Jean Smart
Jean Smart | |
|---|---|
 Jean Smart at the Governor's Ball following the 41st Annual Emmy Awards | |
| Born | Jean E. Smart |
| Spouse | Richard Gilliland |
| Children | Connor Gilliland |
Jean E. Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an Emmy Award-winning American film and television actress. She is best known for the roles of Charlene Frazier Stillfield on Designing Women and Martha Logan on 24. She is currently playing Regina Newly on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who.
Biography
Early life
Smart was born in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Kay and Douglas Smart, a teacher.[1][2] 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 is there that she gained an interest in acting in the drama program. Smart is a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, from University of Washington.
Career
Smart starred as the character Charlene Frazier Stillfield on Designing Women from 1986 to 1991. In 2004, she was part of the short-lived sitcom Center of the Universe. Recent appearances on the big screen include Disney's The Kid, Sweet Home Alabama, Bringing Down The House, and Garden State. She also provided the voice of the alcoholic chain-smoking Pickles Oblong on The Oblongs, and guest starred on Frasier as Frasier's short-fused high school crush, Lana Gardner (for which she received two Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series").
In the early 2000's, Jean Smart played the role of Supervisor of Detectives and ex-wife to Chief Jack Mannion of the Metropolitan Police Department on The District.
In January 2006, Smart joined the cast of 24 playing the mentally-unhinged First Lady of the United States, Martha Logan, to actor Gregory Itzin's President Charles Logan. Her work was critically-praised and 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.
She's currently starring on Samantha Who? as Samantha's overbearing and hilarious mother.
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, Mary Jo's (Annie Potts) boyfriend). They have one son, Connor. Gilliland played Captain Stan Cotter on 24 while Smart was on as Martha Logan in season 5. (He was in the 2:00am to 3:00am episode.) She is a strong advocate for Senator John Edwards and contributed to his presidential campaign in 2004.
Filmography
- Gangsters (1979)
- Before and After (1979)
- Reggie (1983) (TV Series)
- Teachers Only (1983) (TV Series)
- Single Bars, Single Women (1984)
- Maximum Security (1984) (TV Series)
- Piaf (1984)
- Flashpoint (1984)
- Protocol (1984)
- Fire with Fire (1986)
- A Fight for Jenny (1986)
- Designing Women (1986) (TV Series)
- Place at the Table (1987)
- Project X (1987)
- A Seduction in Travis County (1991)
- Locked Up: A Mother's Rage (1991)
- Baby Talk (1992)
- Mistress (1992)
- Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story (1992)
- Just My Imagination (1992)
- Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
- The Yarn Princess (1994)
- The Yearling (1994)
- Scarlett (1994)
- The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)
- A Stranger in Town (1995)
- High Society (1995) (TV Series)
- Edie and Pen (1996)
- Undue Influence (1997)
- Style and Substance (1998)
- The Odd Couple II (1998)
- A Change of Heart (1998)
- Guinevere (1999)
- Forever Fabulous (2000)
- Snow Day (2000)
- Disney's The Kid (2000)
- The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000)
- Static Shock (2000 - 2004)
- The Oblongs (2001) (TV Series; voice only)
- Kim Possible (2002) (TV Series)
- Frasier (1993) (TV Series)
- Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
- In-Laws (2002)
- Bringing Down the House (2003)
- Audrey's Rain (2004)
- Killer Instinct: From the Files of Agent Candice DeLong (2003)
- Garden State (2004)
- I Heart Huckabees (2004)
- Balto III: Wings of Change (2004)
- Center of the Universe (2004) (TV Series)
- A Very Married Christmas (2004)
- 24 (2006) (TV Series)
- Lucky You (2007)
- Tales from Earthsea (anime)
- Samantha Who? (2007) (TV Series)