Comprehensive information and links about Allison Janney

Allison Janney , born November 19, 1960 in Dayton, Ohio, is an American actress, most famous for her portrayal of C.J. Cregg on the American television series

Early life

She aspired to be an Olympic skater, but a freak accident, in which she clashed with a closed, glass door, resulted in a change of ambition. Janney attended Kenyon College, where she was first discovered by Joanne Woodward and director Paul Newman. She went on to study drama at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Her first roles on television were as comedic foils on soap operas: she first played Vi Kaminski for a short time on .

On May 17, 2004, Janney's boyfriend of two years, Richard Jenik, proposed to her in San Francisco.

dl"Years ago, one casting agent told me that the only roles I could play were lesbians and aliens." -- Janney speaking of her

In 1999 she was cast in the role of presidential press secretary C.J. Cregg on the television drama , for which she has won four Emmy Awards. Two of the Emmy's were for Best Supporting Actress in 2000 and 2001, and two were for Best Actress in the years 2002 and 2004. Janney was honorably nominated, in 2002, for the American Film Institute's (AFI), Actor of the Year. A nomination of Actor plot, she was promoted to White House Chief of Staff after her predecessor, played by the late John Spencer, suffered a severe, ed heart attack.

Several weekend trips to Washington, D.C. were frequent to Janney's schedule, and for the rest of the cast as well. Many outdoor scenes on were actually filmed in the nation's capital. Janney also met several times with former White House Press Secretary, Dee Dee Myers, who served in the Clinton Administration from 1993-1994. Janney met with Myers in New York City to accurately display the character she performed. s political accuracy was also the target of critics who considered the West Wing's portrayal to be exagerrated. has since then established with the media the accuracy of its television program, which has been declared by former West Wing staff workers to be a very close similarity to the actual West Wing of the White House. Janney's meeting with Myers were part of that step to reaffirm the credibility and accuracy portrayed by episode in 1999. Since that date, negotiations were made for increased salaries for all the critically acclaimed actors on . It is suggested that Janney's salary per episode for the later years of the show increased significantly.

dl"One out of forty American men wears women's clothing. We've had more than forty presidents. One of these guys has been dancing around the Oval Office in a prom dress." -- a famous quote of Janney's on the West Wing"Janney as C.J. Cregg on a humorous West Wing episode aside fictional First Lady, Abbey Bartlett, played by Stockard Channing" Janney as C.J. Cregg on a humorous West Wing episode aside fictional First Lady, Abbey Bartlett, played by Stockard Channing, announced on Sunday January 22, 2006, was a surprise to few. The cancellation was mainly attributed to the actual death of fictional Vice-President hopeful, John Spencer. The television drama will air its last episode May 14, 2006, decided upon by the program's directors. Another factor in the cancellation was reportedly the show's move from the primetime slot of Wednesday night to Sunday night at 8:00 PM EST on NBC. In the last seasons of , its popularity among viewers did drop somewhat according to the Nielsen Ratings. Even though the last seasons of were plagued by decreasing viewer ratings, the overall rating of Janney remained a relatively positive one, touted by Entertainment Weekly as “one to watch”, “uncommonly beautiful and infinitely expressive”.

Even after the somewhat controversial cancellation of , the television drama continues to be nominated for certain awards. Most recently on January 29, 2006 its cast was nominated by the Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast. Janney, Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford, Janel Moloney, and other members of the cast appeared at the the SAG Awards to honor their late castmate and friend, John Spencer.

Other roles

Janney has appeared in a number of films with roles of various sizes, including the 1990s films

Janney has remained active in theatre; in 1998, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge."

In 2004, Janney 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.

She currently lives across the street from her West Wing co-star Janel Moloney and has a cat named "Pootie Tang".While struggling to make it as an actress, she told people who inquired about what she did for a living that she was a photographer for "National Geographic".Her grandfather, Stuart Janney, owned many racehorses, including the famous Ruffian, considered by many to be the greatest female racehorse of all time.