Jean Smart

Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress.

She is a 1969 graduate of Ballard High School in Seattle; it was there that she gained an interest in acting in the drama program.

She graduated from the University of Washington Professional Actors Training Program with a BFA.

After graduating from college, Smart began her career appearing in regional theater throughout the Pacific Northwest, including in Washington, Alaska, and Oregon.

She performed with the Seattle Repertory Theater as well as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.

In the mid-1970s, she moved to New York City with college friend and fellow actress, Elizabeth Wingate (Lavery), and began working in Off-Broadway and professional regional productions.

In addition to theater, Smart began working in television in several smaller to mid-size guest parts in the late 1970s and early 1980s, appearing on The Facts of Life, Alice, and Remington Steele among several others.

In 1980, she appeared as Lady Macbeth at the Pittsburgh Public Theater opposite Tom Atkins as Macbeth and Keith Fowler as Macduff.

After beginning her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest, she appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play Piaf.

In 1981, Smart was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her performance in the Off-Broadway play Last Summer at Bluefish Cove.

In February 1981, Smart appeared in a Broadway production of Piaf playing Marlene Dietrich, a role which she later reprised for the 1984 television version.

According to Smart, after roles on the short-lived series Teachers Only and Reggie in 1983, "casting directors just decided I was funny. When that happens, you usually get pigeonholed, but I was fortunate. I got to move back and forth."

The following year, she had a supporting part in the thriller Flashpoint (1984).

In 1985, Smart was cast in the starring role of Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the comedy series Designing Women, a role she played from the show's beginning in 1986 through its fifth season.

After leaving Designing Women, her work mostly concentrated within made-for-television movies and supporting roles in films.

Smart was later cast in a leading role as Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the CBS sitcom Designing Women, in which she starred from 1986 to 1991.

Notably she portrayed serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the TV movie Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story (1992), followed by a supporting part in the black comedy Mistress (1992), opposite Robert De Niro and Eli Wallach.

Critic Roger Ebert praised the film and called Smart's character portrayal "calculating".

The following year, she appeared in the family drama Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993), and as Ory Baxter in a television version of The Yearling (1994).

Smart's film credits include The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), Sweet Home Alabama (2002), Garden State (2004), I Heart Huckabees (2004), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Accountant (2016), A Simple Favor (2018), and Babylon (2022).

She was then cast as Sally Brewton in the television miniseries Scarlett (1995), and appeared in a supporting role in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995).

She also appeared in the television thriller film A Stranger In Town (1995) opposite Gregory Hines.

In 1995, Smart was cast as the lead in the comedy series High Society, which co-starred Mary McDonnell and ran for 13 episodes, followed by a role opposite Nancy McKeon in another short-lived CBS sitcom, Style & Substance.

Other roles included a part in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple II (1998), and as Deborah Sloane in the drama Guinevere (1999).

She received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Guinevere (1999).

Smart was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Kathleen Marie "Kay" (Sanders) and Douglas Alexander Smart, a teacher.

She is the second of four children.

Smart was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 13 years old.

Her father was a first-generation Scottish-American.

On Season 10 of the television show Who Do You Think You Are?, Smart discovered she is a maternal descendant of Dorcas Hoar, one of the last women convicted of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials.

She had a lead role in the comedy Forever Fabulous (1999) as an aging beauty queen.

Smart was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the 2000 Broadway revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner, and she received two Primetime Emmy Awards for her role as Lana Gardner on the NBC sitcom Frasier (2000–01).

In 2000, Smart was cast as Lana Gardner in the critically acclaimed comedy series Frasier, acting opposite Kelsey Grammer, set in her home town of Seattle.

She went on to win two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

Smart is also known for her recurring voice role in Kim Possible (2002–2007) as the main character's mom.

She also portrayed Martha Logan on the action drama series 24 (2006–07).

She won a third Emmy Award for her supporting role as Regina Newley on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? (2007–09).

In the past decade Smart has seen a resurgence acting in television series, such as FX's Fargo (2015) and Legion (2017–2019), both created by Noah Hawley, the HBO projects Watchmen (2019) and Mare of Easttown (2021), as well as the Max series Hacks (2021), the latter three earning her Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with Hacks winning her two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy.

Smart is the most awarded performer at the Critics' Choice Television Awards, with four wins (for the above mentioned Fargo, Watchmen and Hacks) from 5 nominations.

Smart is only the second actress, after Betty White, to win all three comedy Emmy nominations - comedy lead, supporting, and guest categories.