Early life and education

Janney was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Dayton, Ohio. She is the daughter of Macy Brooks (née Putnam), a former actress and homemaker, and Jervis Spencer Janney, Jr., a real estate developer and jazz musician. She is one of three siblings.

Janney attended The Miami Valley School in Dayton, where she was named a distinguished alumna in 2004, and the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. She then attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. At Kenyon, she studied with Paul Newman, an alumnus of Kenyon. He directed her in a play as the inaugural event of the school's newly dedicated Bolton Theater. Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward encouraged Janney to continue acting. She then went on to train at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and did summer programs at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She attended The Neighborhood Playhouse the same years as actor Dylan McDermott.

Career

Janney's first role on television was in the short-lived black-and-white faux-1940s comedy Morton & Hayes; she appeared in two episodes of the 1991 CBS series as Eddie Hayes' wife. She then moved on to soap operas: she first played Vi Kaminski for a short time on As the World Turns, following up with a two-year role as one of the Spaulding maids, Ginger on Guiding Light. In the spring of 1994, she appeared in the season finale of Law & Order, as a reluctant witness against a member of the Russian mob. She was also a cast member on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion.

She has appeared in numerous films, including the 1990s films American Beauty, The Object of My Affection, Big Night, The Impostors, Drop Dead Gorgeous, The Ice Storm, Primary Colors, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Private Parts, and the 2000s films Nurse Betty, The Hours, The Chumscrubber, How to Deal, Winter Solstice and a considerable role in the animated movie, Finding Nemo, voicing Peach, the starfish. In 2006, she had roles in the feature films Margaret and Over the Hedge.

In 1999, she was cast in the role of presidential press secretary C.J. Cregg on the television drama The West Wing, for which she eventually won four Emmy Awards. Two of the Emmys were for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series in 2000 and 2001, and two were for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series in the years 2002 and 2004. She was also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in the 2003 and 2006 Primetime Emmys.

Janney won two Screen Actors Guild awards for Best Actress in a dramatic series, in 2001 and 2002. The cast of The West Wing won the Screen Actor's Guild award for Best Ensemble in a dramatic series the same two years. Additional accolades for Janney's work in The West Wing include four Golden Globe award nominations, and a nomination in 2002 for American Film Institute's Actor of the Year. In January 2006, West Wing's cast was also nominated by the Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast.

In 2006, Janney was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in the film Our Very Own. In 2007, she appeared in Juno, playing the part of Bren MacGuff, the title character's stepmother, for which she won Best Supporting Actress in the Austin Film Critics Association Awards 2007. In the same year, Janney appeared in the Golden-Globe-nominated film, Hairspray, as Prudy Pingleton, Penny's (Amanda Bynes) strict and religious mother. She appeared in the short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip in a guest appearance as herself (episode: "The Disaster Show").

Janney has remained active in theater. In 1998, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge. Her first Broadway role was in Present Laughter, opposite Frank Langella. In 2007, she participated in a workshop for a new musical of the film 9 to 5.

In late 2008, Janney joined Broadway stars Stephanie J. Block, Megan Hilty and Marc Kudisch in the new musical, 9 to 5. Based on the film of the same name, Janney starred as Violet Newstead, the super-efficient office manager played by Lily Tomlin in the original film. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for the role.

In 2004, she began lending her voice to television and radio spots created by Kaiser Permanente in the health maintenance organization's broad "Thrive" media campaign, and in a radio campaign for the American Institute of Architects. In 2010, she appeared as Allison Pearson in In Plain Sight. In May 2010, she appeared in the antepenultimate episode of the ABC television series Lost as the adoptive mother of the show's two mythological opponents, Jacob and the Man in Black.

She starred in the ABC network comedy Mr. Sunshine. The series, which was created by Matthew Perry, was a midseason replacement for the 2010-11 television season.

In September 2010, it was announced that Janney would be the voice of the Aly San San spokesdroid in the Disney attraction, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues. The attraction later opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disneyland. She appeared in such films as The Help (2011), Struck By Lightning (2012) and Liberal Arts (2012).

