Born in Boston and raised in Dayton, Ohio, Janney received a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London following her graduation from Kenyon College. After years of minor and uncredited film and television appearances, Janney's breakthrough came with the role of C. J. Cregg in the NBC political drama series The West Wing (1999–2006), for which she received four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2014, for her guest role of Margaret Scully, a sexually repressed 1950s housewife on Showtime's period drama series Masters of Sex, she won a fifth Emmy. For her portrayal of Bonnie Plunkett, a cynical recovering addict on the CBS sitcom Mom (2013–2021), Janney won two more Emmys.
Janney was born on November 19, 1959, in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Dayton, Ohio.[3] She is the daughter of Macy Brooks Janney (née Putnam), a former actress, and Jervis Spencer Janney Jr., a real estate developer and jazz musician.[4][5] She has an older brother, Jay and had a younger brother, Hal (1961–2011).[3][6] Hal, who had battled depression and addiction for many years, died by suicide in 2011 at the age of 49.[7]
She attended the Miami Valley School in Dayton, where she was named a distinguished alumna in 2005,[8] and the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, where she was named Alumna of the Year in 2016.[8] Janney initially aspired to a career in figure skating, but her height of 6 ft (180 cm) and a freak accident when she was a teenager put an end to that dream.[9] She attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where she majored in theatre.[6] During her freshman year, Janney met actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward at a play for the inaugural event of the college's newly built Bolton Theater, which Newman was directing. The couple encouraged her to continue acting and offered her guidance during the early days in her career.[10] She went on to train at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York and then received a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in mid-1984.[8][11][12]
Career
1989–1998: Early roles and Broadway debut
Janney's first role on television was in the short-lived black-and-white faux-1940s comedy Morton & Hayes; she appeared in two episodes of the 1991 CBS series as Eddie Hayes' wife. She then moved on to soap operas; she played the short-term role of Vi Kaminski on As the World Turns, and then played the recurring role of Ginger, one of the Spaulding maids, on Guiding Light for nearly two years. In the spring of 1994, she appeared in the season-four finale of Law & Order, titled "Old Friends", as a reluctant witness against a member of the Russian mob. She was also a cast member on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion. Janney made her professional stage debut in 1989 with an uncredited part in the Off-Broadway production Ladies. Following minor roles in similar productions like; Prescribed Laughter In The Emergency Café, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress and Blue Window.
After a decade of small and uncredited parts, Janney had her breakthrough when she was cast as White House Press SecretaryC. J. Cregg in the NBC political drama The West Wing. Creator Aaron Sorkin called Janney to audition for the role after seeing her in the film Primary Colors.[18] Loosely based on Dee Dee Myers, the press secretary during Clinton administration, C. J. is a National Merit Scholar who ultimately succeeds Leo McGarry as White House Chief of Staff. Writing for The Atlantic, John Reid says that "her capability and combination of strength and simple compassion represented the fantasy of the Bartlet White House better than anyone." The publication also ranks her as the best character from the series.[19] In their ranking of the best characters from all the television series created by Sorkin, Vulture, ranks C. J. at No. 2 and says; "If all the Sorkin women were as classy, self-assured, and legitimately funny (the turkey pardon!) as C. J., we'd never have had the Sorkin woman argument in the first place".[20] For her portrayal of C. J. Cregg, Janney won four Primetime Emmy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Award, a Satellite Award and four nominations for the Golden Globe Awards, making her the most awarded cast member of the series.[21]
Janney has never been married and has no children, of which she said: "I've never had that instinct to have kids, I'm at peace with it".[59] She was romantically involved with computer programmer Dennis Gagomiros. The couple began dating in 1994, and were interested in getting married but ended their relationship after seven years together in 2001.[60] In 2002, she met actor Richard Jenik (her co-star in Our Very Own). The couple got engaged in 2004 but broke up two years later in 2006.[61][62] In 2012, Janney met production manager Philip Joncas. The two met on the set of The Way, Way Back and began dating soon after. The couple dated for five years before ending their relationship in 2017.[63][64]
In interviews related to her role on Mom, Janney discussed her brother, Hal, who fought drug addiction for years before his suicide. She has credited playing her character on Mom to people fighting addiction.[65] On March 4, 2018, Janney dedicated her Academy Award win to him during her acceptance speech.[66][67]
In 2016, Janney was honored at the White House at the event "Champions of Change", which honored 10 accomplished individuals from across the country who were being recognized for advancing addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery. She also participated in a panel discussion with Surgeon GeneralVivek Murthy to talk about the portrayal of addiction and recovery in the media.[76][77][78] In 2017, Janney donated $250,000 to Planned Parenthood.[79] In 2020 with the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, Janney donated $10,000 to the Dayton Foodbank, an organization providing food to the homeless.[80][81]
Janney has also been an active supporter of voter registration, posting about voter ID issues and suggesting fans check VoteRiders for details.[82] She and her West Wing co-stars were part of Michelle Obama's When We All Vote initiative.[83] More recently, she participated in Divas for Democracy: United We Slay, a streaming variety show supporting voter registration.[84]
^Robbie, Margot; Rogers, Steven; Gillespie, Craig; Janney, Allison; et al. (December 5, 2017). "Conversations with I, Tonya [Cast and Crew]". SAG-AFTRA Foundation (Interview). YouTube. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
