Nancy McKeon Biography

Nancy Justine McKeon (born April 4, 1966) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life.

Career

McKeon and her older brother Philip appeared in numerous commercials. McKeon also appeared on the soap operas The Secret Storm and Another World. The McKeons moved to Los Angeles in 1975, when Philip won the role of Tommy Hyatt and began appearing on the television series Alice with Linda Lavin.

In 1979, McKeon was discovered by a casting director for The Facts of Life on the basis of her performance in a Hallmark greeting cards advertisement, in which she was able to cry on cue.

She was cast as tomboy Jo Polniaczek in the fall of 1980 during the show's second season when four of the first season's cast, including Molly Ringwald, left the show. This is her most famous role and she portrayed the character throughout the series until the show was canceled in 1988. McKeon also provided the voice for many ABC Weekend Special cartoon characters, including the voice for Scruffy.

Following The Facts of Life, McKeon was courted by NBC executives for the title role in the TV sitcom adaptation of the 1988 film Working Girl; the role, played by Melanie Griffith in the movie, instead went to then unknown Sandra Bullock for the TV series. In 1994, both McKeon and Courteney Cox auditioned for the role of Monica Geller on Friends. The role went to the latter. When asked in interviews about the auditions, McKeon said, "I have no hard feelings. The role went to the right person. Courteney was brilliant. Now, I can't see anybody playing the role, not even myself." In 1995, she starred in her own series, Can't Hurry Love, which lasted one season. In 1998, she starred in a sitcom with Jean Smart titled Style & Substance. McKeon portrayed Inspector Jinny Exstead on the Lifetime police drama The Division from 2001 to 2004, with her pregnancy incorporated into the storyline of the last year of the series. From 2009 to 2010, McKeon appeared in a recurring role in the Disney Channel Original Series Sonny with a Chance, as Connie Munroe, the mother of Demi Lovato's title character.

McKeon also starred in numerous made-for-TV movies throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story, in which she portrayed the title role of Tracey Thurman, and The Wrong Woman, portraying a woman framed for killing her boss. In 2003, McKeon starred in the film Comfort and Joy.

In 2018, McKeon was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on season 27 of Dancing with the Stars. She is partnered with professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy.

Personal life

While McKeon was on The Facts of Life, she and her parents were granted a private audience with Pope John Paul II.

McKeon lives in Austin, Texas. She and husband Marc Andrus have a daughter, Aurora, and were expecting another in 2006.

Her older brother is actor Philip McKeon.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Where the Day Takes You	Vikki
1994	Teresa's Tattoo	Sara	Alternative title: Natural Selection
1995	'	Melanie Brooke
1997	Just Write	Bride

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Starsky & Hutch	Vikki Mayer	"The Crying Child"
1978	Return to Fantasy Island	Ann	TV film
1978	'	Susan Moreland	TV film
1979	'	Penny Barrett	"Daddy's Pride"
1979	The Puppy's Great Adventure	Dolly (voice)	TV film
1980	Stone	Jill Stone	TV series (9 episodes)
1980	The Puppy's Amazing Rescue	Dolly (voice)	TV film
1980	'	Amelia Daley (voice)	TV film
1980	Scruffy	Scruffy (voice)	TV film
1980	ABC Afterschool Special	Lucy Twining	"Schoolboy Father"
1980-81	Thundarr the Barbarian	Tye / Tai (voice)	"Harvest of Doom", "Last Train to Doomsday"
1980-88	'	Jo Polniaczek	TV series (189 episodes)
1981	ABC Afterschool Special	Nancy Parks	"Please Don't Hit Me, Mom"
1981	Alice	Kimberly	"Alice's Halloween Surprise"
1981	The Puppy Saves the Circus	Dolly (voice)	TV film
1982	Miss Switch to the Rescue	Amelia Daley (voice)	TV film
1982-83	'	Dolly (voice)	TV series (13 episodes)
1982	'	Jo Polniaczek	TV film
1983	Dusty	Slugger	TV film
1983-84	'	Dolly (voice)	TV series (8 episodes)
1983	High School U.S.A.	Beth Franklin	TV film
1985	Poison Ivy	Rhonda Malone	TV film
1985	This Child Is Mine	Kimberly Downs	TV film
1986	Firefighter	Cindy Fralick	TV film
1987	'	Jo Polniaczek	TV film
1987	Strange Voices	Nicole 'Nikki' Glover	TV film
1989	'	Tracey Thurman	TV film
1990	'	Dawn Wilder	"New Dawn"
1991	Lightning Field	Martha Townsend	TV film
1992	Baby Snatcher	Karen Williams	TV film
1993	Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage	Rosalie Profaci Bonanno	TV film
1995	'	Margaret Deal	TV film
1995-96	Can't Hurry Love	Annie O'Donnell	TV series (19 episodes)
1998	Style & Substance	Jane Sokol	TV series (13 episodes)
1999	In My Sister's Shadow	Joan Connor	TV film
1999	Touched by an Angel	Rachel Waters	"The Last Day of the Rest of Your Life"
2001-04	'	Inspector Jinny Exstead	TV series (88 episodes)
2003	Comfort and Joy	Jane Berry	TV film
2004	Category 6: Day of Destruction	Amy Harkin	TV miniseries
2006	Wild Hearts	Emily	TV film
2007	Without a Trace	Gail Sweeney	"Absalom"
2009-10	Sonny with a Chance	Connie Munroe	TV series (5 episodes)
2011	Love Begins	Millie	TV film
2018	Dancing with the Stars	Season 27	Contestant

Awards and nominations

Marco Island Film Festival

• 2000: Won, "Audience Award for Best Short Drama" - A Wakening
• 2000: Won, "Crystal Palm Award for Best Short Film" - A Wakening

Prism Awards

• 2003: Nominated, "Best Performance in a Drama Series Episode" - The Division
• 2003: Nominated, "Best Performance in a Drama Series" - The Division
• 2004: Nominated, "Best Performance in a Drama Series Multi Episode Storyline" - The Division

TV Land Awards

• 2007: Nominated, "The 'When Bad Teens Go Good' Award" - The Facts of Life

Young Artist Awards

• 1982: Nominated, "Best Young Comedienne in Motion Picture or Television" - The Facts of Life
• 1983: Won, "Best Young Actress in a Television Special" - Please Don't Hit Me, Mom
• 1983: Won, "Best Young Actress in a Movie Made for Television" - The Facts of Life Goes to Paris
• 1983: Won, "Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series" - The Facts of Life
• 1984: Nominated, "Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series" - The Facts of Life