In 2014, Janney won two Emmy Awards. For her role in the series Mom, opposite Anna Faris, she won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, while for her recurring role in Masters of Sex, she won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. On the Disney Channel animated show Phineas and Ferb Janney voiced Charlene. In 2015, she appeared in the films Spy and The Duff. She is set to star in the upcoming fantasy film Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

Personal life

Janney has never married and has no children. In September 2015, it was reported that she is in a relationship with IATSE production coordinator Philip Joncas.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Who Shot Patakango?	Miss Penny
1994	Dead Funny	Jennifer
1994	Cowboy Way, TheThe Cowboy Way	NYPD computer operator
1994	Wolf	Party guest
1994	Miracle on 34th Street	Christmas shopper
1995	Heading Home	Unknown role
1996	Flux	Heather
1996	Rescuing Desire	Betsy
1996	Walking and Talking	Gum Puller
1996	Big Night	Ann
1996	Faithful	Saleswoman
1996	Associate, TheThe Associate	Sandy
1997	Anita Liberty	Gynecologist	Short film
1997	Private Parts	Dee Dee
1997	Ice Storm, TheThe Ice Storm	Dot Halford
1997	Julian Po	Lilah Leech
1998	Primary Colors	Miss Walsh
1998	Object of My Affection, TheThe Object of My Affection	Constance Miller
1998	Impostors, TheThe Impostors	Maxine
1998	Six Days Seven Nights	Marjorie, Robin's boss
1998	Celebrity	Evelyn Isaacs
1999	10 Things I Hate About You	Ms. Perky
1999	Drop Dead Gorgeous	Loretta
1999	American Beauty	Barbara Fitts
1999	The Debtors	Unknown
2000	Leaving Drew	Paula	Short film
2000	Auto Motives	Gretchen	Short film
2000	Nurse Betty	Lyla Branch
2000	Rooftop Kisses	Melissa	Short film
2002	Hours, TheThe Hours	Sally Lester
2003	Finding Nemo	Peach (voice)
2003	How to Deal	Lydia Martin
2003	Chicken Party	Barbara Strasser	Short film
2004	Piccadilly Jim	Eugenia Crocker
2004	Winter Solstice	Molly Ripkin
2005	Strangers with Candy	Alice
2005	Chumscrubber, TheThe Chumscrubber	Allie Stifle
2005	Our Very Own	Joan Whitfield
2006	Over the Hedge	Gladys Sharp (voice)
2007	Hairspray	Prudy Pingleton
2007	Juno	Brenda 'Bren' MacGuff
2008	Pretty Ugly People	Suzanna
2008	Prop 8: The Musical	Prop 8 leader's wife
2009	Away We Go	Lily
2009	Life During Wartime	Trish
2011	Margaret	Wounded woman / Monica Patterson
2011	Thousand Words, AA Thousand Words	Samantha Davis
2011	Help, TheThe Help	Charlotte Phelan
2012	Oranges, TheThe Oranges	Cathy Ostroff
2012	Struck By Lightning	Sheryl Phillips
2012	Liberal Arts	Prof. Judith Fairfield
2013	Way Way Back, TheThe Way Way Back	Betty
2013	Days and Nights	Elizabeth
2013	Bad Words	Dr. Bernice Deagan
2013	Trust Me	Meg
2014	Tammy	Deb
2014	Mr. Peabody & Sherman	Mrs. Grunion (voice)
2014	The Rewrite	Mary Weldon
2014	Get On Up	Kathy
2015	The Duff	Dottie
2015	Spy	Elaine Crocker
2015	Minions	Madge Nelson (voice)
2016	Tallulah	Margo
2016	Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children	Dr. Golan	Filming
2016	The Girl on the Train		Filming
2017	Gabriel Lim's DeanMen Means Day	Tooth Fairy Girl	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Morton & Hayes	Beatrice Caldicott	Episode: "Society Saps"
1991	Morton & Hayes	Mrs. Hayes	Episode: "Home Buddies"
1992	Law & Order	Nora	Episode: "Star Struck"
1993	Blind Spot	Doreen	Television film
1993-95	Guiding Light	Ginger	Unknown episodes
1994	Law & Order	Ann Madsen	Episode: "Old Friends"
1995	The Wright Verdicts	Alice Klein	Episode: "Sins of the Father"
1995	New York Undercover	Vivian	Episode: "Digital Underground"
1996	Aliens in the Family	Principal Sherman	Episode: "A Very Brody Tweeznax"
1996	Cosby	Podiatric Nurse	Episode: "Happily Ever Hilton"
1997	...First Do No Harm	Dr. Melanie Abbasac	Television film
1997	Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing	Assistant District Attorney	Television film
1998	David and Lisa	Alix	Television film
1999	LateLine	Helen Marschant	Episode: "The Minister of Television"
1999-2006	West Wing, TheThe West Wing	C.J. Cregg	145 episodes
2000	A Girl Thing	Kathy McCormack	Television film
2001	Frasier	Phyllis (voice)	Episode: "The Two Hundredth"
2002	Frasier	Susanna	Episode: "Three Blind Dates"
2003	King of the Hill	Laura (voice)	Episode: "Full Metal Dust Jacket"
2005	Weeds	Ms. Greenstein	Episode: "Lude Awakening"
2007	Two and a Half Men	Beverly	Episode: "My Damn Stalker"
2007	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip	Herself	Episode: "The Disaster Show"
2008-13	Phineas and Ferb	Charlene Doofenshmirtz (voice)	9 episodes
2010	Shameless	Sheila	Episode: "Pilot"
2010-2015	Family Guy	Mistress Vita/Crystal Quagmire/Teen People Editor (voice)	3 episodes
2010	Lost	"Mother"	Episode: "Across the Sea"
2010	In Plain Sight	Allison Pearson	2 episodes
2011	Glenn Martin, DDS	Marcia	Episode: "GlennHog Day"
2011	Mr. Sunshine	Crystal Cohen	13 episodes
2012	The Big C	Rita Strauss	Episode: "Life Rights"
2012	Robot Chicken	Grammi Gummi/Woman (voice)	Episode: "In Bed Surrounded by Loved Ones"
2013	Veep	Janet Ryland	Episode: "First Response"
2013-present	Masters of Sex	Margaret Scully	9 episodes
2013-present	Mom	Bonnie Plunkett	66 episodes
2014	Web Therapy	Judith Frick	2 episodes

