Jennifer Elizabeth "Jenny" Reynolds (also Gross)[1] is a fictional character from the Australian drama series Winners & Losers, played by Melissa Bergland.

She made her debut screen appearance in the pilot episode "Covert Aggression in Netball", which was broadcast on the Seven Network on 22 March 2011.

The show's creator Bevan Lee explained that Jenny's story arc would be about her growing up and maturing.

Jenny has also been engaged to Callum Gilbert (Mike Smith), been part of a love triangle and dated an older man.

Bevan Lee had wanted to create a television drama focusing on a group of women for a number of years before he came up with the idea for Winners & Losers.

[2] Lee's also created Packed to the Rafters, which focused on family relationships, while Winners and Losers centred on friendships and was aimed at a younger demographic.

[3] Lee commented that the show focuses on the "fun and drama of how we all carry the inner loser inside us, no matter how much life makes a winner of us.

"[3] Winners and Losers revolves around the lives of four women: Jenny Gross, Bec Gilbert (Zoe Tuckwell-Smith), Frances James (Virginia Gay) and Sophie Wong (Melanie Vallejo).

[3] When the casting brief was sent out to the talent agencies, Melissa Bergland's agent thought she would be "a good fit" for one of the characters and submitted her details.

[5] The brief she received asked her to dress "daggy", so she attended the audition wearing "what looked like an oversized tent and track pants covered in cat hair.

"[6] Bergland also wore her own glasses and sported her "signature" red hair, which the producers loved and decided to keep for the character.

Her parents, Trish (Denise Scott) and Brian (Francis Greenslade), "would walk over hot coals for her", while her siblings – Deidre (Madeleine West), Bridget (Sarah Grace) and Patrick (Jack Pearson) – are very protective of her.

[6] Alexa Coetsee from The Sunday Times thought Jenny was "socially awkward" and noted that she had not moved away from the area she had grown up in.

The actress explained that Jenny wears a lot of Route 66 and Hellbunny dresses which are flattering on girls with a fuller figure.

[15] Bergland told a reporter for The Daily Telegraph that she did not relate to Jenny's need to settle down and have a family, as she had "itchy feet" and wanted to travel.

[17] Series producer MaryAnne Carroll stated "The heart of the show is the idea of friendship and the relationship you have with friends that you've known for a really long time.

"[18] Carroll told Michael Idato from The Sydney Morning Herald that once the audition process began, they realised that they had to get four girls with the right chemistry together.

Bergland told TV Week's Clare Rigden that after having lunch with Rhys's parents, who seemed to really like her, Jenny believed everything was great.

[21] During a live web chat with the show's fans, Bergland stated that the Jenny/Rhys relationship was one of her favourite storylines from the first season.

Bergland said that Jenny was really happy with the engagement being back on, as it meant she could plan a wedding and move out of her parents' house.

[25] Bergland told TV Week's Gavin Scott, "She thinks they're on the straight and narrow from here on in, but like every relationship, they'll have their ups and downs.

"[25] As the wedding costs mounted up, Callum came under financial pressure and began undergoing medical experiments to raise money.

"[32] Towards the end of the fourth season, Jenny learned that she carried the BRCA1 gene, meaning she was at greater risk of getting breast cancer.

[32] Deidre's diagnosis also brought up bad memories of Trish's own fight with cancer and Bergland said that it caused the Gross family to realise that there was a pattern, and it could affect Jenny.

[33] She commented, "I think initially they were hoping that Trish developing breast cancer was kind of a one-off and they were very lucky but then the big C-bomb really rears its ugly head again.

"[33] While Jenny dealt with the situation in a positive way, her sister Bridget found it hard and began focusing on the negatives.

[35][36] While critiquing the first season, Lorelei Vashti from The Age branded Jenny "a whiny fat girl who lives at home with her parents.

[41] Bastow explained "Yes, Jenny is big – and, it follows in TV logic, she's also nervy, suffers from a lack of confidence, sleeps with a teddy bear, has a dead-end job, is single, and lives at home.

[42] Dianne Butler of the Herald Sun praised the character's singing at Matt's funeral, writing "what a cracker job of 'Amazing Grace' Jen does".

[43] Ben Pobjie, writing for the Brisbane Times observed that Jenny had "a doughtily down-to-earth spirit that epitomises the grounded nature that is W&L's most addictive element".