Jean Smart

Jean Smart married John W. Norwalk in 1974, and they later divorced. She was married to actor Richard Gilliland from 1987 until his death in March 2021. They met while working on Designing Women, where Gilliland played J.D. Shackelford, the boyfriend of Annie Potts's character.

Smart and Gilliland had two sons. Their first son, Connor, was born in 1989, and they adopted their second son, Forrest, in 2009. Smart was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 13. In February 2023, she underwent triple bypass heart surgery after experiencing discomfort while filming the third season of Hacks.

After graduating from the University of Washington Professional Actors Training Program, Smart performed with regional theater companies including the Seattle Repertory Theatre and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She later worked in off-Broadway and professional regional productions. Her early stage roles included Lady Macbeth at the Pittsburgh Public Theater and a performance in Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, which earned her a Drama Desk nomination.

Smart made her Broadway debut in 1981 as Marlene Dietrich in Piaf. Television roles on The Facts of Life, Alice, Remington Steele, Teachers Only, and Reggie preceded her breakthrough as Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the CBS sitcom Designing Women. She played the role from the show's beginning in 1986 through 1991, becoming widely recognized for her comic performance.

After leaving Designing Women, Smart pursued a broader range of parts. She portrayed serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the television film Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story, appeared in Mistress, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, The Brady Bunch Movie, and The Yearling, and played the lead in the comedy Forever Fabulous. Her performance as the mother of a rebellious student in Guinevere earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination.

Smart played Lana Gardner on NBC's Frasier in 2000 and 2001, acting opposite Kelsey Grammer. The role earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. She also appeared in the Broadway revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner, receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play.

From 2000 to 2004, Smart played a supervisor of detectives on the CBS drama The District. She later portrayed Regina Newley, the overbearing mother of Christina Applegate's character, on Samantha Who? from 2007 to 2009. The performance earned Smart a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

In 2006, Smart joined 24 as Martha Logan, the mentally unstable First Lady of the United States and wife of President Charles Logan, played by Gregory Itzin. She appeared in nearly every episode of the show's fifth season and returned for one episode of the sixth season. Her performance brought consecutive Emmy nominations in the drama supporting and guest actress categories.

Smart's later television work included the governor of Hawaii on Hawaii Five-0, a role on Harry's Law, and Floyd Gerhardt in the second season of FX's Fargo. In Fargo, her character takes control of a prominent organized crime syndicate after her husband suffers a debilitating stroke. Smart won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for the role and received an Emmy nomination.

She worked with Fargo creator Noah Hawley again on Legion, playing therapist Melanie Bird from 2017 to 2019. In HBO's Watchmen, she portrayed Laurie Juspeczyk, the former Silk Spectre. She also played Helen Fahey in Mare of Easttown, appearing alongside Kate Winslet, and received critical acclaim for her performance as Winslet's character's stern mother.

Smart has also worked extensively as a voice actor. She voiced Dr. Ann Possible on the Disney Channel animated series Kim Possible and Pickles Oblong on The Oblongs. Her film credits include Sweet Home Alabama, Garden State, I Heart Huckabees, The Accountant, A Simple Favor, and Babylon, in which she played gossip columnist Elinor St. John.

In 2021, Smart began starring in the HBO Max dark comedy Hacks as Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedian trying to connect with a younger audience. Her performance earned four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, in 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025. She also won Critics' Choice Television Awards for the role in 2022, 2023, and 2025.

Smart hosted the season 50 premiere of Saturday Night Live in 2024 and appeared in The Studio in 2025. Her recent film work includes Senior Moment and Wildflower. In June 2025, she returned to Broadway in the one-woman play Call Me Izzy at Studio 54.

Her television honors include seven Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She has also received nominations for a Tony Award and a Grammy Award, and became only the second actress after Betty White to win in all three comedy Emmy acting categories: lead, supporting, and guest.