Jenny Curran

Jenny Curran (later Jenny Gump) is a fictional character featured prominently in both the novel and movie Forrest Gump. In the latter, she is portrayed by Hanna R. Hall as a child and Robin Wright Penn as an adult.

Film biography

Jenny was born on July 16, 1945. Forrest mentions in passing that she had at least two sisters though we never see them in the film. She and her family lived in a dilapidated farmhouse that Forrest described as being "as old as Alabama." Her mother died when she was five years old. Her father was a farmer and an alcoholic who physically and sexually abused Jenny and her sisters.

Jenny and Forrest first met when Jenny was the only child who would let Forrest sit next to her on the bus to their first day of school. Young Forrest was instantly taken with her and the two became inseparable friends, "like peas and carrots" as Forrest put it. The two would often play around a large nearby tree. She taught him how to read and stood up for him when bullies bothered him, telling him to run away (which led to Forrest discovering what a great runner he was). Forrest's friendship also gave her an escape from her unhappy home life.

Jenny and Forrest once prayed for God to turn her into a bird so she could fly away from her home. Eventually, however, the police took Jenny away to live with her grandmother, though the abuse she had suffered would stay with her for most of her life.

Forrest remains friends with Jenny through high school, although she attends a separate all-girls' college, (possibly Judson College) while Forrest goes to the University of Alabama on a football scholarship. She tells Forrest she wants to become a folk singer like Joan Baez.

Jenny eventually poses for a picture in Playboy, which gets her expelled. She begins playing guitar in the nude as "Bobbie Dylan" at a strip club. Forrest (who has graduated and joined the army by this point) visits her and witnesses some men "tryin' to grab" her while playing a cover of "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan. He beats them up, but Jenny is fired as a result. Jenny is angry at first but becomes depressed, reflecting on her life, even contemplating suicide. She becomes concerned, however, when Forrest tells her he's being sent to Vietnam. She tells him if he's ever in trouble to not be brave but just run away.

While Forrest is in Vietnam, Jenny becomes a hippie and travels the country with friends. She eventually starts dating Wesley, the president of the SDS chapter at Berkeley. She and Forrest are reunited at an anti-Vietnam rally. Forrest protects her once again when he beats up Wesley after he sees him hit her during an argument. The two stay up all night while Jenny tells Forrest of her travels. Before they go their separate ways again, Forrest gives Jenny the Medal of Honor he earned in Vietnam.

While Forrest concludes his service in the army and goes into the shrimping business (naming his boat after Jenny), Jenny's life takes a dark turn into a life of drugs and (possibly) prostitution. She reaches her lowest point when she nearly jumps from an apartment balcony in a drug-induced haze.

Eventually she returns to Alabama to stay with Forrest. The two are happy to be together once again, despite an unhappy reminder of her past when she sees her father's house (now long abandoned, her father, presumably, having died). One night Forrest asks her to marry him but she declines, telling him she's not someone he wants to marry. Forrest is hurt, believing she doesn't love him. That night, however, she climbs into his bed, telling him she does love him. They make love and in the morning she leaves.

Forrest begins running across America to get over the pain of Jenny leaving him and becomes famous. She follows his progress, keeping a scrapbook of newspaper articles on him. She also gives birth to a son who was conceived on her last night with Forrest. She names him after his father.

At some point, Jenny learns she is suffering from an unknown virus and sends a letter to Forrest to come see her. She tells Forrest about their son, and her illness, apologizing if her problems in her past ever hurt him. Forrest invites her and Forrest Jr. to come stay with him. She and Forrest get married soon after. They spend a few happy months together as a family before she finally dies on March 22, 1982 Forrest has her buried next to the tree where they played as children and adults and has her father's house demolished. Though Forrest misses her terribly, he becomes a caring father to Forrest Jr.

Differences from the novel

The character of Jenny in the novel does feature a number of differences compared to her portrayal in the film. Of these, the most notable difference is that Forrest does not marry Jenny in the book. He does, however, join a band called "The Cracked Eggs" with her at one point. Jenny is also portrayed as having a much more placid lifestyle.

Jenny also does not die during the book, but does in the sequel novel Gump and Co., which recounts Forrest's subsequent adventures with little Forrest.

Curran, Jenny
Curran, Jenny
Curran, Jenny

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