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Nancy McKeon

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Nancy McKeon
Born
Nancy Justine McKeon
SpouseMarc Andrus (2003-present)
ChildrenAurora

Nancy Justine McKeon (born April 4, 1966) is an American actress.

Biography

Early life & career

McKeon was born in Westbury, New York to a show business family; she and her brother Philip did numerous commercials. She also appeared on the soap operas The Secret Storm and Another World. The McKeons moved to Los Angeles in 1975, when Philip got a job as Linda Lavin's son on the television series Alice.

In 1979, McKeon was discovered by a casting director for The Facts of Life after a performance in a Hallmark greeting cards advertisement. She was cast as tough and independent tomboy Jo Polniaczek, and debuted on the show in the fall of 1980. This would be her most famous role and her shot to stardom; she would play the role until the show was canceled in 1988. McKeon also provided the voice for many ABC Weekend Special cartoon characters, including the voice for Scruffy.

Later career

Since then, McKeon has starred in many made-for-TV movies, most notably A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story, in which she portrays an abuse victim. She starred in her own series, Can't Hurry Love, in 1995, which lasted only one season, and which had Mariska Hargitay in a comic role, a few years before Law and Order SVU. In 1997, she starred in another failed sitcom with Jean Smart titled Style and Substance. McKeon played Inspector Jinny Exstead on the Lifetime police drama The Division from 2001 to 2004. Her pregnancy was incorporated into the storyline of the last year of the series. Previously, she starred in the movie The Wrong Woman, as a woman framed for killing her boss. Recently she starred in the film Comfort and Joy.

Personal life

McKeon married key grip Marc Andrus in June 2003, and in March 2004 gave birth to their daughter, Aurora. According to Lisa Whelchel's website, McKeon had a second baby, a boy, at the end of December 2006.

A devout Roman Catholic, McKeon, with her parents, was granted a private audience with Pope John Paul II while she was on The Facts of Life.[1]

filmography

title date role
Sonny with a Chance 2009- Connie Munroe
The Division 2001-2004 Jinny Exstead
Comfort and Joy 2003 Jane Berry
Can't Hurry Love 1995-1996 Annie O'Donnell
The Wrong Woman 1995 Melanie
The Facts of Life 1980-1988 Joanna Marie 'Jo' Polniaczek

catagory 6:day of destruction 2004 tv movie Amy Harkin

References

  1. ^ "Intimate Portrait: Nancy McKeon". 2001. Lifetime. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |began=, |episodelink=, |city=, |serieslink=, |ended=, and |transcripturl= (help); Missing or empty |series= (help)