November as C.J. Cregg Touted by Entertainment Weekly as "one to watch" and "uncommonly beautiful and infinitely expressive," November has impressed critics and won two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Press Secretary C.J. Cregg on "The West Wing." Janney also recently received a 2002 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
The actress is the only daughter of a former actress and a jazz musician. Ironically, she was raised in Dayton, Ohio ? the same hometown of her "The West Wing" co-stars Martin Sheen and Rob Lowe.
It was Janney's mother who urged her daughter to pursue her acting dream. "My mother had studied acting at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City (where she roomed with Eileen Brennan and Rue McClanahan), but decided against an acting career when she got married," said Janney. "She came from an era when you thought you could only do one thing. Sometimes I think she was right!"
During Janney's freshman year at Kenyon College in Ohio, she was starring in a production when Paul Newman, a school alum, came back to dedicate the school's new theater. She was encouraged by Newman and his wife, Joanne Woodward, to come to New York after graduation and study at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She did as they suggested but found that, "It took me a while to get going, I?m 6-feet tall and not exactly the ingenue type."
Playing C.J. Cregg on "The West Wing" is Janney's first television role since she starred in the short-lived television series "Morton and Hayes." "The script was really great, and I immediately responded to the character," she said. "When I found out who was involved creatively, I wanted to be a part of it."
On film, Janney co-starred in the Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning film "American Beauty" with Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening, which also earned her a Screen Actors Guild nomination. Critics praised her subtle performance of a catatonic mother. Additionally, she starred in the dark comedy "Nurse Betty" (with Renee Zellweger and Morgan Freeman), which won for Best Screenwriting at the Cannes Film Festival.
Janney's other film credits include "Drop Dead Gorgeous," "10 Things I Hate About You," "Six Days, Seven Nights," "Object of My Affection," "Primary Colors," "Celebrity," "The Impostors," "Private Parts," "The Ice Storm," "Walking and Talking" and "Big Night."
In 1998, Janney was nominated for a Tony Award and won the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Supporting Actress for her Broadway performance in Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge." In the summer of 1999, Janney starred in the New York Public Theater production of "Taming of the Shrew" in the Shakespeare-in-the-Park series. In her free time, Janney likes to spend time relaxing in Vermont, but she resides in Los Angeles. Her birthday is November 19.
Actress Allison Janney is 48. Rock musician Matt Sorum (Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver) is 48. Actress Meg Ryan is 47. Actress-director Jodie Foster is 46.
The film, which will be financed and produced by the Minnesota-based Werc Werk Works, will also star Allison Janney, Charlotte Rampling, and Paul Reubens.
Special Broadcasting Service