Jane Kaczmarek

Jane Kaczmarek
Kaczmarek attends an event at the Griffith Observatory to honor Air Force members during Air Force Week Los Angeles, CA, November 17, 2008
Born	Jane Frances Kaczmarek December 21, 1955 (1955-12-21) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison, Yale School of Drama
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Bradley Whitford (1992–2009 – divorced)

Jane Frances Kaczmarek (born December 21, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the character of Lois on the television series Malcolm in the Middle. Kaczmarek is a three-time Golden Globe and seven-time Emmy Award nominee. She lives in San Marino, California.

Early life

Kaczmarek was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughter of Evelyn, a teacher, and Edward Kaczmarek, a defense department worker. She grew up in Greendale and is of Polish ancestry. Kaczmarek was raised as a strict Roman Catholic. She majored in theater at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and later studied at the Yale School of Drama for her graduate degree and was a part of its theater company.

Career

In 1998, Kaczmarek was cast as David and Jennifer's mother in the movie Pleasantville. She has had several Broadway hits, including Lost in Yonkers and Raised in Captivity, where she won an LA Drama Critics’ Award. Her first television role was that of Margie Spoletto on For Lovers Only (1982). Her first major role was that of Linda Bauer on Equal Justice from 1990–1991.

Kaczmarek has also appeared in over forty television roles, the most notable including:

• Nurse Sandy Burns on St. Elsewhere (1982).
• Connie Lehman in The Paper Chase: The Second Year (1983–1984)
• Maureen Culter, girlfriend of Martin Crane (John Mahoney) on Frasier in "Police Story" (052–1996) and "Dad Loves Sherry, the Boys Just Whine" (082–1997)
• Janet Rudman on Law & Order in "Censure" (414–1994)
• Carol Anderson, biological mother of Julie Emrick on Felicity in 5 episodes (1999–2000)
• Holly in five episodes of Cybill (1996–1997)
• Helene Thompson in three episodes of Party of Five (1995–1999)
• Lois, mother of Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), Reese (Justin Berfield), Francis (Christopher Masterson), Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan), and baby Jamie, and wife of Hal (Bryan Cranston) in 151 episodes of Malcolm in the Middle from 2000 to 2006
• Trudy Kessler, Courtroom Judge in 25 episodes of Raising the Bar from 2008 to 2009
• The voice of Judge Constance Harm in eight episodes of The Simpsons between 2001 and 2010, namely "The Parent Rap", "Brawl in the Family", "Barting Over", "Brake My Wife, Please", "The Wandering Juvie", "On A Clear Day I Can't See My Sister", "Rome-old and Juli-eh", and recently "Chief of Hearts".

Malcolm in the Middle

In 2000, Kaczmarek was cast to play Lois Wilkerson in the FOX mid-season replacement Malcolm in the Middle. TV Guide dubbed her role in the series as a "true breakout; a female Homer Simpson", and critics hailed her for her comic talents. Later, Kaczmarek would credit the show for bringing out her comedic side, claiming, "[Before Malcolm] I couldn’t even get auditions for comedies. I played very unfunny people."

Kaczmarek was nominated seven times for an Emmy for her performance on the show, one for every year. She also earned three Golden Globe nominations and two Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, was honored with a Television Critics Association Award in 2000 and 2001, plus an American Comedy Award and a Family Television Award in 2001.

Post-Malcolm

Following the end of Malcolm in the Middle, Kaczmarek went on to star in the short-lived series Help Me Help You co-starring Ted Danson. , she starred in the hour long TNT series Raising the Bar as Judge Trudy Kessler. She also continues to voice Judge Constance Harm on several Simpsons episodes as mentioned above.

On November 19, 2009, Kaczmarek played against Julie Bowen and Robin Quivers in the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational, on which she won $50,000 for a charity.

In 2010, she starred in the Lifetime Original Movie Reviving Ophelia which aired October 11, 2010, she starred as the mother of a 16-year-old girl who was in an abusive relationship.

On July 22, 2011, it was confirmed that Kaczmarek will make a vocal appearance as Red Jessica in the television series Jake and the Never Land Pirates during its second season early 2012.

In 2011, guest starred the comedy Wilfred starring Elijah Wood.

She has been to star in Whitney as Whitney's mother.

Personal life

Kaczmarek married fellow Wisconsin native and actor Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) on August 15, 1992. They lived in Los Angeles with their three children: Frances Genevieve (b. January 1997), George Edward (b. December 23, 1999) and Mary Louisa (b. November 25, 2002). Both were very active with charity, and were seen attending many major award shows together. She is the founder of “Clothes Off Our Back” which auctions celebrity clothing for children’s charities. In June 2009, the couple filed for divorce after almost 17 years of marriage. One of the last times they were seen together publicly was in September 2008, at the opening of a Los Angeles production of The House of Blue Leaves, in which Kaczmarek was starring. According to a June 2009 magazine interview with More.com conducted prior to announcement of the divorce, she replied "That's a big no comment" when asked to sum up her love life. She also added that she used to believe that she could "“go it alone and as long as I had some fabulous boy on my arm, or man, and my career was sailing, that’s all I needed" whereas she now had grown to appreciate the support of her girlfriends "to talk about kids, to talk about marriages, to talk about just life".

Kaczmarek underwent a hip replacement in April 2004, due to chronic arthritis She recovered quickly, and used an X-ray of her new hip for her Emmy campaign the following summer, advertising herself as "the only Emmy nominee with an artificial hip (except for Anthony LaPaglia)".

In 2006, Kaczmarek and Malcolm in the Middle co-star Erik Per Sullivan contributed the afterword for the children’s book, Together, that shows the importance of domestic animals to impoverished people in the world, and was inspired by the mission of the nonprofit charitable organization, Heifer International.

Awards and nominations

Golden Globe Awards:

• 2001 – Best Actress TV Series Comedy – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)
• 2002 – Best Actress TV Series Comedy – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)
• 2003 – Best Actress TV Series Comedy – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)

Emmy Awards:

• 2000 – Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)
• 2001 – Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)
• 2002 – Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)
• 2003 – Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)
• 2004 – Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)
• 2005 – Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)
• 2006 – Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)

Screen Actors Guild Awards:

• 2001 – Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Comedy Series – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)
• 2003 – Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Comedy Series – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)

Satellite Awards:

• 2002 – Best Performance By An Actress In A Series Comedy Or Musical – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)
• 2004 – Best Performance By An Actress In A Series Comedy Or Musical – Malcolm In The Middle (nominated)

External links

• Jane Kaczmarek at the Internet Movie Database
• Kaczmarek supports Milwaukee parks