Early life

Cusack was born in New York City, New York, and raised in Evanston, Illinois. Her mother, Ann Paula "Nancy" (née Carolan), is a former mathematics teacher and political activist. Her late father, Dick Cusack, as well as her siblings Ann and John, have also been or are actors; her father was also a filmmaker. Her family is Irish American and Catholic. Cusack is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1984).

Career

Cusack has twice been nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her work in Working Girl and In & Out. She appeared with her brother John in the movies Sixteen Candles, Grandview, U.S.A., Class, High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank, Say Anything..., Cradle Will Rock, Martian Child, and most recently, War, Inc. In the film Addams Family Values she played serial divorcee and murderer 'Debbie Jellinsky'. She also starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom What About Joan? in 2001-02 and the hit film Arlington Road. For many years, Cusack was also the commercial spokeswoman for U.S. Cellular. One of Cusack's most well known roles was the head-teacher of Horace Green Elementary School, Rosalie 'Roz' Mullins in School of Rock. She also voiced Jessie in Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, and played Dr. Burton, the therapist of Charlie (Logan Lerman), in the teen film The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012).

Cusack was a cast member on the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1986. Her recurring characters on Saturday Night Live included "Salena," a socially inept girl who tries to ask out her boyfriend, "Biff" (played by Jon Lovitz), who is also socially inept. In addition, she did celebrity impersonations of Brooke Shields, Jane Fonda and Queen Elizabeth II.

She has been nominated four times for the American Comedy Award in the category of "Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture" and has won three times, for Runaway Bride (1999), In & Out (1997) and Working Girl (1988). She has also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for "Best Supporting Actress" for In & Out.

In 2003, both Joan and her brother John signed the "Not in My Name" resolution (along with people such as Noam Chomsky and Susan Sarandon) opposing the invasion of Iraq.

Cusack narrates the public TV animated series Peep and the Big Wide World. In September 2010, Cusack guest-starred on NBC's Law & Order: SVU.

Shameless

In 2010, Cusack joined the Showtime drama/comedy Shameless as Sheila Jackson, the mother of Karen Jackson (Laura Slade Wiggins). The first season premiered on January 9, 2011, and had its first finale March 27, 2011. Cusack replaced actress Allison Janney, who originally portrayed the role in the first edit of the pilot episode but was forced to drop out of the part owing to her series regular commitment on the ABC comedy Mr. Sunshine. Janney took the role with the understanding the character would be less prominent on the show, but when producers decided to increase the character's screen presence, she was forced to pull out of the part. Cusack has received critical acclaim for her performance, receiving Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series nominations in 2011, 2012, and 2013 as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2014 and 2015, winning in the later year.

Personal life

She is the sister of actor John Cusack. They have appeared together in 10 productions: Class (1983), Sixteen Candles (1984), Grandview, U.S.A. (1984), Broadcast News (1987), Say Anything... (1989), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Cradle Will Rock (1999), High Fidelity (2000), Martian Child (2007) and War, Inc. (2008).

She is married to attorney Richard Burke, President and CEO of VISANOW Global Immigration, since 1993. They have two sons: Dylan John (b. 1997) and Miles (b. 2000). Cusack owns a home in Three Oaks Township, Michigan, and lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Cutting Loose
1980	My Bodyguard	Shelley
1983	Class	Julia
1984	Sixteen Candles	Geek Girl #1
1984	Grandview, U.S.A.	Mary Maine
1987	Allnighter, TheThe Allnighter	Gina
1987	Broadcast News	Blair Litton
1988	Stars and Bars	Irene Stein	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
1988	Married to the Mob	Rose	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
1988	Working Girl	Cyn	American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1989	Say Anything...	Constance Dobler
1990	Men Don't Leave	Jody
1990	My Blue Heaven	Hannah Stubs
1991	The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez	Cathy
1992	Accidental Hero	Evelyn Laplante
1992	Toys	Alzatia Zevo
1993	Addams Family Values	Debbie Jellinsky	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1994	Corrina, Corrina	Jonesy
1995	Nine Months	Gail Dwyer	Nominated—American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
1995	Two Much	Gloria
1996	Mr. Wrong	Inga Gunther
1997	Grosse Pointe Blank	Marcella	Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
1997	Smile Like Yours, AA Smile Like Yours	Nancy Tellen
1997	In & Out	Emily Montgomery	American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Comedy Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1999	Arlington Road	Cheryl Lang	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1999	Cradle Will Rock	Hazel Huffman
1999	Runaway Bride	Peggy Flemming	American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress - Comedy/Romance
1999	Toy Story 2	Jessie	Voice Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Hissy Fit
2000	High Fidelity	Liz
2000	Where the Heart Is	Ruth Meyers
2002	It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie	Rachel Bitterman
2003	School of Rock	Rosalie Mullins
2003	Looney Tunes: Back in Action	Mother
2004	Raising Helen	Jenny Portman
2004	Last Shot, TheThe Last Shot	Fanny Nash
2005	Ice Princess	Joan Carlyle
2005	Chicken Little	Abby Mallard	Voice
2006	Friends with Money	Franny
2007	Martian Child	Liz
2008	War, Inc.	Marsha Dillon
2008	Kit Kittredge: An American Girl	Miss Lucinda Bond
2009	Confessions of a Shopaholic	Jane Bloomwood
2009	My Sister's Keeper	Judge De Salvo
2009	Acceptance	Nina
2010	Toy Story 3	Jessie	Voice
2011	Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil	Verushka	Voice
2011	Mars Needs Moms	Milo's Mom	Performance capture
2011	Hawaiian Vacation	Jessie	Voice Short film
2011	Small Fry	Jessie	Voice Short film
2011	Arthur Christmas	Mission Control Elf	Voice
2012	Partysaurus Rex	Jessie	Voice Short film
2012	The Perks of Being a Wallflower	Dr. Burton
2014	Welcome to Me	Dawn Hurley
2015	The End of the Tour	Patty
2015	Freaks of Nature	Peg Parker

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985-1986	Saturday Night Live	Various Characters
2001-2002	What About Joan?	Joan Gallagher	CTV Television Network
2004-2011	Peep and the Big Wide World	Narrator	Nominated—Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program
2011	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Pamela Burton	Episode: "Locum"
2011-2015	Shameless	Sheila Jackson	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
2013	The Office	Erin's Biological Mother	Episode: "Finale"
2013	Toy Story of Terror!	Jessie	Voice
2014	Toy Story That Time Forgot	Jessie	Voice
2016	A Series of Unfortunate Events	Justice Strauss

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Chicken Little	Abby Mallard	Voice
2006	Chicken Little: Ace in Action	Abby Mallard	Voice
2010	Toy Story 3: The Video Game	Jessie	Voice
2011	Kinect Disneyland Adventures	Jessie	Voice
2012	Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure	Jessie	Voice

[ Source: Wikipedia ]