Jean Smart

Biography

Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. Her work includes both comedy and drama, and her accolades include seven Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, with nominations for a Grammy Award and a Tony Award. Smart first gained prominence for her leading role as Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the CBS sitcom Designing Women, in which she starred from 1986 to 1991. She went on to win seven Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles as Lana Gardner in the NBC series Frasier (2000–2001), Regina Newley in the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? (2007–2009), and Deborah Vance in the HBO Max comedy series Hacks (2021–2026). She was Emmy-nominated for her roles in The District (2000–2004), 24 (2006–2007), Harry's Law (2011), Fargo (2015), Watchmen (2019), and Mare of Easttown (2021). She also acted in FX's Legion (2017–2019) and voiced Ann Possible in the Disney Channel animated series Kim Possible (2002–2007). Smart's film credits include Flashpoint (1984), 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). On stage, she made her Broadway debut portraying Marlene Dietrich in the biographical play Piaf (1981). She starred in the revival of the George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart play The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000), for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She returned to Broadway in the one-woman play Call Me Izzy (2025). Smart was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Kathleen Marie "Kay" (née Sanders) and Douglas Alexander Smart, a teacher. She is the second of four children. Smart was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 13 years old. Her father was a first-generation Scottish-American. On season 10 of the television show Who Do You Think You Are?, Smart discovered she is a maternal descendant of Dorcas Hoar, one of the last women convicted of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials. She is a 1969 graduate of Ballard High School in Seattle; there, she gained an interest in acting in the drama program. She graduated from the University of Washington Professional Actors Training Program with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. After graduating from college, Smart began her career appearing in regional theater throughout the Pacific Northwest, including in Washington, Alaska, and Oregon. She performed with the Seattle Repertory Theater, as well as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. In the mid-1970s, she moved to New York City with college friend and fellow actress, Elizabeth Wingate (Lavery), and began working in off-Broadway and professional regional productions.