she collapsed the same night. She was rushed back to the hospital, where it was discovered that the pneumonia had caused irreparable damage to Jennifer's heart. Dusty tried to convince Jennifer (and himself) that she would recover, but Jennifer realized the truth. Jennifer asked Dusty to marry her, and he did, in her hospital room, surrounded by her family. On July 7, 2006, after an imaginary dance with Dusty and still in his arms, Jennifer dies of cardio myopathy brought on by the viral pneumonia.
Jennifer had eight half-siblings during her life: Carrie Crawford, Nikki Munson, Adam Hughes Munson
, Will Munson
, Parker Munson, Paul Ryan
, Johnny Dixon and Parker Munson. She was very close to Paul and Will in particular.
Jennifer was also sister-in-law to Gwen Norbeck Munson
and half-aunt to Jennifer Ryan, her namesake
. She was stillborn
though her stem cells ultimately saved Johnny's life when he was diagnosed with cancer
.
. Dusty also adopted her son, John Dustin "Johnny" Donovan, before she died. Jennifer died in Dusty's arms after he gave her an imaginary wedding dance in her deathbed. She later appeared in one of Dusty's dreams urging him to let go of his grief and move on for her and their son's sake.
Johnny was conceived in a drunken one-night stand
with the much-older Craig Montgomery
. The act left Jennifer guilt-ridden because Craig was the father of her first love, Bryant Montgomery, and also because she was seeing Mike Kasnoff at the time. Tragically, Bryant was killed in a car accident when they were teenagers after he witnessed Jennifer having sex with his cousin, Billy Ross. Her relationship with Billy deteriorated months later when she re-focused her energy into being a fashion model. She later left Oakdale to pursue her dreams in Tokyo, Japan.
When she returned after a bad relationship with a man named Andres, Jennifer embarked on love affairs with Jordan Sinclair and Mike Kasnoff. She married the latter but they later divorced after it became apparent that he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend, Katie Peretti
. Her son, Johnny, briefly took on Mike's last name before Dusty adopted him.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
. The character was the daughter of late police chief, Hal Munson
Hal Munson
Harold "Hal" Todd Munson, Jr. is a fictional character that appeared on the American soap opera As the World Turns. He was played by the late Benjamin Hendrickson from 1985 to 2004 and 2005 to July 12, 2006...
, and fashion designer, Barbara Ryan
Barbara Ryan
For the Alaska Airlines Flight 261 passenger, see that articleBarbara Ann Coleman is a fictional character on the American soap opera As the World Turns...
. She was born on-screen on October 29, 1990 and died on-screen on July 7, 2006 of cardiovascular myopathy
Myopathy
In medicine, a myopathy is a muscular disease in which the muscle fibers do not function for any one of many reasons, resulting in muscular weakness. "Myopathy" simply means muscle disease...
brought on by a pneumonic
Viral pneumonia
Viral pneumonia is a pneumonia caused by a virus.Viruses are one of the two major causes of pneumonia, the other being bacteria; less common causes are fungi and parasites...
infection.
The role was portrayed by Jennifer Ferrin
Jennifer Ferrin
-Early life:Ferrin was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia. She attended Brookwood High where she was the lead in many high school plays and was a member of the choir...
at the time of the character's death. She received two Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
nominations in 2005 and 2006 for "Outstanding Younger Actress" and "Outstanding Supporting Actress" respectively.
Birth
She was born Jennifer Louise Munson on October 29, 1990 to Barbara RyanBarbara Ryan
For the Alaska Airlines Flight 261 passenger, see that articleBarbara Ann Coleman is a fictional character on the American soap opera As the World Turns...
and Darryl Crawford but was adopted by Hal Munson
Hal Munson
Harold "Hal" Todd Munson, Jr. is a fictional character that appeared on the American soap opera As the World Turns. He was played by the late Benjamin Hendrickson from 1985 to 2004 and 2005 to July 12, 2006...