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Allison Janney

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
2000	Online Film Critics Society Awards	Best Cast	American Beauty	Won
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	The West Wing	Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	American Beauty	Won
	Television Critics Association Awards	Individual Achievement in Drama	The West Wing	Nominated
	Viewers for Quality Television	Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series		Nominated
2001	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series		Won
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Won
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Won
2002	American Film Institute	Female Actor in a Television Series		Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Won
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Won
2003	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Cast	The Hours	Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	The West Wing	Nominated
	Monte-Carlo Television Festival	Outstanding Actress - Drama Series		Won
	Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Best Cast	The Hours	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The West Wing	Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	The Hours	Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	The West Wing	Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
2004	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
2005	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
2006	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Female	Our Very Own	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The West Wing	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
2007	Austin Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actress	Juno	Nominated
	Hollywood Film Festival	Best Cast	Hairspray	Won
	Prism Awards	Performance in a Television Movie	Our Very Own	Won
2008	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Cast	Hairspray	Won
			Juno	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Hairspray	Nominated
2009	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Musical	9 to 5	Won
	Tony Awards	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical		Nominated
	Ovation Awards	Lead Actress in a Musical		Nominated
2010	Gotham Awards	Best Cast	Life During Wartime	Nominated
2011	Hollywood Film Festival	Best Cast	The Help	Won
	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Female	Life During Wartime	Nominated
	National Board of Review	Best Cast	The Help	Won
	Satellite Awards	Best Cast - Motion Picture		Won
	Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards	Best Cast		Won
2012	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Cast		Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture		Won
2013	Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Best Cast	The Way Way Back	Nominated
2014	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series	Masters of Sex	Won
		Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Mom	Won
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Actress in a New Television Series		Nominated
	Prism Awards	Performance in a Comedy Series		Won
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Masters of Sex	Won
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Mom	Won
2015	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series		Won
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series		Won
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Masters of Sex	Nominated

Charities

Allison Janney supports the following charitable causes: Animals, Cancer, Breast Cancer.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]