Meet Elyse Porterfield, the Actress Behind the Whiteboard Hoax

Aug. 11, 2010— -- For about 24 hours, she was the Internet's favorite quitter.

Photos of "Jenny," the woman who allegedly quit her job via dry-erase board, were posted to the website The Chive Tuesday, and quickly caught the attention of media sites across the Internet and around the world.

Through dramatic messages scribbled on dry erase boards, the young "broker's assistant" told her Farmville-loving boss "Spencer" that she'd had enough of his temper, bad breath and sexist ways.

On Wednesday morning, the Internet learned that the story was just too good to be true.

The Chive posted another set of photos, revealing that "Jenny" was really actress Elyse Porterfield, and her story the work of creative pranksters.

Actress Behind the Hoax: Everyone Can Relate to 'Jenny'

Porterfield, the 22-year-old L.A. actress behind the hoax, said that playing Jenny was like living out a fantasy.

"There are times where I would have liked to be dramatic but I never really had the guts to be that dramatic," she said. "I think that's why it exploded, because everybody can relate to that. Everybody can dream and wish that it was them."

Porterfield said she moved to L.A. only two months ago and, so far, has just a few credits to her name: she was a featured extra in the upcoming movie "Project X" and was named an Angelina Jolie look-alike by People.com.

She was chosen by The Chive founders, brothers John and Leo Resig, after responding to a photo casting ad, and shot the photos with them last Friday.

The Colorado native said she never expected the photo series to become a Web phenomenon.

"You can only hope," she said. "I'm just beyond stunned. It's just absolutely incredible how it's exploded."

The hoax has turned her into an overnight sensation.

She now has several Facebook fan pages, including "1,000,000 Strong for Jenny DryErase to Pose in Playboy," which has more than 800 members.

"Oh my gosh. That gave me serious entertainment," she said. "It's so funny. I was honored, actually."

Actress Elyse Porterfield Now Has Several Facebook Fan Pages

If the group actually succeeded in scoring her a Playboy deal, would she go through with it?

"I have no idea. Probably not," she said. "It would be a sweet offer. Do they do a fully clothed pictorial?"

Though the must-click story of Jenny flashed across the Internet, there were still some who remained suspicious.

All Things D's Peter Kafka was among the first to suss out the situation and suggest that Jenny was part of a prank.

He pointed out that the founders of The Chive are old hands at hoaxing the Web.

In 2007, they circulated a story about Donald Trump leaving a whopping $10,000 tip on an $82.27 bill. They were also the masterminds behind a 2008 story about a teenage girl who accidentally texted her father that she had lost her virginity.

When contacted by Kafka on Tuesday, Leo Resig said "Jenny's very real" but the site left out her last name because "we're trying to be respectful of that girl."

Resig also told Kafka that The Chive planned to identify "Jenny" Wednesday morning.

The popular site Boing Boing also doubted Jenny's story. It posted a photo casting ad seeking a "girl next door model type for photo shoot for thechive.com," after actor James Urbaniak mentioned it on Twitter.