Early life

Kaczmarek was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughter of Evelyn (née Gregorska), a teacher, and Edward Kaczmarek, a US Department of Defense worker. Of Polish ancestry, she grew up in Greendale, where she was raised a Roman Catholic. She majored in theater at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and later attended grad school at the Yale School of Drama, where she was a part of its theater company.

Career

In 1998, Kaczmarek was cast as David and Jennifer's mother in the movie Pleasantville. She has had several Broadway hits, including Lost in Yonkers and Raised in Captivity, where she won an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award. Her first television role was that of Margie Spoletto on For Lovers Only (1982). One of her first notable appearances was in the famous 1984 movie Falling in Love, starring Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro, playing the role of Ann Raftis, De Niro's character's wife. She also played a role in The Heavenly Kid in 1985 as Emily.

Kaczmarek has also appeared in over 40 television roles, the most notable including:

• Nurse Sandy Burns on St. Elsewhere (1982).
• Connie Lehman in The Paper Chase: The Second Year (1983-1984).
• Mary Newell Abbott on Hometown (1985), a comedy/drama on CBS directly adapted from the 1983 hit movie The Big Chill.
• Linda Bauer, a lawyer, on the ABC legal drama Equal Justice (1990-1991).
• Maureen Culter, girlfriend of Martin Crane (John Mahoney) on Frasier in "Police Story" (052-1996) and "Dad Loves Sherry, the Boys Just Whine" (082-1997).
• Janet Rudman on Law & Order in "Censure" (414-1994).
• Carol Anderson, biological mother of Julie Emrick on Felicity in 5 episodes (1999-2000).
• Holly in five episodes of Cybill (1996-1997).
• Helene Thompson in three episodes of Party of Five (1995-1999).
• Lois, mother of Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), Reese (Justin Berfield), Francis (Christopher Masterson), Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan), and baby Jamie, and wife of Hal (Bryan Cranston) in 148 episodes of Malcolm in the Middle from 2000-2006.
• Trudy Kessler, Courtroom Judge in 25 episodes of Raising the Bar from 2008-2009.
• The voice of Judge Constance Harm, the strict female judge of Springfield Courthouse, in eight episodes of The Simpsons between 2001 and 2010, namely "The Parent Rap", "Brawl in the Family", "Barting Over", "Brake My Wife, Please", "The Wandering Juvie", "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister", "Rome-old and Juli-eh", and recently "Chief of Hearts".
• Mrs. Armwood, Frankie Heck's dental teacher in The Middle.
• Dr. Gallo, psychiatrist in The Big Bang Theory

Malcolm in the Middle

In 2000, Kaczmarek was cast to play Lois in the FOX mid-season replacement Malcolm in the Middle. TV Guide dubbed her role in the series as a "true breakout; a female Homer Simpson", and critics hailed her for her comic talents. Later, Kaczmarek would credit the show for bringing out her comedic side, claiming, " I couldn't even get auditions for comedies. I played very unfunny people." For her performance as Lois, Kaczmarek was nominated for seven Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She also earned three Golden Globe Award nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and garnered two Television Critics' Association Awards and the American Comedy Award and Family Television Award in 2001.

Post-Malcolm

Following the end of Malcolm in the Middle, Kaczmarek went on to star in the short-lived series Help Me Help You co-starring Ted Danson. She starred in the short-lived TNT series Raising the Bar as Judge Trudy Kessler. She also continues to voice Judge Constance Harm on several Simpsons episodes.

On November 19, 2009, Kaczmarek played against Julie Bowen and Robin Quivers in the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational, on which she won $50,000 for a charity.

In 2010, she starred in the Lifetime Original Movie, Reviving Ophelia, which aired October 11, 2010, she starred as the mother of a 16-year-old girl who was in an abusive relationship.

On July 22, 2011, it was confirmed that Kaczmarek will make a vocal appearance as Red Jessica in the television series Jake and the Never Land Pirates during its second season early 2012.

In 2011, she guest starred in the FX comedy Wilfred, starring Elijah Wood.

Since 2011, she has appeared on Whitney as Whitney's mother.

In April 2012, she appeared in the David Lindsay-Abaire play Good People as Margie.

On November 2012, she made a guest appearance on ABC's The Middle as Frankie Heck's (Patricia Heaton) dental teacher. In 2013, Kaczmarek guest starred on NBC's long-running legal drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as Suffolk County D.A. Pamela "Pam" James.

In 2013, Kaczmarek played the lead role of Ms. Liz, a third generation dairy woman in the feature film Lost on Purpose starring alongside C. Thomas Howell, James Lafferty, Aaron Hill, Dale Dickey and Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer.

Kaczmarek reprised her role as Lois in an "alternate ending" featurette on the Breaking Bad DVD/Blu-ray box set that was released on November 26, 2013. In it, Hal wakes up from the nightmare that was the plot of Breaking Bad, in a nod to the final scene from Newhart.

In 2014, she appeared as herself on The Comeback, auditioning for the role of Mallory Church in the fictional HBO series-within-a-series entitled Seeing Red.

In 2016 she appeared as a psychiatrist on The Big Bang Theory.

