Allison Janney won three Emmy awards for her portrayal of press secretary C. J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing (1999-2006, starring Martin Sheen). In addition to her TV role, Janney has appeared in several feature films, including The Ice Storm (1997, starring Sigourney Weaver), American Beauty (1999, starring Annette Bening) and 10 Things I Hate About You (1999, starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger). An accomplished character actor, she has done voice work for TV and appeared on Broadway, earning a 1998 Tony nomination for her role in A View From the Bridge. To younger audiences she's known as Amanda Bynes's strict mom in Hairspray (2007, based on the John Waters movie) and as Ellen Page's not-so-strict step-mom in Juno (2007). She returned to series television in 2011, as Matthew Perry's co-star in Mr. Sunshine.
Early in her career, Janney appeared on the daytime drama The Guiding Light (1993-95)... She claims she is "five feet, twelve inches" tall.
One of the most talented -- and often underappreciated -- character actresses of the late 1990s, Allison Janney first began courting critical attention with roles in such acclaimed films as Big Night (1996) and American Beauty (1998). Able to play characters ranging from a name-dropping Manhattan socialite to a withdrawn, abused wife, the 6'0" Janney infuses all of her portrayals with equal parts poignancy and unforced gusto.
A product of Dayton, Ohio, where she was born November 19, 1959, Janney was raised as the daughter of a homemaker and the president of a real estate firm. She aspired to be a champion figure skater from a young age, but any hopes of pursuing a skating career were halted by a freak accident that badly damaged Janney's leg when she was in her mid-teens. As a student at Kenyon College, she became interested in acting, and got her first break when she successfully auditioned for a play being directed by Kenyon alum Paul Newman. After impressing Newman, a racing enthusiast, with both her acting skills and her love of fast cars, Janney went on to impress his wife, Joanne Woodward, who directed her in a number of off-off-Broadway plays during the early 1980s.
Although she enjoyed early stage success, Janney had difficulty starting her career, something that was hindered by her height: one disparaging casting agent went so far as to tell her that the only roles she was suitable for were lesbians and aliens. Thankfully, the actress pressed on in the face of such idiocy, waitressing and scooping ice cream to support herself during dry spells. Her luck began to change for the better in the late 1990s, when she started garnering luminous reviews for her work both on Broadway -- where she earned a Tony nomination for her role in 1998's A View from the Bridge -- and onscreen in such films as Big Night (1996) and Mike Nichols' Primary Colors (1998). In the former film, she appeared as the quiet, capable love interest of Tony Shalhoub's struggling Italian chef, while the latter featured the actress in the minor but poignant role of a painfully-awkward schoolteacher who is seduced by John Travolta's libidinous Presidential candidate.
Janney, who had been appearing on television and in films since the early '90s, went on to do reliably excellent work in a variety of films that ranged from The Object of My Affection (1998), in which she played the supercilious, name-dropping wife of a high-powered literary agent (Alan Alda); to Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), which featured her as a beehived, chain-smoking trailer park resident; to American Beauty (1999), in which she gave a quietly powerful portrayal of the abused wife of a tyrannical ex-Marine (Chris Cooper). Janney's talents have also been put on ample display on the small screen: in 1999, she joined the cast of the acclaimed NBC White House drama The West Wing, originating the role of tough press secretary C.J. Cregg. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
Janney's first roles on television were as comedic foils on soap operas: she first played Vi Kaminski for a short time on As the World Turns, following up with a two-year stint as one of the Spaulding maids, Ginger on Guiding Light. In the spring of 1994, she appeared in the season finale of Law & Order, as a reluctant witness against a member of the Russian mob.
Weekend trips to Washington, D.C. were frequently a part of Janney's schedule, as many outdoor scenes on The West Wing were filmed in the nation's capital. Janney also met several times with former White House Press SecretaryDee Dee Myers[citation needed] who served in the Clinton Administration from 1993–1994. Janney met with Myers in New York City to help portray her character more authentically.
The West Wing concluded in January 2006, and the last episode aired in May of that year. Even though the latter seasons were plagued by declining ratings, the overall rating of Janney remained a relatively positive one, touted by Entertainment Weekly as "one to watch", "uncommonly beautiful and infinitely expressive".[4] In January 2006, West Wing's cast was also nominated by the Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast. Janney, Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford, Janel Moloney, and other members of the cast appeared at the SAG Awards to honor their late castmate and friend, John Spencer.[citation needed]
In 2006, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in the film Our Very Own.[citation needed] Many of Janney's long time friends were involved with Our Very Own, including its producer Shannon McMahon Lichte and cast member Allison Mackie. All three were in the same class at the Neighborhood Playhouse.[citation needed] The writer/director Cameron Watson, also a longtime friend, wrote the role of Joan for her.[citation needed]
In 2007, Janney appeared in the Academy-Award-nominated film, Juno, playing the part of Bren MacGuff, the title character's stepmother, for which she won Best Supporting Actress in the Austin Film Critics Association Awards 2007. In the same year, Janney appeared in the Golden-Globe-nominated film, Hairspray, as Prudy Pingleton, Penny's (Amanda Bynes) strict and religious mother.
Janney appeared in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, also created by Aaron Sorkin. She made a guest appearance as herself in The Disaster Show, as the guest host of the week's episode of Studio 60.[citation needed] Many of the characters made references to her part in The West Wing, even those played by fellow West Wing actors.
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