Allison Janney
☼ Born on 19 December 1959, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Biography
Allison Janney is an award-winning actress who has earned a solid reputation in stage productions and in many supporting roles on screen, and who more recently has become prominent by portraying one of the major characters in the popular TV series The West Wing (1999).
Entertainment Weekly magazine describes Janney's screen presence as "uncommonly beautiful and infinitely expressive." As an actor, the magazine deems her to be "one to watch."
Janney was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Macy Brooks (Putnam), a former actress, and Jervis Spencer Janney, Jr., a real estate developer and jazz musician. While studying at Kenyon College, Janney answered a casting call for an on-campus play that was to be directed by Kenyon's most famous alumnus, the legendary actor Paul Newman. During her audition/interview, Janney played upon Newman's known passion for race car driving - she explained how she cut thirty minutes off of the 130 mile journey from her home town to the college. She got chosen for the play's cast.
After earning her degree in drama, Janney took Joanne Woodward's suggestion to do further study at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse. She also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.
Early in her career Janney got comedic roles in the soap operas As the World Turns (1956) and Guiding Light (1952). Later, she gave memorable movie performances in supporting roles in Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), American Beauty (1999) and Nurs
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e Betty (2000), and in the made-for-TV movie ...First Do No Harm (1997), among others.
Among her stage work, Janney has played in a revival of Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge" on Broadway opposite Anthony LaPaglia, which earned her a Tony Award nomination, and a Drama League Award for outstanding artist for the 1997-98 season. She played in Noel Coward's "Present Laughter" opposite Frank Langella, which earned her the Outer Critics Circle Award and an Actors' Equity award. Janney also appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of "The Taming of the Shrew."
In 1999 Janney became part of the original cast of the acclaimed TV series The West Wing (1999) where she played the President's press secretary who eventually gets promoted to the White House Chief of Staff. Her impressive work during the seven seasons of that renowned series earned her four Emmys and two SAG Awards.
With her reputation becoming more broadly established during her work on "The West Wing" Janney won more substantive roles in feature films, in the acclaimed The Hours (2002) where she was Meryl Streep's lesbian lover, and in How to Deal (2003) where she played Mandy Moore's mother.
In the role of actor
The Creator (02/10/2023)
A rogue soldier escorts an advanced AI child in The Creator. The West has gone to war against advanced AI following the destination of an atomic bomb in Las Angeles. Joshua Taylor (John David Washington) worked as an undercover agent in New Asia, where ended up marrying Maya Fey-Taylor (Gemma Chan), who has a connection […]
To Leslie (07/03/2023)
An alcoholic woman who squandered her lottery winnings receives a second chance from a kind-hearted motel manager in To Leslie. Leslie “Lee” Rowlands (Andrea Riseborough) is a West Texas woman who won $190,000 in the lottery but squandered the money to support her substance abuse problem. Six years later, Leslie is on the verge of […]
Still Working 9 to 5 – Hot Docs 2022 (12/05/2022)
The filmmakers and stars of the film 9 to 5 reminisce on how it remains relevant 40 years later in Still Working 9 to 5. When it was released in 1980, the film 9 to 5 used satirical comedy to tell a story about women in the workplace. More than 40 years after the release […]
Bombshell (19/12/2019)
The story behind the 2016 Fox News scandal is told in Bombshell. Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) is one of the top anchors at Fox News, who had just recovered from a year of public ridicule by Presidential candidate Donald Trump when fellow Fox News host Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) finds herself suddenly fired. Immediately afterwards, […]
TIFF19: Bad Education (13/09/2019)
A Long Island school district is rocked by the largest embezzlement scandal in history in Bad Education. Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) is the superintendent of the Roslyn School District in Long Island, who along with his assistant superintendent for business, Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney) have brought unprecedented prestige to the district. When it was discovered […]
I, Tonya (17/09/2017)
The life and career of scandal-ridden figure skater Tonya Harding is told in I, Tonya. From childhood Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) was bred to be a figure-skating champion from her stern and often abusive mother LaVona (Allison Janney). Tonya would meet future husband Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan) as a teenager, who initially seemed like an escape from her […]
The Girl on the Train (09/10/2016)
An alcoholic divorcee becomes entangled in a missing persons case in The Girl on the Train. Rachel (Emily Blunt) rides the trains everyday to and from New York, enviously observing the seemingly perfect couple of Scott (Luke Evans) and Megan (Haley Bennett). The couple just happens to live next door to Rachel’s ex-husband Tom (Justin […]
Minions (11/07/2015)
Those lovable yellow henchmen get their own movie in Minions. Minions have existed since the dawn of time, with their primary goal being to serve the most despicable of masters. Having caused the inadvertent deaths of all their previous masters, the Minions are on the bring of depression in their Antarctic hideaway. This results in […]
Spy (08/06/2015)
Melissa McCarthy becomes a secret agent in Spy. Susan Cooper (McCarthy) is a CIA analyst, whose job is to guide her partner Bradley Fine (Jude Law) on his missions. Fine goes on a mission to recover to nuke from Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne). However, when he goes down, Susan offers to go into the field in his […]
Juno (19/12/2007)
Earlier this year at the Toronto Film Festival, I remember this film was receiving some good buzz. I would have considered seeing it then, if it wasn’t for the fact that the scheduling conflicted with my own. I think comparison has already been made that Juno seems to be Knocked Up and Superbad merged into […]