The personal assistant to the Shortland Street clinic's chief executive officer, Michael McKenna (Paul Gittins), Jenny was the embodiment of the strong and wise matriarch the shows producers wished to portray.

Jenny headlined numerous storylines including a secret love affair with Guy Warner (Craig Parker), a secret revealing Nick may not be her biological son, numerous romances, a pregnancy and later abortion, breast cancer, a brief marriage to the villainous Ian Seymour (David Press) and departing the show to work in politics alongside best friend, Marj Brasch (Elizabeth McRae).

[1] De Nave and Television New Zealand also wished for as wide demographics as possible and many measures were set about to ensure the soap would reach a diverse audience.

To fulfill this, De Nave created the roles of teenagers such as Nick Harrison, Stuart Neilson and Kirsty Knight to draw in a young audience.

As the nineties progressed, Harper maintained her role and by 1996, was one of only three remaining cast members of the original 16, alongside screen son, Karl Burnett (Nick Harrison) and Angela Dotchin (Kirsty Knight).

[6] The character of Jenny's best friend, Marj Brasch (Elizabeth McRae) was reintroduced to the soap in her final episodes as a means of writing her out.

[7] Shortly after quitting Harper realised the extent of how happy she was, stating, "The week I finished I was on my bike cycling away and I thought, 'Oh, I have no lines to learn, how wonderful'.

Jenny fell in love with her boss, Michael McKenna (Paul Gittins) and later briefly dated Declan Kennedy (Kevin J. Wilson).

Scandal struck when it was revealed Jenny was Guy Warner's (Craig Parker) mistress despite his relationship with Meredith Fleming (Stephanie Wilkin).

Jenny began to be stalked by a boy named Adam (Jeremy Brennan) who claimed to be her real biological son, though it was never disproven, he was later sectioned due to his deteriorating mental health.