. Her birth date was later revised to 1983 after she aged to 16 years old in 1999.
Michael Kasnoff
Mike and Jennifer met through mutual friends. Her sister, Nikki, had a crush on Mike and his friend, Henry, had a crush on Nikki. One day, Mike was fixing a pipe that broke in Jen's office. He ripped his jeans, and Jennifer decided that she would make a design out of them. With Mike as her inspiration, she decided to start her own design company called "Street Jeans". Mike and Jen started spending time together as he was modeling her clothes. They decided to embark on a relationship but when Mike's ex-girlfriend, Katie Peretti, came back into town, it was obvious that Katie and Mike still had feelings for one another. Though Mike had feelings for Katie, he insisted that he was in love with Jennifer. On the night of a party for Jen's company, Mike didn't show up. Jen knew that he was with Katie. After the party, thinking that she and Mike were breaking up, Jen got drunk and slept with Craig Montgomery. Jen felt horrible about what she'd done, and confessed all to Mike. He forgave her. Then, Jen found out that not only was she pregnant, but it wasn't Mike's baby. Mike suggested that they get married, and that he would raise that baby as his own. Tensions rose soon after as Craig Montgomery insisted on being apart of the child's life. Jennifer, knowing Craig and his history, was determined to keep him out of her child's life. She decided to set Craig up to make it look like he pushed her down. Her plan worked. The court decided that Craig could not be near the child for five years. Mike, who wanted a peaceful resolution, was angry when he found out what Jen had done. He left her and went to a hotel where Katie just happened to be staying. They ended up making love and admitting that they still loved one another. Jen found Mike with Katie and tried to convince him that they could make their marriage work but Mike told her that their marriage was over.Dustin Donovan
Jennifer first met significantly older man, Dusty when she first came back to Oakdale from Europe. She at first flirted with him as a way of getting him away from Rose, Jen's brother Paul's former girlfriend. While Jennifer and Dusty were attracted to one another, they didn't like each other. Dusty stayed with Rose, and Jen moved on. Years later, business would bring them back into each others lives. With Jen building her new company, Street Jeans, the company became a subsidiary of Lucinda Walsh's World Wide where Dusty worked. Not getting along at first, they eventually found common ground against a common enemy in Craig Montgomery. After having a one night stand with Craig, Jennifer found herself pregnant. But Jennifer, knowing the type of father that Craig was, didn't want him in her baby's life. Jennifer married her boyfriend at the time (Mike Kasnoff) and decided to raise the baby as his. To make this happen, Jen and Dusty set Craig up. As a result, there was a restraining order against Craig until the baby turned five. Having found out what Jennifer and Dusty did, Mike left her. Upset over the breakup, Jen went to her mother's cabin. She fell off of a chair and went into premature labor. Dusty found her there and helped her give birth to her son. But at the hospital, Jen's baby died. With Dusty delivering her son, Jen and Dusty formed a bond and friendship. At her son's funeral, it was revealed that she named him, John Dustin Kasnoff. For months, Dusty was there for Jen. He helped her through the pain of losing her child, her drug addiction and believed in her when she insisted that her son was still alive. Their friendship turned into love, but neither admitted it. After not being able to prove that her son was alive, Jen pushed Dusty away. Having been rejected by Jennifer, Dusty went back to former girlfriend, Meg Snyder. Meg knew that Jen's baby was alive but kept it a secret to keep Dusty with her. When her guilt got the best of her, Meg made it so that Dusty would figure out the truth without having anyone discover her part in it. Dusty got John Dustin (Johnny) back for Jen and their bond became even stronger. But Dusty remained with Meg. When Dusty discovered Meg's part in the deception, he left her and immediately went back to Jennifer. Not too long after Jennifer and Dusty started dating, Dusty was presumed dead. Like when her son was presumed