Jean Smart Biography

Jean E. Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is 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 recently appeared as Regina Newly on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? from 2007 to 2009, which garnered the actress an Emmy Award in 2008. She played Governor Pat Jameson during the first season of the CBS-TV remake of Hawaii Five-0.

Early life

Smart was born in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Kay and Douglas Smart, a teacher. 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 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. Smart is a member of the University of Washington chapter of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

Career

After graduating from college, Smart began her career appearing in regional theater while still living in Seattle (Seattle Repertory Theater, Ashland (Oregon) Shakespeare festival, etc.). She moved to NYC in the mid 1970s with college friend and fellow actress, Elizabeth Wingate (Lavery), and began working in Off-Broadway productions almost immediately. Before long she made her Broadway debut portraying Marlene Dietrich in the 1981 play Piaf, a role which she would later reprise for the 1984 television version. Also in 1981, Smart was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her performance in the Off-Broadway play Last Summer at Bluefish Cove.

She began working in television in several smaller to mid-size guest parts in the late 1970s and early 1980s, appearing in such shows as The Facts of Life, Alice, and Remington Steele among several others. Her big break came when she was cast in the starring role of Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the comedy series Designing Women from 1986 to 1991. After leaving Designing Women, her work mostly concentrated within made-for-TV movies and smaller- to mid-size roles in films. Notably she portrayed serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, in the TV movie, Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story (1992), Ory Baxter in a television version of The Yearling (1994), Sally Brewton in the television miniseries Scarlett (1995), and Mrs. Dittmeyer in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995). In 1995 Smart landed her own series, High Society, which co-starred Mary McDonnell, which lasted only 13 episodes. In 1998, Smart co-starred with Nancy McKeon in another short-lived CBS sitcom, Style & Substance. Other roles during the 1990s included Dana Colby in Steve Martini's Undue Influence (1998), Holly in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple II (1998), and Deborah Sloane in Guinevere (1999) among others.

In 2000, Smart's career took a turn for the better when she landed the role of Lorna Lynley (later renamed Lana Gardner) on the hit show Frasier. She went on to win two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. In 2001 she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in The Man Who Came to Dinner. Soon after she landed roles in several high profile films including Stella Kay Perry in the film Sweet Home Alabama, Kate Sanderson in Bringing Down The House, and Carol in Garden State. She also provided the voice of the alcoholic chain-smoking, Pickles Oblong, on The Oblongs, and played the role of Supervisor of Detectives and ex-wife to Chief Jack Mannion of the Metropolitan Police Department on The District.

From 2002 to 2007 she voiced Dr. Ann Possible in Kim Possible, and in 2004, she was cast in a lead role in the short-lived Center of the Universe, her fourth CBS sitcom, this one co-starring John Goodman and Olympia Dukakis.

In January 2006, Smart joined the cast of 24, playing the mentally unstable First Lady of the United States, Martha Logan, to actor Gregory Itzin's President Charles Logan. 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.

Smart won the 2008 Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for portraying Samantha's overbearing mother in the sitcom Samantha Who?, which she played from 2007 to 2009. She later was cast as Hawaii Governor Pat Jameson during the first season of the CBS-TV remake of Hawaii Five-0.

In 2012, Smart was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Harry's Law.

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 Shively). They have a son, Connor Douglas (born 1989) and a daughter, Bonnie Kathleen (adopted as a baby from China in May 2009). Gilliland played Captain Stan Cotter on 24 while Smart later played First Lady Martha Logan on the same series.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Gangsters	Unknown
1979	Before and After	Unknown	TV movie
1983	Reggie	Joan Reynolds	6 episodes
1983	Teachers Only	Shari	13 episodes
1984	Single Bars, Single Women	Virge	TV movie
1984	Maximum Security	Dr. Allison Brody	3 episodes
1984	Piaf	Marlene Dietrich	TV movie
1984	Flashpoint	Doris
1984	Protocol	Ella
1986	Fire with Fire	Sister Marie
1986	A Fight for Jenny	Valerie Thomas	TV movie
1986-1991	Designing Women	Charlene Olivia Frazier Stillfield	120 episodes
1987	Place at the Table	Susan Singer	TV movie
1987	Project X	Dr. Criswell
1991	A Seduction in Travis County	Karen	TV movie
1991	Locked Up: A Mother's Rage	Cathy	TV Movie
1992	Baby Talk	Narrator
1992	Mistress	Patricia
1992	Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story	Aileen Wuornos	TV movie
1992	Just My Imagination	Pally Thompson	TV movie
1993	Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey	Kate
1993	Batman: The Animated Series	Helen Ventrix	Episode: "See No Evil"
1994	The Yarn Princess	Margaret Thomas	TV movie
1994	The Yearling	Ora Baxter
1994	Scarlett	Sally Brewton	3 episodes
1995	The Brady Bunch Movie	Dena Dittmeyer
1995	A Stranger in Town	Rose	TV movie
1995-1996	High Society	Elinore 'Ellie' Walker	13 episodes
1996	Edie and Pen	Wendy the Waitress
1997	Undue Influence	Dana Colby	TV movie
1998	Style & Substance	Chelsea Stevens	13 episodes
1998	The Odd Couple II	Holly
1998	A Change of Heart	Elaine Mitchell	TV movie
1999	Guinevere	Deborah Sloane	Nominated"?Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
2000	Forever Fabulous	Loreli Daly
2000	Snow Day	Laura Brandston
2000	Disney's The Kid	Deidre Lefever
2000	The Man Who Came to Dinner	Lorraine Sheldon	TV movie
2000	Static Shock	Maggie Foley	Episode: "Sons of the Fathers"
2000-2004	The District	Detective Sherry Regan	14 episodes Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
2001	The Oblongs	Pickles Oblong	8 episodes
2002-2007	Kim Possible	Dr. Ann Possible	40 episodes
2000-2001	Frasier	Lana Gardener	7 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (2000, 2001) Nominated"?American Comedy Award for Funniest Female Guest Appearance in a Series
2002	Sweet Home Alabama	Stella Kay Perry
2002-2003	In-Laws	Marlene Pellet	15 episodes
2003	Bringing Down the House	Kate Sanderson
2004	Audrey's Rain	Audrey Walker	TV movie
2003	Killer Instinct: From the Files of Agent Candice DeLong	Candice DeLong	TV movie
2004	Garden State	Carol
2004	I Heart Huckabees	Mrs. Hooten
2004	Balto III: Wings of Change	Stella
2004-2005	Center of the Universe	Kate Barnett	12 episodes
2004	A Very Married Christmas	Ellen Griffin	TV movie
2006	Whisper of the Heart	Asako Tsukishima
2006-2007	24	Martha Logan	24 episodes Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress " Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2007	Tales from Earthsea	Unknown
2007	Lucky You	Michelle Carson
2007-2009	Samantha Who?	Regina Newly	35 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
2008	American Dad!	Miriam Bullock	Episode: "One Little Word"
2008	Hero Wanted	Melanie McQueen
2010	Life As We Know It	Holly's mother	Uncredited
2010	Youth in Revolt	Estelle Twisp
2010-2011	Hawaii Five-0	Governor Pat Jameson	4 episodes
2010	Psych	Gillian Tucker	Episode: "Chivalry Is Not Dead...But Someone Is"
2011	$h*! My Dad Says	Rosemary Penworth	4 episodes
2011	A Royal Romance	The Duchess of Cornwall	TV movie
2011-2012	Harry's Law	Roseanna Remmick	7 episodes Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
2013	Call Me Crazy: A Five Film	Claire	TV movie
2013	Hot in Cleveland	Bess (Victoria's Sister)	Guest Star