Allison Janney
Birthday:
Birthplace:
Dayton, Ohio, USA
One of the most talented -- and often underappreciated -- character actresses of the late 1990s, Allison Janney first began courting critical attention with roles in such acclaimed films as Big Night (1996) and American Beauty (1998). Able to play characters ranging from a name-dropping Manhattan socialite to a withdrawn, abused wife, the 6'0" Janney infuses all of her portrayals with equal parts poignancy and unforced gusto.A product of Dayton, Ohio, where she was born November 19, 1959, Janney was raised as the daughter of a homemaker and the president of a real estate firm. She aspired to be a champion figure skater from a young age, but any hopes of pursuing a skating career were halted by a freak accident that badly damaged Janney's leg when she was in her mid-teens. As a student at Kenyon College, she became interested in acting, and got her first break when she successfully auditioned for a play being directed by Kenyon alum Paul Newman. After impressing Newman, a racing enthusiast, with both her acting skills and her love of fast cars, Janney went on to impress his wife, Joanne Woodward, who directed her in a number of off-off-Broadway plays during the early 1980s.Although she enjoyed early stage success, Janney had difficulty starting her career, something that was hindered by her height: one disparaging casting agent went so far as to tell her that the only roles she was suitable for were lesbians and aliens. Thankfully, the actress pressed on in the face of such idiocy, waitressing and scooping ice cream to support herself during dry spells. Her luck began to change for the better in the late 1990s, when she started garnering luminous reviews for her work both on Broadway -- where she earned a Tony nomination for her role in 1998's A View from the Bridge -- and onscreen in such films as Big Night (1996) and Mike Nichols' Primary Colors (1998). In the former film, she appeared as the quiet, capable love interest of Tony Shalhoub's struggling Italian chef, while the latter featured the actress in the minor but poignant role of a painfully-awkward schoolteacher who is seduced by John Travolta's libidinous Presidential candidate. Janney, who had been appearing on television and in films since the early '90s, went on to do reliably excellent work in a variety of films that ranged from The Object of My Affection (1998), in which she played the supercilious, name-dropping wife of a high-powered literary agent (Alan Alda); to Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), which featured her as a beehived, chain-smoking trailer park resident; to American Beauty (1999), in which she gave a quietly powerful portrayal of the abused wife of a tyrannical ex-Marine (Chris Cooper). Janney's talents have also been put on ample display on the small screen: in 1999, she joined the cast of the acclaimed NBC White House drama The West Wing, originating the role of tough press secretary C.J. Cregg.In addition to continuing her work on The West Wing, Janney played a supporting role in the award winning psychological drama The Hours (2002), and voiced Peach the Starfish in Pixar's wildly successful Finding Nemo (2003). The actress' would play the neighbor of protagonist Jim Winters (Anthony LaPaglia) in 2004's drama Winter Solstice, and continued to play small, yet meaty roles throughout the coming years (among them include On Our Very Own and Hairspray), she earned mainstream attention and critical praise for her role as the parent of a pregnant teen (Ellen Page) in Juno. Ironically, in light of her Juno success, Janney was also critically recognized for her performance as an emotionally detached mother in Sam Mendes' bittersweet comedy Away We Go (2009).
Photos
Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
MOVIES
RATING | TITLE | CREDIT | BOX OFFICE | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|---|
11% | Breaking News in Yuba County |
|
— | 2021 |
10% | Lazy Susan |
|
— | 2020 |
68% | Troop Zero |
|
— | 2020 |
