Jean Smart

Actor

Jean Elizabeth Smart is an American actress. After beginning her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest, she appeared on Broadway in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play Piaf. Smart was later cast in a leading role as Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the CBS sitcom Designing Women, in which she starred from 1986 to 1991.

Smart was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the 2000 Broadway revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner, and she received two Primetime Emmy Awards for her role as Lana Gardner on the NBC sitcom Frasier (2000–01). She won a third Emmy Award for her supporting role as Regina Newley on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? (2007–09). She also portrayed Martha Logan on the action drama series 24 (2006–07). Smart is also known for her recurring voice role in Kim Possible (2002–2007) as the main character's mom. In the past decade Smart has seen a resurgence acting in television series, such as FX's Fargo (2015) and Legion (2017–2019), both created by Noah Hawley, the HBO projects Watchmen (2019) and Mare of Easttown (2021), as well as the Max series Hacks (2021), the latter three earning her Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with Hacks winning her two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy. Smart is the most awarded performer at the Critics' Choice Television Awards, with four wins (for the above mentioned Fargo, Watchmen and Hacks) from 5 nominations. Smart is only the second actress, after Betty White, to win all three comedy Emmy nominations - comedy lead, supporting, and guest categories.

Smart's film credits include The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), Sweet Home Alabama (2002), Garden State (2004), I Heart Huckabees (2004), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Accountant (2016), A Simple Favor (2018), and Babylon (2022). She received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Guinevere (1999).