dead, Jennifer didn't believe it. She didn't feel that Dusty was dead. Her brother, Paul claimed to have killed him during a fight they had but Paul was lying. Paul thought that his new love, Meg killed Dusty. But when he discovered that she didn't, he also realized that his former girlfriend, Emily Stewart might have. Emily didn't actually kill Dusty. She was holding him hostage. Jennifer, heartbroken over the love of her life being missing, would do anything to get him back. So after getting a note from Dusty, she was determined to find him. She got her brother out of jail and followed Emily into the woods. There, she found Dusty. With that crisis over, Dusty asked Jen to marry him. She accepted his proposal, and he adopted her son. Not long after the adoption went through, Johnny fell ill. But with the help of Dusty's kidnapper, Emily, he got better. Then Jen contracted pneumonia while looking over Johnny. Her disease got worse and turned into something deadly. Knowing her fate, Jen asked Dusty to marry her now instead of later. Not too long after the wedding, she died in his arms. With Emily being on trial for Dusty's kidnapping, Jen came to Dusty in a vision. She told him to let Emily go free, because she saved their son. Dusty, not wanting to disappoint his late wife, did as she wanted.The baby switch
Jennifer gave birth to a son prematurely and at the same time as Gwen NorbeckGwen Norbeck
Gwen Munson is a fictional character on the American soap opera As the World Turns. She was introduced in early 2005 and is played by Jennifer Landon, who won three Daytime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Younger Actress" in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively...
. Craig, along with his wife Rosanna Cabot
Rosanna Cabot
Rosanna Cabot is a fictional character on the American daytime soap opera, As the World Turns.The character was originated by Yvonne Perry who portrayed her from 1992 to 1999...
, made plans to adopt Gwen's baby. Realizing the opportunity, Craig switched his and Jennifer's son and Gwen's son while the babies were in the hospital nursery. This way, Rosanna and himself could raise his biological son. Gwen's baby, unfortunately, died and Jennifer was told that it was her son that died. Rosanna found out what Craig had done and was horrified. On the way to expose Craig, Rosanna's car was run off the road. Craig was revealed to have caused the accident and was sent to jail, while Rosanna slipped into a coma. She tried to tell her ex-husband, Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan (ATWT)
Paul Ryan is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. The character was born onscreen on July 6, 1977 , the child of longtime ATWT characters Barbara Ryan and James Stenbeck...
, about the switch, able to only say the word "Wrong foot" before falling into the coma. Rosanna was sent to a hospital in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Paul was left to figure out what she had tried to tell him.
Jennifer was distraught over the "death" of her son. She eventually became addicted to crystal meth
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
. Dusty Donovan
Dusty Donovan
Dustin "Dusty" Donovan is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama As the World Turns. He was recently portrayed by Grayson McCouch from February 18, 2003 to January 18, 2008. McCouch returned to the role on September 24, 2008.-Character history:...
and Meg Snyder realized Jennifer's addiction and got her help. Jennifer eventually fell in love with Dusty, and she told him that she believed her son was still alive. Dusty was able to find enough information that confirmed that Gwen's baby was born the same day as Jennifer's, meaning Billy (Gwen's son) could be Jennifer's. A DNA test confirmed this, and baby "Billy" was returned to his rightful mother. Jennifer gave her son the name John Dustin Munson, after her deceased half-brother John, and Dusty, who had done so much for her.
Death
Johnny was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, but was able to go into remission because of stem cells given from Emily StewartEmily Stewart
Emily Stewart Ryan is a fictional character on the daytime soap opera As the World Turns. She has been portrayed by Kelley Menighan Hensley since July 1992. Kelley Menighan Hensley took over the role of Emily Stewart in July 1992...