92% | A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote |
|
— | 2020 |
68% | Bombshell |
|
— | 2019 |
45% | The Addams Family |
|
— | 2019 |
56% | Ma |
|
— | 2019 |
94% | Bad Education |
|
— | 2019 |
16% | A Happening of Monumental Proportions |
|
— | 2018 |
90% | I, Tonya |
|
$29M | 2018 |
80% | Sun Dogs |
|
— | 2017 |
44% | The Girl on the Train |
|
$75.4M | 2016 |
64% | Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children |
|
$87.3M | 2016 |
85% | Tallulah |
|
— | 2016 |
94% | Finding Dory |
|
$486.3M | 2016 |
55% | Minions |
|
$278M | 2015 |
95% | Spy |
|
$90M | 2015 |
73% | The DUFF |
|
$30.8M | 2015 |
66% | The Rewrite |
|
$0.4M | 2015 |
0% | Days and Nights |
|
$6.5k | 2014 |
80% | Get On Up |
|
$22.9M | 2014 |
24% | Tammy |
|
$51.1M | 2014 |
52% | Trust Me |
|
— | 2014 |
65% | Bad Words |
|
— | 2014 |
81% | Mr. Peabody & Sherman |
|
$101.8M | 2014 |
13% | Brightest Star |
|
— | 2014 |
No Score Yet | Letters to Jackie: Remembering President Kennedy |
|
— | 2013 |
42% | Touchy Feely |
|
$36.5k | 2013 |
83% | The Way Way Back |
|
$21.6M | 2013 |
32% | Struck by Lightning |
|
$0.1M | 2013 |
31% | The Oranges |
|
$0.3M | 2012 |
71% | Liberal Arts |
|
$0.4M | 2012 |
0% | A Thousand Words |
|
$18.5M | 2012 |
74% | Margaret |
|
$47k | 2011 |
76% | The Help |
|
$169.8M | 2011 |
68% | Life During Wartime |
|
$0.3M | 2010 |
66% | Away We Go |
|
$9.4M | 2009 |
No Score Yet | Pretty Ugly People |
|
— | 2008 |
94% | Juno |
|
$143.4M | 2007 |
91% | Hairspray |
|
$118.9M | 2007 |
75% | Over the Hedge |
|
$155.1M | 2006 |
37% | The Chumscrubber |
|
— | 2005 |
No Score Yet | Our Very Own |
|
— | 2005 |
60% | Winter Solstice |
|
$0.3M | 2005 |
51% | Strangers with Candy |
|
$2M | 2005 |
No Score Yet | Piccadilly Jim |
|
— | 2005 |
No Score Yet | Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde |
|
— | 2004 |
27% | How to Deal |
|
$14.2M | 2003 |
99% | Finding Nemo |
|
$380.6M | 2003 |
79% | The Hours |
|
$41.5M | 2002 |
No Score Yet | Rooftop Kisses |
|
— | 2002 |
No Score Yet | A Girl Thing |
|
— | 2001 |
83% | Nurse Betty |
|
— | 2000 |
No Score Yet | Auto Motives |
|
— | 2000 |
87% | American Beauty |
|
— | 1999 |
46% | Drop Dead Gorgeous |
|
— | 1999 |
62% | The Impostors |
|
— | 1999 |
69% | 10 Things I Hate About You |
|
— | 1999 |
40% | Celebrity |
|
— | 1998 |
No Score Yet | David y Lisa |
|
— | 1998 |
38% | Six Days, Seven Nights |
|
— | 1998 |
52% | The Object of My Affection |
|
— | 1998 |
81% | Primary Colors |
|
— | 1998 |
85% | The Ice Storm |
|
— | 1997 |
No Score Yet | Julian Po |
|
— | 1997 |
No Score Yet | Path to Paradise: World Trade Center Bombing |
|
— | 1997 |
75% | Private Parts |
|
— | 1997 |
No Score Yet | Jamรกs Causarรฉ Daรฑo |
|
— | 1997 |
28% | The Associate |
|
— | 1996 |
96% | Big Night |
|
— | 1996 |
88% | Walking and Talking |
|
— | 1996 |
7% | Faithful |
|
— | 1996 |
No Score Yet | Dead Funny |
|
— | 1995 |
No Score Yet | Heading Home |
|
— | 1995 |
60% | Miracle on 34th Street |
|
— | 1994 |
61% | Wolf |
|
— | 1994 |
21% | The Cowboy Way |
|
— | 1994 |
No Score Yet | Blind Spot |
|
— | 1993 |
TV
RATING | TITLE | CREDIT | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet |
Mom
2013
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Jimmy Kimmel Live
2003
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Late Late Show With James Corden
2015
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
2015
|
|
|
100% |
DuckTales
2017-2019
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
2015-2019
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Conan
2010
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Talk
2010
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry
2016-2019
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Tavis Smiley
2013-2018
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The View
1997
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen
2009
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Chew
2011-2018
|
|
|
41% |
Chelsea
2016-2017
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Comedy Bang! Bang!
