'Chicago P.D.' Actress Marina Squerciati Claims To Be Love Child Of Late Financier John R. Jakobson
She never knew her father.
instagram For the last 20-something years, we’ve seen Dick Wolf’s name appear at the end of our favorite fictionalized true crime shows. The Law & Order franchises, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and spin-offs taking place in Chicago, including Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.
And while Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jerry Orbach, and Jesse Spencer are the most well-known names in both franchises, there’s another actress we should be paying attention to.
Who is Marina Squerciati? Squerciati currently plays Officer Kim Burgess on Chicago P.D., and has worked in film, television, and on the stage. She appeared in the off-Broadway play Just in Time: The Judy Holliday Story, Manipulation, and Beauty of the Father, and was in a Broadway production of To Be or Not to Be.
In addition to her role on Chicago P.D., she’s also appeared in the films It’s Complicated, Alter Egos, Frances Ha, and Sparks, and the television shows Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, Damages, Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Gossip Girl, and The Americans.
And now, Squerciati is in the news — not for her acting credits and talent, but for a paternity mystery surrounding the identity of her alleged father.
According to recent court documents, Squerciati is the daughter of John R. Jakobson, a financier, and was promised to be included in his estate, but was left nothing. The documents also claim that Jakobson paid for Squerciati’s $1,200/month child support for two decades, nanny, and combined $300,000 tuition, in exchange for her mother, Marie’s, silence. He also sent her birthday gifts.
The claims date all the way back to 2018 when People reported she was Jakobson’s daughter. Squerciati and Marie are seeking a share of Jakobson’s $100 million estate.
The court documents allege that Jakobson had an affair with Marie, a writer for the New York Times and the Village Voice. He allegedly told Marie in 1981, “I’m a gentleman and you may read into that only good.” Jakobson also said Marina and Marie would get a “big surprise” in his will.
But after he passed away in April 2017, they found Marina wasn’t included at all.
Jakobson’s children are fighting the allegations, including Maggie Wheeler, who played Janice on Friends. His widow, Joan, said, “I’m not aware of it at all... She said she was John’s daughter? This has all hit me, like, I don’t know — a snowstorm.”
His son, Nicholas, also claims the family never heard anything of his affair with Marie, and the estate lawyers refuse to acknowledge Squerciati as his child. Nicholas is attempting to prevent Marie from testifying, using New York’s “dead man’s statute.”
Despite not being recognized by estate lawyers as Jakobson’s daughter, Marina was offered a $50,000 settlement. In court filings, lawyers said, “She may have wished to avoid the opprobrium, which, although unfair and unjustified, is often cast upon non-marital children. As a successful actor, [she] may have been especially sensitive to this given her public persona and position in popular culture.”
It’s also not a secret that Jakobson had affairs in the past, including one with Bess Myerson, former Miss America and confidant to Mayor Ed Koch. After Jakobson ended their months-long affair and committed to his Joan, Myerson began harassing the couple, sending them vulgar letters and calling their phone. She was never charged.
Even if a paternity test proves that Jakobson helped father Squerciati, there’s no proof of a verbal agreement.
Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.