, who was pregnant with Paul's baby and Johnny's cousin. On the day that Johnny was set to be released from the hospital, Jennifer fell ill herself and was diagnosed with viral pneumonia. Despite pleas from her doctors to stay in the hospital, Jennifer was adamant about going home to be with her son, and left the hospital when Lucy Montgomery told her of her right to leave against doctor's orders. Leaving the hospital proved to be fatal for Jennifer, and she collapsed the same night. She was rushed back to the hospital, where it was discovered that the pneumonia had caused irreparable damage to Jennifer's heart. Dusty tried to convince Jennifer (and himself) that she would recover, but Jennifer realized the truth. Jennifer asked Dusty to marry her, and he did, in her hospital room, surrounded by her family. On July 7, 2006, after an imaginary dance with Dusty and still in his arms, Jennifer dies of cardio myopathy brought on by the viral pneumonia.
Family
Jennifer's biological parents have never married and she thus had numerous stepparents in her life though she was raised primarily by Barbara. Hal would later adopt her, and she came to know him as her only father.Jennifer had eight half-siblings during her life: Carrie Crawford, Nikki Munson, Adam Hughes Munson
Adam Munson
Adam Munson is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama As the World Turns.-Storylines:...
, Will Munson
Will Munson
William Harold Ryan "Will" Munson is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. He was portrayed by Jesse Soffer on recurring basis from September 2004 to March 2005, after which he got a contract as a regular...
, Parker Munson, Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan (ATWT)
Paul Ryan is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. The character was born onscreen on July 6, 1977 , the child of longtime ATWT characters Barbara Ryan and James Stenbeck...
, Johnny Dixon and Parker Munson. She was very close to Paul and Will in particular.
Jennifer was also sister-in-law to Gwen Norbeck Munson
Gwen Norbeck
Gwen Munson is a fictional character on the American soap opera As the World Turns. She was introduced in early 2005 and is played by Jennifer Landon, who won three Daytime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Younger Actress" in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively...
and half-aunt to Jennifer Ryan, her namesake
Namesake
Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another....
. She was stillborn
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
though her stem cells ultimately saved Johnny's life when he was diagnosed with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
Marriages, motherhood and significant relationships
Jennifer was married twice and at the time of her death, she was married to Dusty DonovanDusty Donovan
Dustin "Dusty" Donovan is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama As the World Turns. He was recently portrayed by Grayson McCouch from February 18, 2003 to January 18, 2008. McCouch returned to the role on September 24, 2008.-Character history:...
. Dusty also adopted her son, John Dustin "Johnny" Donovan, before she died. Jennifer died in Dusty's arms after he gave her an imaginary wedding dance in her deathbed. She later appeared in one of Dusty's dreams urging him to let go of his grief and move on for her and their son's sake.
Johnny was conceived in a drunken one-night stand
One-night stand
Originally, a one-night stand was a single theatre performance, usually by a guest performer on tour, as opposed to an ongoing engagement. Today, however, the term is more commonly defined as a single sexual encounter, in which neither participant has any intention or expectation of a relationship...
with the much-older Craig Montgomery
Craig Montgomery
Craig Bryant Montgomery is a fictional character on the soap opera As The World Turns.-Actor history:Since the character of Craig Montgomery was introduced in January 1982, he has been portrayed by four actors in total...
. The act left Jennifer guilt-ridden because Craig was the father of her first love, Bryant Montgomery, and also because she was seeing Mike Kasnoff at the time. Tragically, Bryant was killed in a car accident when they were teenagers after he witnessed Jennifer having sex with his cousin, Billy Ross. Her relationship with Billy deteriorated months later when she re-focused her energy into being a fashion model. She later left Oakdale to pursue her dreams in Tokyo, Japan.
When she returned after a bad relationship with a man named Andres, Jennifer embarked on love affairs with Jordan Sinclair and Mike Kasnoff. She married the latter but they later divorced after it became apparent that he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend, Katie Peretti
Katie Peretti
Kathryn Ann "Katie" Snyder is a fictional character on the daytime soap opera As the World Turns. She was portrayed by Terri Conn from August 29, 1998 to September 17, 2010...
. Her son, Johnny, briefly took on Mike's last name before Dusty adopted him.