2012-2016
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Sunday Morning
2011-2018
|
|
|
85% |
The Simpsons
1989
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Close Up With the Hollywood Reporter
2015
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Late Night With Seth Meyers
2014
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson
2005-2014
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
CBS This Morning
2012
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Family Guy
1999
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Chelsea Lately
2007-2014
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Late Show With David Letterman
1993-2015
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Web Therapy
2011-2014
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Hollywood Game Night
2013
|
|
|
84% |
Masters of Sex
2013-2016
|
|
|
93% |
Veep
2012-2019
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Tonight Show With Jay Leno
1992-2014
|
|
|
55% |
The Big C
2010-2013
|
|
|
36% |
Glenn Martin, DDS
2009-2011
|
|
|
52% |
Mr. Sunshine
2011
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Nate Berkus Show
2010-2013
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
In Plain Sight
2008-2012
|
|
|
85% |
Lost
2004-2010
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Phineas and Ferb
2007-2015
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Bonnie Hunt Show
2008-2010
|
|
|
74% |
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
2006-2007
|
|
|
65% |
Two and a Half Men
2003-2015
|
|
|
75% |
The West Wing
1999-2006
|
|
|
70% |
Weeds
2005-2012
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
King of the Hill
1997-2010
|
|
|
93% |
Frasier
1993-2004
|
|
|
91% |
Homicide: Life on the Street
1993-1999
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Law & Order
1990-2010
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Mom
|
|
|
Quotes from Allison Janney's Characters
Elaine Crocker: | I must have watched this like fifteen times because what the fuck?! I almost put it up on YouTube. |
Elaine Crocker: | You might as well cry directly into my mouth. |
Charlotte Phelan: | You know, Hilly, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you've been eatin' too much *pie*. |
Charlotte Phelan: | Love and hate are two horns on the same goat, Eugenia. And you need a goat. |
Agamemnon: | What sort of creature are you? |
Ms. Grunion: | The name's Grunion! |
Agamemnon: | I'm in love! |
Ms. Grunion: | You haven't seen the last of me, Peabody! You'll make a mistake eventually, and when you do, I'll be there! |
Charlotte Phelan: | Your eggs are dyin'. Would it kill you to go on a date? |
Charlotte Phelan: | Courage sometimes skips a generation. Thank you for bringin' it back to our family. |
Betty: | Where is your eye-patch? |
Betty: | She called me a C U Next Tuesday! To my face! Can you believe that? |
Charlotte Phelan: | (pushes Hilly off the front porch as she's talking to her) Now, you get your raggedy ass my porch. Get off my property. Go on. Before we get some disgustin' things on our lips!. |
Charlotte Phelan: | Now, you get your raggedy ass my porch. Get off my property. Go on. Before we get some disgustin' things on our lips! |
Charlotte Phelan: | (Sees Skeeter talking on the phone with Ms. Elaine Stain from New York City as she opens the door) Skeeter, who are you talkin' to in there. |
Charlotte Phelan: | [sees Skeeter talking on the phone with Ms. Elaine Stain from New York City as she opens the door] Skeeter, who are you talkin' to in there. |
Ricky Fitts: | I'm leaving. |
Barbara Fitts: | Okay. Wear a raincoat. |
Skeeter Phelan: | I got a job today. |
Charlotte Phelan: | Where? |
Skeeter Phelan: | The Jackson Journal. |
Charlotte Phelan: | Great. You can write my obituary! "Charlotte Phelan, dead. Her daughter still single!" |
Charlotte Phelan: | Great. You can write my obituary! 'Charlotte Phelan, dead. Her daughter still single!' |
Peach the Starfish: | Find a happy place! Find a happy place! |
Johnny Foote: | before we all get one of those disscusting things on our lips |
Johnny Foote: | Before we all get one of those disgusting things on our lips! |
Charlotte Phelan: | Before we all get one of those disgusting things on our lips! |
Prudy Pingleton: | Devil's Child! (sprinkles water on Penny) Devil's Child! |
Prudy Pingleton: | Devil's Child! [sprinkles water on Penny] Devil's Child! |
Charlotte Phelan: | They say courage skips a generation. |
Mr. Blackly: | One of these days their gonna figure out cigarettes will kill you. |
Peach the Starfish: | It's a root canal, and from the looks of those x-rays, it's not going to be pretty. |
Charlotte Phelan: | รข??"Love and hate are two horns on the same goat, Eugenia. And you need a goat." |
Charlotte Phelan: | Love and hate are two horns on the same goat, Eugenia. And you need a goat. |
Charlotte Phelan: | Get yo raggedy ass off my porch |
Charlotte Phelan: | Now, you get your raggedy ass off my porch. |
Gladys: | There's a dead white rat on my staircase! |
Gladys: | That's the... |
Dwayne: | The Depelter Turbo! Prepare for a lot of stinging! |
Gladys: | [Repeated line] AAAAAHH! |
Gladys: | [repeated line] AAAAAHH! |
Prudy Pingleton: | Penny, pray for her. [hands her a rosary] She's gonna need it...[smirks to herself] |
Prudy Pingleton: | Penny, pray for her. [hands her a rosary] She's gonna need it. [smirks to herself] |
Charlotte Phelan: | (To Hilly) Get your raggedy ass off my porch. |
Charlotte Phelan: | [to Hilly] Get your raggedy ass off my porch. |
Minny Jackson: | Love and hate are two horns on the same goat. |
Charlotte Phelan: | Love and hate are two horns on the same goat. |
Charlotte Phelan: | You bring courage back to this family. |