Joan Cusack Biography

Joan Mary Cusack (born October 11, 1962) is an American film, stage and television actress.

Cusack has appeared in films, television and stage productions, receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the movies Working Girl and In & Out, as well as one Golden Globe nomination. She has appeared in other films such as Addams Family Values, Broadcast News, Stars and Bars, Married to the Mob, Say Anything..., Arlington Road, Runaway Bride, School of Rock, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. She was a cast member on the sketch comedy TV show Saturday Night Live in 1985"86.

Cusack currently stars on the Showtime hit drama/comedy Shameless, as Sheila Jackson for which she has received three Emmy Award nominations.

Early life and education

Cusack, the second of five children, was born in New York City, New York, and raised in Evanston, Illinois. Her mother, Ann Paula "Nancy" (née Carolan), is a former mathematics teacher and political activist. Her late father, Richard John "Dick" Cusack, as well as her siblings Ann, Bill, John, and Susie, have also been or are actors. Her family is Irish American and Catholic.

Cusack is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin"Madison.

Career

Cusack has twice been nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her work in Working Girl and In & Out. She appeared with her brother John in the movies Sixteen Candles, Grandview, U.S.A., Class, High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank, Say Anything..., Cradle Will Rock, Martian Child, and most recently, War, Inc. In the film Addams Family Values she played serial divorcee and murderer 'Debbie Jellinsky'. She also starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom What About Joan? in 2001"02 and the hit film Arlington Road. For many years, Cusack was also the commercial spokeswoman for U.S. Cellular. She's very well known as the head-teacher of Horace Green Elementary School as 'Rosalie 'Roz' Mullins in School of Rock. She also voiced Jessie in Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, and played Dr. Burton, the therapist of Charlie (Logan Lerman), in the teen film The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012).

Cusack was a cast member on the NBC sketch show, Saturday Night Live, from 1985 to 1986. Her recurring characters on Saturday Night Live included, "Salena," a socially inept girl who tries to ask out her boyfriend, "Biff" (played by Jon Lovitz), who is also socially inept. In addition, she did celebrity impersonations of Brooke Shields, Jane Fonda and Queen Elizabeth II.

She has been nominated four times for the American Comedy Award, in the category of "Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture" and has won three times, for Runaway Bride, (1999), In & Out (1997) and Working Girl (1988). She has also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for "Best Supporting Actress" for In & Out.

In 2003, both Joan and her brother John signed the "Not in My Name" resolution (along with people such as Noam Chomsky and Susan Sarandon) opposing the invasion of Iraq.

Cusack narrates the public TV animated series Peep and the Big Wide World. In September 2010, Cusack guest starred on NBC's Law & Order: SVU.

Shameless

In 2010, Cusack joined the Showtime drama/comedy Shameless, as Sheila Jackson, the mother of Karen Jackson (Laura Slade Wiggins). The first season premiered on January 9, 2011, and had its first finale March 27, 2011. Cusack replaced actress Allison Janney, who originally portrayed the role in the first edit of the pilot episode, but was forced to drop out of the part due to her series regular commitment on the ABC comedy Mr. Sunshine. Janney took the role understanding the character would be less prominent on the show, but when producers decided to increase the characters screen presence, she was forced to pull out of the part. Cusack has received critical acclaim for her performance, receiving Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series nominations in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Personal life

She is married to Chicago attorney Dick Burke, the head of Corporate Services for Classified Ventures. They have two sons, Dylan John and Miles. She also owns a home in Three Oaks Township, Michigan and lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Cutting Loose	Minor role
1980	My Bodyguard	Shelley
1983	Class	Julia
1984	Sixteen Candles	Geek Girl #1
1984	Grandview, U.S.A.	Mary Maine
1987	'	Gina
1987	Broadcast News	Blair Litton
1988	Stars and Bars	Irene Stein	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
1988	Married to the Mob	Rose	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
1988	Working Girl	Cyn	American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated "? Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1989	Say Anything...	Constance Dobler
1990	Men Don't Leave	Jody
1990	My Blue Heaven	Hannah Stubs
1991	The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez	Cathy
1992	Accidental Hero	Evelyn Laplante
1992	Toys	Alzatia Zevo
1993	Addams Family Values	Debbie Jellinsky	Nominated "? Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1994	Corrina, Corrina	Jonesy
1995	Nine Months	Gail Dwyer	Nominated "? American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
1995	Two Much	Gloria
1996	Mr. Wrong	Inga Gunther
1997	Grosse Pointe Blank	Marcella	Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated "? Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
1997	'	Nancy Tellen
1997	In & Out	Emily Montgomery	American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (2nd place) Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated "? Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated "? Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress " Comedy Nominated "? Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1999	Arlington Road	Cheryl Lang	Nominated "? Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated "? Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1999	Cradle Will Rock	Hazel Huffman
1999	Runaway Bride	Peggy Flemming	American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress " Comedy/Romance Nominated "? Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress
1999	Toy Story 2	Jessie (voice)	Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production Nominated "? Teen Choice Award for Film " Choice Hissy Fit
2000	High Fidelity	Liz
2000	Where the Heart Is	Ruth Meyers
2002	It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie	Rachel Bitterman
2003	School of Rock	Rosalie Mullins
2003	Looney Tunes: Back in Action	Mother
2004	Raising Helen	Jenny Portman
2004	'	Fanny Nash
2004	Peep and the Big Wide World	Narrator (Voice)	Animated TV Series Nominated "? Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program
2005	Ice Princess	Joan Carlyle
2005	Chicken Little	Abby Mallard (voice)
2006	Friends with Money	Franny
2007	Martian Child	Liz
2008	War, Inc.	Marsha Dillon
2008	Kit Kittredge: An American Girl	Miss Lucinda Bond
2009	Confessions of a Shopaholic	Jane Bloomwood
2009	My Sister's Keeper	Judge De Salvo
2009	Acceptance	Nina
2010	Toy Story 3	Jessie (voice)
2011	Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil	Verushka the Witch (voice)
2011	Mars Needs Moms	Milo's mom (performance capture)
2011	Hawaiian Vacation	Jessie (voice)	Short film
2011	Small Fry	Jessie (voice)	Short film
2011	Arthur Christmas	Mission Control Elf (voice)
2012	Partysaurus Rex	Jessie (voice)	Short film
2012	The Perks of Being a Wallflower	Dr. Burton
2014	Welcome to Me		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985"1986	Saturday Night Live	Various
2001"2002	What About Joan?	Joan Gallagher	CTV Television Network
2004"Present	Peep and the Big Wide World	Narrator
2011	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Pamela Burton	Guest Appearance: "Locum"
2011"present	Shameless	Sheila Jackson	Nominated "? Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (2011, 2012, 2013)
2013	The Office	Erin's biological mother	Guest Appearance: "Finale"