Actress Joan Cusack was born on October 11, 1962, in New York City to Nancy (née Carolan),a mathematics teacher, and Dick Cusack, an advertising executive, writer, and actor. Her family, of Irish descent, had a strong influence on her creative pursuits from an early age.
Growing up in Evanston, Illinois, Cusack was actively encouraged by her parents to explore her creativity. She joined the Piven Theater Workshop as a child and later learned and performed improvisation at the Story Theater and The Ark. After attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in English, Cusack took on small film roles before joining the cast of "Saturday Night Live" for one season.
Cusack's breakthrough performance came in the acclaimed film Broadcast News (1987),earning her an Oscar nomination. Her subsequent roles in Working Girl (1988),Addams Family Values (1993),Corrina, Corrina (1994),Grosse Pointe Blank (1997),and In & Out (1997) solidified her position as a talented actress, earning her a second Oscar nomination.
One of Cusack's most iconic roles was Rosalie Mullins, the principal of Horace Green Elementary School, in School of Rock (2003). She also lent her voice to Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl in the Toy Story franchise, including Toy Story 2 (1999),Toy Story 3 (2010),and Toy Story 4 (2019). On television, Cusack scored a role on Shameless (2011),earning an Emmy nomination for her work.
Joan Cusack is married to attorney Dick Burke and has two sons, Dylan and Miles.
