Jane Adams (actress)

Jane Adams (born April 1, 1965) is an American film, television and theatre actress.

Early life

Adams was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Janice, an administrative assistant, and William Adams, an engineer.^[1] She has a younger brother, Jonathan, and was raised in Wheaton, Illinois and Bellevue, Washington. Adams attended the University of Washington, where she studied political science, and the Cornish College of the Arts, where she took theater. In 1989, she graduated from the Juilliardschool with a degree in drama.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Adams then performed theatre at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. She turned down the chance to work in a movie with Whoopi Goldberg (a blockbuster titled Sister Act) for the opportunity to work with Arthur Miller on stage.

She then worked along with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton in the sequel to Father of the Bride, where she received rave reviews from her fellow cast members. She went back to the stage and won the 1995 Tony Award for best performance by a featured actress in a play for the Broadway revival of An Inspector Calls. She also won the Outer Critics Circle Award for best featured actress in a play in the Broadway production of Paul Rudnick's I Hate Hamlet.

In 1998, she starred in Happiness with Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman playing the role of Joy, a sensitive single woman who is struggling with life. She and the cast won many ensemble awards. The next year, Adams got a recurring role on the hit comedy seriesFrasier from 1999 to 2000. She played Dr. Mel Karnofsky, who became Niles's second wife.

In 2001, she was in an independent film titled Songcatcher, with Oscar nominee Janet McTeer. She and the cast won a Sundance Special Jury Prize.

In 2007, she appeared in The Sensation of Sight and The Brave One opposite Jodie Foster, Naveen Andrews, Terrence Howard, and Mary Steenburgen.

She is currently co-starring in the HBO series Hung opposite Thomas Jane.

Recurring TV roles

• Family Ties .... Marty Brodie (1987–1989)
• Relativity .... Karen Lukens (1996–1997)
• Frasier .... Dr. Melinda "Mel" Karnofsky (1999–2000)
• Hung ... Tanya (2009–2011)

Filmography

• Vital Signs (1990)
• Light Sleeper (1992)
• I Love Trouble (1994)
• Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
• Father of the Bride Part II (1995)
• Happiness (1998)
• You've Got Mail (1998)
• Music from Another Room (1998)
• Mumford (1999)
• Songcatcher (2000)
• Wonder Boys (2000)
• The Anniversary Party (2001)
• Orange County (2002)
• Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
• Stone Cold (2005)
• Last Holiday (2006)
• Little Children (2006)
• The Sensation of Sight (2006)
• The Brave One (2007)
• The Wackness (2008)
• Wherever You Are (2008)
• In Plain Sight (2008)
• Alexander the Last (2009)
• Restless (2011)

Awards

• Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series, Made for Television Movie, or Miniseries for Hung (nomination)
• Tony Award for best performance by a featured actress in a play for the Broadway play, An Inspector Calls.
• Drama Desk Award for Featured Actress for her performance in An Inspector Calls
• Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Debut of an Actress for her role in I Hate Hamlet.
• Sundance Award Jury Prize Award

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