Jean Smart

Infobox actor


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birthname = Jean E. Smart
birthdate = birth date and age|1951|9|13
birthplace = Seattle, Washington
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spouse = Richard Gilliland
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emmyawards = Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
2000: "Frasier"
2001: "Frasier"
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
2008: "Samantha Who?"
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Jean E. Smart (born September 13, 1951) is a multiple Emmy Award-winning American film and television actress. Smart is particularly known for her comedic roles, one of the best known being her role as Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the CBS sitcom "Designing Women". She later gained critical acclaim for dramatic work, with her portrayal of Martha Logan on "24". Smart appears as Regina Newly on the ABC sitcom "Samantha Who?", another comedic role which garnered the actress an Emmy Award in 2008.

Biography

Early life

Smart was born in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Kay and Douglas Smart [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?slug=smartobit31m&date=20031231] ] , a teacher. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/84/Jean-Smart.html Jean Smart Biography (1952?-) ] ] [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019011/bio Jean Smart Biography - Yahoo! Movies ] ] The second of four children, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was thirteen. She is a 1969 graduate of Ballard High School, located in Seattle. It is there that she gained an interest in acting in the drama program. Smart is a member of the University of Washington chapter of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

Career

Smart starred as the character Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the comedy series "Designing Women" from 1986 to 1991.

Her own series, "High Society", co-starring Mary McDonnell, lasted just 13 episodes in 1995.

She was in "The Brady Bunch Movie" as Mrs. Dittmeyer, the sexy wife of the Bradys' sinister neighbor. She is very unhappy with her husband and has desires for the men in the Brady family. In the end credits, she kisses Mike Brady in the ear (which he enjoys) and incurs the wrath of his wife, Carol.

Recent appearances on the big screen include "Disney's The Kid", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Bringing Down The House", Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple II" and "Garden State". She provided the voice of the alcoholic chain-smoking Pickles Oblong on "The Oblongs", and guest starred on "Frasier" as Dr. Frasier Crane's short-fused high school crush, Lana Gardner (for which she received two Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series").

In the early 2000s, Jean Smart played the role of Supervisor of Detectives and ex-wife to Chief Jack Mannion of the Metropolitan Police Department on "The District".

In 2002 she voiced Dr. Anne Possible in Kim Possible.

She was a cast member of 2004's short-lived sitcom "Center of the Universe".

In January 2006, Smart joined the cast of "24" playing the mentally-unhinged First Lady of the United States, Martha Logan, to actor Gregory Itzin's President Charles Logan. Her work was critically praised and she received back-to-back Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama for the role in 2006 and 2007.

The actress is starring in the sitcom "Samantha Who?" as Samantha's overbearing mother. She won the 2008 Emmy award for best supporting actress in a comedy series for that role.

Personal life

Smart is married to actor Richard Gilliland, whom she met while working on the set of "Designing Women" (He played J.D. Shackelford, the boyfriend of Annie Potts' character, Mary Jo). They have one son, Connor. Gilliland played Captain Stan Cotter on "24" while Smart joined the cast as Martha Logan for season 5. (He was in the 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. episode.)

She has contributed to the 2008 campaigns of Barack Obama and John Edwards [ [http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=name&lname=Gilliland&fname=Jean] ] .

Filmography

*"Gangsters" (1979)
*"Before and After" (1979)
*"Reggie" (1983) (TV Series)
*"Teachers Only" (1983) (TV Series)
*"Single Bars, Single Women" (1984)
*"Maximum Security" (1984) (TV Series)
*"Piaf" (1984)
*"Flashpoint" (1984)
*"Protocol" (1984)
*"Fire with Fire" (1986)
*"A Fight for Jenny" (1986)
*"Designing Women" (1986) (TV Series)
*"Place at the Table" (1987)
*"Project X" (1987)
*"A Seduction in Travis County" (1991)
*"" (1991)
*"Baby Talk" (1992)
*"Mistress" (1992)
*"" (1992)
*"Just My Imagination" (1992)
*"" (1993)
*"The Yarn Princess" (1994)
*"The Yearling" (1994)
*"Scarlett" (1994)
*"The Brady Bunch Movie" (1995)
*"A Stranger in Town" (1995)
*"High Society" (1995) (TV Series)
*"Edie and Pen" (1996)
*"Undue Influence" (1997)
*"Style and Substance " (1998)
*"The Odd Couple II" (1998)
*"A Change of Heart" (1998)
*"Guinevere" (1999)
*"Forever Fabulous" (2000)
*"Snow Day" (2000)
*"Disney's The Kid" (2000)
*"The Man Who Came to Dinner" (2000)
*"Static Shock" (2000 - 2004)
*"The Oblongs" (2001) (TV Series; voice only)
*"Kim Possible" (2002) (TV Series)
*"Frasier" (1993) (TV Series)
*"Sweet Home Alabama" (2002)
*"In-Laws" (2002)
*"Bringing Down the House" (2003)
*"Audrey's Rain" (2004)
*"" (2003)
*"Garden State" (2004)
*"I Heart Huckabees" (2004)
*"" (2004)
*"Center of the Universe" (2004) (TV Series)
*"A Very Married Christmas" (2004)
*"24" (2006) (TV Series)
*"Lucky You" (2007)
*"Tales from Earthsea (anime)"
*"Samantha Who?" (2007) (TV Series)
*"Hero Wanted" (2008)
*"Youth in Revolt" (2009)

References

External links

* [http://www.topthat.net/JeanSmart/ Official Jean Smart website]
* [http://www.apakistannews.com/jean-smart-win-supporting-actor-emmys-samantha-who-82379 Jean Smart win supporting-actor Emmys Samantha Who?]
*imdb name|0005443