| Jennifer Jareau | |
|---|---|
| Criminal Minds character | |
| File:Jjareau.jpg AJ Cook as Jennifer Jareau | |
| First Episode Appearance | "Compulsion" 1x02, September 28, 2005 |
| Final Episode Appearance | "And in the End" 15x10, February 19, 2020 |
| Created by | Jeff Davis |
| Character played by | A.J. Cook
Cherish Hughes (young, appears in 14x05) |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | JJ |
| Title | FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent |
| Occupation | FBI Special Agent |
| Family | Roslyn Jareau (sister; deceased) Angel Jareau (sister) Unnamed niece Sandy Jareau (mother) |
| Spouse | William LaMontagne, Jr. (husband) |
| Children | Henry LaMontagne (son, with Will) Michael LaMontagne (with Will, miscarried) |
Jennifer "JJ" Jareau (born November 22nd 1981) is a fictional character from the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds, portrayed by AJ Cook.
Back Story[]
During various episodes, Jareau has described growing up in a small town near Pittsburgh. She collected butterflies as a child, and also lost her 17-year-old sister to suicide at age 11. A high school athlete, Jareau graduated from East Allegheny High School, where she was the captain of the varsity soccer team her senior year and earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh. She also attended Georgetown.
JJ decided to join the FBI after attending a book reading by BAU founder and Unit Chief Agent David Rossi. She once told Rossi that she had not known what to do with her life until she listened to his reading, which was held in the campus bookstore during her senior year in college. The next fall, she applied to the FBI Academy.
Time in the BAU[]
In the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), JJ acted as the team's liaison with the media and local police agencies.[1] Though talented and helpful, she was not actually a profiler, having once declined Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner's suggestion to take the necessary classes in behavioral analysis. E207 She works mostly out of the confines of the police stations and field offices the team visits. However, she does accompany the team on raids, and is proficient with firearms. This is made particularly clear when JJ resolves a hostage situation inside the BAU by killing the hostage-taker, Jason Clark Battle, with a single shot (Battle is a serial perpetrator of hero homicide, who lured Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia onto a date, and then shot her, in an attempt to keep his crimes from being discovered). During season six, JJ is given a promotion to the Pentagon, however, she returns in season seven as a full-time profiler, having received the necessary training.
Phobias[]
In "The Boogeyman", JJ reveals that she is afraid of the woods. When Agents Derek Morgan and Dr. Spencer Reid ask her why, she tells them a chilling story about working as a summer camp counselor and discovering her boss's murdered body in his cabin. After telling the story, she admits she was joking, and says she doesn't know why she is afraid of the woods. In the same episode, JJ also states that she has a niece who, at the time, is about 8 years old.
When she and Reid unexpectedly came across serial killer Tobias Hankel in episode "The Big Game", and split up to apprehend the suspect, JJ walked into a dark barn and was attacked by several attack dogs. Although JJ shot and killed the dogs, saving her own life, Reid was abducted by Hankel in the meantime, and would later be tortured and almost killed by Hankel before the BAU team was able to rescue him. After this traumatic experience, it appears that JJ developed a fear of dogs.
In the episode "Penelope", it's announced that JJ has never shot someone until she shot the man who had attempted to kill, and who continued to threaten the life of, Penelope Garcia.
Personal life[]
JJ once went on a date with Reid to a Washington Redskins game, but little came of it romantically, although the two became very good friends. In "In Heat", it was revealed that JJ was dating Detective William LaMontagne, Jr., with whom the team had previously worked on a case in New Orleans.E218 JJ attempted to keep the relationship a secret from the team for over a year, although once she finally reveals that she is dating Will, her coworkers are unsurprised, replying that they have known about the relationship for quite some time.
In "The Crossing",E318 JJ told Will that she was pregnant with his child. He later asked her to marry him, and indicated that he was willing to give up his detective's shield in order to help take care of the baby and allow JJ to continue to do her job, though he was worried about her safety and the safety of their child.E320 JJ later told Hotch she had found a temporary replacement for the duration of her maternity leave,E405 and soon after gave birth to a baby boy named Henry.E407 JJ and Will named Reid and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia as Henry's godparents. When JJ returned from maternity leave, she and Will had exchanged rings with Henry's birthstone, but did not seem to be officially engaged, as she wore her ring on her right hand, not the left. In the season finale of season seven, JJ tearfully asked Will to propose to her again, and they married the following evening in a small ceremony in David Rossi's backyard.
Promotion to Pentagon and Brief Return[]
It is revealed in "JJ", that JJ had twice rejected a promotion to The Pentagon and hid the offers from her superiors. However, she is finally railroaded by Section Chief Director Erin Strauss into accepting the position because it would reflect highly upon Strauss' reputation. JJ's departure reflects that Cook was let go at the beginning of season six, for financial reasons relating to the premiere of the spin-off Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior.[2]
Cook later returned for the departure of Paget Brewster (Agent Emily Prentiss).[3] In the episode titled "Lauren", JJ receives a call and returns to help the BAU find Emily and capture Ian Doyle. The episode ends with Emily presumed dead after being stabbed with a broken chair leg in the stomach. It is later revealed that Emily is alive and in Paris with JJ's help, providing her passports from three different countries and a bank account in each "to keep her comfortable." In the finale of season six, JJ returns in order to tell David Rossi that she is "coming back."
Return to the BAU[]
The season seven premiere reveals that JJ has returned to the Behavioral Analysis Unit, having received the training to become a full-time profiler, instead of the Media Liaison, a position which has been split between Hotch and Garcia.
She is initially against summoning Prentiss "back from the dead," but Hotch insists on telling the team the truth. Also, she learns Reid is emotionally hurt by her deception, as she knew he cried for ten weeks after losing Prentiss and she never said a word, and Reid revealed he considered taking Dilaudid again.
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ CBS Corporation. "About Criminal Minds - CBS.com". Retrieved 2010-03-19.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 'Criminal Minds' update: Cook and Brewster returning — but for how long?
- ↑ A.J. Cook Returns to ‘Criminal Minds’ for Paget Brewster’s Final Episode