Jean Elizabeth Smart was born on September 13, 1951, in Seattle, Washington. She is the second of four children born to a teacher and his wife. Jean developed an early interest in acting and attended the University of Washington, where she earned a BA degree in fine arts.
Jean's professional career began with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where she performed in various productions including Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and "A Moon for the Misbegotten." She then went on to build a strong resume in regional theater, working with companies such as the Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Alaska Repertory Theatre, and Alliance Theatre.
Jean's breakthrough role came in 1980 with a starring part in the critically acclaimed lesbian drama "Last Summer at Bluefish Cove," which earned her an Off-Broadway Drama Desk nomination. She repeated her success on the West Coast, earning a Los Angeles Drama Critics award in 1983.
Jean made her Broadway debut in 1981, playing Marlene Dietrich in "Piaf" starring Jane Lapotaire. Her subsequent TV taping of the show, "Piaf" (1984),brought her major Hollywood interest. She went on to appear in several TV shows, including "Teachers Only," "Reggie," "Maximum Security," and "Designing Women," where she played the delightfully ditzy Charlene Frazier.
Jean left "Designing Women" in 1991 to pursue more challenging roles. She earned major acclaim for her portrayal of a true-to-life serial killer in the TV movie "Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story" (1992) and went on to appear in several other TV movies, including "The Yarn Princess," "The Yearling," "Undue Influence," "A Change of Heart," and "Audrey's Rain."
On stage, Jean earned a Tony nomination for her role in the Moss Hart/George S. Kaufman classic comedy farce "The Man Who Came to Dinner" opposite Nathan Lane. The Broadway show was later made into a TV movie, "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (2000),with both Lane and Smart.
Jean has also appeared in several films, including "Flashpoint," "Protocol," "Fire with Fire," "Project X," "Mistress," "Edie & Pen," "The Odd Couple II," and "Forever Fabulous." She has been nominated for several awards, including an Independent Spirit Award for her role in "Guinevere" (1999) and two Emmy Awards for her guest appearances on "Frasier" and "24."
In recent years, Jean has appeared in the TV series "Frasier," "The District," "Center of the Universe," "Kim Possible," "Samantha Who?," "Hawaii Five-0," "Harry's Law," "Fargo," "Legion," and "Mare of Easttown." Her recent films include "Youth in Revolt," "Barry Munday," "Hope Springs," "Waking," "Warren," "Miss Meadows," "The Accountant," "Life Itself," and "Brampton's Own."
Jean has been married to actor Richard Gilliland since 1987 and has two children with him, son Connor and adopted son Forrest.
