1. Jean Elizabeth Smart was born on September 13,1951 and is an American actress.
50 Facts About Jean Smart
2.
Jean Smart's work includes both comedy and drama, and her accolades include six Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and nominations for a Tony Award and a Grammy Award.
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Jean Smart was Emmy-nominated for her roles in The District, 24, Harry's Law, Fargo, Watchmen, and Mare of Easttown.
4.
Jean Smart acted in FX's Legion and voiced Ann Possible in the Disney Channel animated series Kim Possible.
5.
Jean Smart returned to Broadway in the revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
6.
Jean Smart received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Guinevere.
7.
Jean Smart was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Kathleen Marie "Kay" and Douglas Alexander Jean Smart, a teacher.
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Jean Smart was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 13 years old.
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Jean Smart is a 1969 graduate of Ballard High School in Seattle; it was there that she gained an interest in acting in the drama program.
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Jean Smart graduated from the University of Washington Professional Actors Training Program with a BFA.
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Jean Smart performed with the Seattle Repertory Theater as well as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.
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In 1981, Jean Smart was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her performance in the Off-Broadway play Last Summer at Bluefish Cove.
13.
In February 1981, Jean Smart appeared in the Broadway production of Piaf playing Marlene Dietrich, a role which she later reprised for the 1984 television version.
14.
In 1985, Jean Smart was cast in the starring role of Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the comedy series Designing Women, a role she played from the show's beginning in 1986 through its fifth season.
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Jean Smart was then cast as Sally Brewton in the television miniseries Scarlett, and appeared in a supporting role in The Brady Bunch Movie.
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Jean Smart appeared in the television thriller film A Stranger In Town opposite Gregory Hines.
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Jean Smart had a lead role in the comedy Forever Fabulous as an aging beauty queen.
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In 2000, Jean Smart was cast as Lana Gardner in the critically acclaimed NBC comedy series Frasier, acting opposite Kelsey Grammer, set in her hometown of Seattle.
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Jean Smart went on to win two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
20.
Jean Smart had a supporting role in the independent drama Garden State.
21.
Between 2000 and 2004, Jean Smart played the role of Supervisor of Detectives and ex-wife to Chief Jack Mannion of the Metropolitan Police Department on The District.
22.
Jean Smart had a supporting role in David O Russell's I Heart Huckabees.
23.
In January 2006, Jean Smart joined the cast of the Fox series 24, playing the mentally unstable First Lady of the United States, Martha Logan, to actor Gregory Itzin's President Charles Logan.
24.
Jean Smart 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.
25.
Jean Smart appeared in several films between 2006 and 2010, including the Curtis Hanson drama, Lucky You, opposite Drew Barrymore; Youth in Revolt ; and the independent comedy Barry Munday.
26.
Jean Smart later was cast as Hawaii Governor Pat Jameson during the first season of the CBS-TV remake of Hawaii Five-0.
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In 2012, Jean Smart was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Harry's Law.
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Jean Smart then had a supporting role in the Lifetime film Call Me Crazy: A Five Film.
29.
In 2015, Jean Smart starred in the second season of the FX television series Fargo, portraying Floyd Gerhardt.
30.
Jean Smart later finds herself having to lead the Gerhardt dynasty and deal with her sons, who are vying to replace their father.
31.
Jean Smart worked with Hawley again on Legion, in which she played Melanie Bird, a therapist who works with the protagonist David Haller.
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In 2016, Jean Smart had a role in the thriller The Accountant, opposite Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, and John Lithgow.
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In 2018, Jean Smart played a guardian angel, to co-star Candace Cameron, in the Hallmark Channel television film A Shoe Addict's Christmas, which aired Sunday November 25,2018.
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In 2019, Jean Smart portrayed Laurie Juspeczyk in the HBO superhero drama limited series Watchmen based on characters from the graphic novel of the same name.
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Jean Smart plays as Laurie Blake formerly the second Silk Spectre, who has since become an FBI agent and member of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force.
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Jean Smart starred alongside Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Louis Gossett Jr.
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Jean Smart herself was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and received the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance.
38.
In 2021, Jean Smart appeared in the seven-episode HBO crime drama limited series Mare of Easttown set in a small town in Pennsylvania.
39.
Jean Smart has the voice and the timing to play a stern matriarch, and whenever she's onscreen in Mare of Easttown, she wrenches away the spotlight like she's grabbing a juice box.
40.
Jean Smart's convincing as a standup, performing Deborah's vaguely hokey routines with a naturalistic flair as if she was born to it.
41.
Jean Smart won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series again in 2024.
42.
In 2021, Jean Smart co-starred in the romantic comedy film Senior Moment with William Shatner and Christopher Lloyd.
43.
In 2022, Jean Smart appeared in Damien Chazelle's 1920s period comedy-drama film Babylon as gossip columnist Elinor St John.
44.
Jean Smart was married to actor Richard Gilliland for 35 years until his death in March 2021 after a brief illness.
45.
Jean Smart worked with her husband in season 5 of 24; he played Captain Stan Cotter in one episode, while she starred in the main cast role of First Lady Martha Logan.
46.
Jean Smart is the recipient of numerous awards, including six Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations for a Tony Award and Grammy Award.
47.
Jean Smart was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in the Broadway revival of the George S Kaufman play The Man Who Came to Dinner.
48.
In 2016, Jean Smart was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Patience and Sarah.
49.
Jean Smart consecutively won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks in 2022 and 2023, and then in 2025.
50.
Jean Smart is the most awarded performer at the Critics' Choice Television Awards, with five wins from six nominations.