Personal life

Kaczmarek married fellow Wisconsin native and actor Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) on August 15, 1992. They lived in Los Angeles with their three children: Frances Genevieve (b. January 1997), George Edward (b. December 23, 1999) and Mary Louisa (b. November 25, 2002). Both were very active with charity, and were seen attending many major award shows together. She is the founder of "Clothes Off Our Back" which auctions celebrity clothing for children's charities. In June 2009, the couple filed for divorce after almost 17 years of marriage. One of the last times they were seen together publicly was in September 2008, at the opening of a Los Angeles production of The House of Blue Leaves, in which Kaczmarek was starring. According to a June 2009 magazine interview with More.com conducted prior to announcement of the divorce, she replied "That's a big no comment" when asked to sum up her love life. She also added that she used to believe that she could "go it alone and as long as I had some fabulous boy on my arm, or man, and my career was sailing, that's all I needed" whereas she now had grown to appreciate the support of her girlfriends "to talk about kids, to talk about marriages, to talk about just life". In 2010, they sold their villa, a former mansion, in San Marino, California.

Kaczmarek underwent a hip replacement in April 2004, due to chronic arthritis. She recovered quickly, and used an X-ray of her new hip for her Emmy campaign the following summer, advertising herself as "the only Emmy nominee with an artificial hip (except for Anthony LaPaglia)".

In 2006, Kaczmarek and Malcolm in the Middle co-star Erik Per Sullivan contributed the afterword for the children's book, Together, that shows the importance of domestic animals to impoverished people in the world, and was inspired by the mission of the nonprofit charitable organization, Heifer International.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2000	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series	Malcolm in the Middle	Nominated
2000	TCA Awards	Individual Achievement in Comedy		Won
2001	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2001	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy		Nominated
2001	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2001	TCA Awards	Individual Achievement in Comedy		Won
2002	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2002	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy		Nominated
2002	Satellite Awards	Best Actress in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy		Nominated
2003	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2003	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy		Nominated
2003	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2004	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2004	Satellite Awards	Best Actress in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy		Won
2005	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2006	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2012	Ovation Awards	Lead Actress in a Play	Good People	Nominated

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Uncommon Valor	Mrs. Wilkes
1984	Something About Amelia	Mrs. Hall	Television movie
1984	Falling in Love	Ann Raftis
1985	The Heavenly Kid	Emily Barnes
1985	Door to Door	Katherine Holloway
1986	The Christmas Gift	Susan	Television movie
1987	I'll Take Manhattan	Nina Stern	Television movie
1987	The Three Kings	Dr. Paula Bolet	Television movie
1988	D.O.A.	Gail Cornell
1988	Vice Versa	Robyn Seymour
1989	Spooner	Gail Archer	Television movie
1989	All's Fair	Linda
1994	Without Warning	Dr. Caroline Jaffe	Television movie
1996	The Chamber	Dr. Anne Biddows
1996	Apollo 11	Jan Armstrong	Television movie
1996	Wildly Available	Rita Goodman
1998	Pleasantville	David's mom
2010	Reviving Ophelia	Marie	Television movie
2016	CHiPs		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	St. Elsewhere	Sandy Burns	3 episodes
1983	Remington Steele	Barbara Troy Dannon	Episode: "Altared Steele"
1983	Scarecrow and Mrs. King	Penny	Episode: "Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth"
1983-84	The Paper Chase	Connie Lehman	8 episodes
1984	Hill Street Blues	Officer Clara Pilksy	6 episodes
1985	Hometown	Mary Newell Abbott	10 episodes
1988	American Playhouse	Susan Glaspell	Episode: "Journey Into Genius"
1990-91	Equal Justice	Linda Bauer	22 episodes
1993	Big Wave Dave's	Karen Fisher	6 episodes
1994	Monty	Nickerson	Episode: "Wild, Wild Willy and His O.K. Corral"
1994	Law & Order	Janet Rudman	Episode: "Censure"
1994	ABC Afterschool Specials	Mary Reed	Episode: "Boys Will Be Boys"
1994	L.A. Law	Attorney Gershonwood	Episode: "Whose San Andreas Fault Is It, Anyways?"
1995	Picket Fences	Janice Neiman	Episode: "Heroes and Villains"
1995-99	Party of Five	Helene Thompson	3 episodes
1996	Touched by an Angel	Bonnie Bell	Episode: "Out of the Darkness"
1996	ABC Afterschool Specials	Nancy Gallagher	Episode: "Educating Mom"
1996-97	Cybill	Holly	5 episodes
1996-97	Frasier	Maureen Cutler	2 episodes
1997	The Practice	Pamela Boyd	2 episodes
1999	Felicity	Carol Anderson	5 episodes
2000-06	Malcolm in the Middle	Lois	146 episodes American Comedy Award for Funniest Female Performer in a Television Series Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress - Comedy Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series
2001-10	The Simpsons	Judge Constance Harm	8 episodes
2006-07	Help Me Help You	Anne Hoffman	6 episodes
2008-09	Raising the Bar	Judge Trudy Kessler	23 episodes
2011	Wilfred	Beth	Episode: "Pride"
2011-12	Whitney	Candi	3 episodes
2012-13	The Middle	Sandy Armwood	2 episodes
2012-13	Jake and the Never Land Pirates	Red Jessica	11 episodes
2013	Law & Order: SVU	D.A. Pam James	Episode: "Beautiful Frame"
2013	Breaking Bad	Lois (Malcolm in the Middle)	Episode: "Felina" (Alternate Ending)
2014	Us & Them	Pam	7 episodes
2014-15	Playing House	Gwen Crawford	5 episodes
2014	The McCarthys	Eileen	Episode: "Sister Act"
2015	Big Time in Hollywood, FL	Dr. Moore	2 episodes
2015	Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero	Coach Jackie	Episode: "Ultrahyperball"
2016	The Big Bang Theory	Dr. Gallow	Episode: "The Sales Call Sublimation"

Charities

Jane Kaczmarek supports the following charitable causes: Children, ALS (amyrotrophic lateral sclerosis), Women's Issues.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]