Biography

Allison Janney swept the 2018 awards season with an Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe Award, Critics' Choice Award and SAG Award for her acclaimed portrayal of LaVona Golden, the sharp-tongued mother of Tonya Harding, in the feature film "I, Tonya."

Other recent movies include "Tallulah," which reunited her with her "Juno" co-star Ellen Page; "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," which marked her first time working with director Tim Burton; and "The Girl on the Train," which saw her collaborating again with longtime friend, director Tate Taylor. Also, she appeared in two of the previous summer's biggest box office titles: "Spy," with Melissa McCarthy, and the animated "Minions."

Additionally, she co-starred in "The Help," based on the bestselling novel of the same name. For their extraordinary performances, the cast won ensemble awards from the Hollywood Film Awards, Screen Actors Guild, National Board of Review and the Broadcast Film Critics. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Janney has delighted audiences with outstanding performances in the Oscar-nominated ensemble "Juno" and in the movie version of the Tony Award-winning play "Hairspray," which was awarded Best Ensemble from the Hollywood Film Awards. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by the Independent Spirit Awards for her role in Todd Solondz's film "Life During Wartime." Also, she co-starred in "The Way, Way Back," with Steve Carell, and opposite Meryl Streep in "The Hours," which received a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture; and she appeared in the Academy Award-winning film "American Beauty," for which she won a SAG Award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture.

In addition to numerous accolades for her role as Bonnie on MOM, on the Network, critics applauded Janney's turn as Margaret Scully on SHOWTIME's groundbreaking drama "Masters of Sex." She won Emmys for both roles in the same year, a rare feat in Emmy history. She won a second Emmy Award for MOM the following year, bringing her total number of Emmy statues to seven. She is renowned for her portrayal of White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg in the acclaimed series "The West Wing," for which she won a remarkable four Emmy Awards and four SAG Awards. Recently, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

While a freshman studying acting at Kenyon College in Ohio, Janney auditioned for a play being directed by Paul Newman, and she got the part. Soon after, Newman and his wife, Joanne Woodward, suggested she study at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. She followed their advice and went on to make her Broadway debut in Noel Coward's "Present Laughter," for which she earned the Outer Critics Circle Award and Clarence Derwent Award. Also, she appeared in Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge," receiving her first Tony Award nomination and winning the Outer Critics Circle Award, as well as in the musical "9 to 5," for which she earned a Tony nomination and won the Drama Desk Award. Janney made her return to Broadway last year in the revival of John Guare's "Six Degrees of Separation," starring in the role of Ouisa alongside John Benjamin Hickey and Corey Hawkins.

Janney grew up in Dayton, Ohio and currently lives in Los Angeles. Her birthday is Nov. 19. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonBJanney and Instagram at @allisonbjanney.