Career

McKeon and her older brother Philip appeared in numerous commercials. McKeon also appeared on the soap operas The Secret Storm and Another World. The McKeons moved to Los Angeles in 1975, when Philip won the role and began appearing on the television series Alice with Linda Lavin.

In 1979, McKeon was discovered by a casting director for The Facts of Life on the basis of her performance in a Hallmark greeting cards advertisement, in which she was able to cry on cue.

She was cast as tomboy Jo Polniaczek in the fall of 1980 during the show's second season when she replaced most of the first season's cast, including Molly Ringwald. This is her most famous role and she portrayed the character throughout the series until the show was canceled in 1988. McKeon also provided the voice for many ABC Weekend Special cartoon characters, including the voice for Scruffy.

Following The Facts of Life, McKeon was courted by NBC executives for the title role in the TV sitcom adaptation of the 1988 film Working Girl; the role, played by Melanie Griffith in the movie, instead went to then-unknown Sandra Bullock for the TV series. In 1994, both McKeon and Courteney Cox auditioned for the role of Monica Geller on Friends. The role went to the latter. When asked in interviews about the auditions, McKeon said, "I have no hard feelings. The role went to the right person. Courteney was brilliant. Now, I can't see anybody playing the role, not even myself." In 1995, she starred in her own series, Can't Hurry Love, which lasted one season. In 1998, she starred in a sitcom with Jean Smart titled Style & Substance. McKeon portrayed Inspector Jinny Exstead on the Lifetime police drama The Division from 2001 to 2004, with her pregnancy incorporated into the storyline of the last year of the series. From 2009 to 2010, McKeon appeared in a recurring role in the Disney Channel Original Series Sonny with a Chance, as Connie Munroe, the mother of Demi Lovato's title character.

McKeon also starred in numerous made-for-TV movies throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story, in which she portrayed the title role of Tracey Thurman, and The Wrong Woman, portraying a woman framed for killing her boss. In 2003, McKeon starred in the film Comfort and Joy.

Personal life

While McKeon was on The Facts of Life, she and her parents, all devout Catholics, were granted a private audience with Pope John Paul II.

McKeon lives in Austin, Texas. She married Marc Andrus on June 8, 2003, and they have two daughters, Aurora and Harlow.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Where the Day Takes You	Vikki
1994	Teresa's Tattoo	Sara
1995	Wrong Woman, TheThe Wrong Woman	Melanie
1997	Just Write	Bride

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Starsky & Hutch	Vikki Mayer	"The Crying Child"
1978	Fantasy Island	Ann	"Return to Fantasy Island"
1978	Alice	Girl Orphan	"Who Ordered the Hot Turkey?"
1978	A Question of Love	Susan Moreland	TV film
1979	The Love Boat	Penny Barrett	"The Brotherhood of the Sea"
1979	ABC Weekend Special	Dolly (voice)	"The Puppy's Great Adventure"
1980	Stone	Jill Stone	Regular role (9 episodes)
1980	ABC Weekend Special	Dolly (voice)	"The Puppy's Amazing Rescue"
1980	ABC Weekend Special	Amelia Daley (voice)	"The Trouble with Miss Switch"
1980	ABC Weekend Special	Scruffy (voice)	"Scruffy"
1980	Thundarr the Barbarian	Tye (voice)	"Harvest of Doom"
1980	ABC Afterschool Special	Lucy Twining	"Schoolboy Father"
1980-88	The Facts of Life	Jo Polniaczek	Main role (189 episodes)
1981	ABC Weekend Special	Dolly (voice)	"The Puppy Saves the Circus"
1981	ABC Afterschool Special	Nancy Parks	"Please Don't Hit Me, Mom"
1981	Thundarr the Barbarian	Tai (voice)	"Last Train to Doomsday"
1981	Alice	Kimberly	"Alice's Halloween Surprise"
1982	ABC Weekend Special	Amelia Daley (voice)	"Miss Switch to the Rescue"
1982	The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour	Dolly (voice)	Regular role (13 episodes)
1982	The Facts of Life Goes to Paris	Jo Polniaczek	TV film
1983	Dusty	Slugger	TV film
1983	The Puppy's Further Adventures	Dolly (voice)	Regular role (8 episodes)
1983	High School U.S.A.	Beth Franklin	TV film
1985	Poison Ivy	Rhonda Malone	TV film
1985	This Child Is Mine	Kimberly Downs	TV film
1986	Firefighter	Cindy Fralick	TV film
1987	The Facts of Life Down Under	Jo Polniaczek	TV film
1987	Strange Voices	Nicole Glover	TV film
1989	A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story	Tracey Thurman	TV film
1990	The Hitchhiker	Dawn Wilder	"New Dawn"
1991	Lightning Field	Martha	TV film
1992	Baby Snatcher	Karen Williams	TV film
1993	Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage	Rosalie Profaci Bonanno	TV film
1995	A Mother's Gift	Margaret Deal	TV film
1995-96	Can't Hurry Love	Annie O'Donnell	Main role (19 episodes)
1998	In My Sister's Shadow	Joan Connor	TV film
1998	Style & Substance	Jane Sokol	Main role (13 episodes)
1999	Touched by an Angel	Rachel Waters	"The Last Day of the Rest of Your Life"
2001-04	The Division	Inspector Jinny Exstead	Main role (88 episodes)
2003	Comfort and Joy	Jane Berry	TV film
2004	Category 6: Day of Destruction	Amy Harkin	TV miniseries
2006	Wild Hearts	Emmy	TV film
2007	Without a Trace	Gail Sweeney	"Absalom"
2009-10	Sonny with a Chance	Connie Munroe	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2011	Love Begins	Millie	TV film

Awards and nominations

Marco Island Film Festival

• 2000: Won, "Audience Award for Best Short Drama" - A Wakening
• 2000: Won, "Crystal Palm Award for Best Short Film" - A Wakening

Prism Awards

• 2003: Nominated, "Best Performance in a Drama Series Episode" - The Division
• 2003: Nominated, "Best Performance in a Drama Series" - The Division
• 2004: Nominated, "Best Performance in a Drama Series Multi Episode Storyline" - The Division

TV Land Awards

• 2007: Nominated, "The 'When Bad Teens Go Good' Award" - The Facts of Life

Young Artist Awards

• 1982: Nominated, "Best Young Comedienne in Motion Picture or Television" - The Facts of Life
• 1983: Won, "Best Young Actress in a Television Special" - Please Don't Hit Me, Mom
• 1983: Won, "Best Young Actress in a Movie Made for Television" - The Facts of Life Goes to Paris
• 1983: Won, "Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series" - The Facts of Life
• 1984: Nominated, "Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series" - The Facts of Life

[ Source: Wikipedia ]