Jane Adams (actress, born 1965)
{{short description|American actress (born 1965)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jane Adams
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|4|1|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.
| education = University of Washington
Cornish College of the Arts
Juilliard School (BFA)
| occupation = Actress, writer
| years_active = 1985–present
}}
Jane Adams (born April 1, 1965){{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2009/06/27/all-hung-up/ |title=All 'Hung' Up |work=New York Post |first=Jill |last=Jacobs |date=June 27, 2009 |quote=Adams, 44 |access-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228043857/https://nypost.com/2009/06/27/all-hung-up/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2016/09/29/on-easy-the-plight-of-the-not-really-beautiful.html |title=On Easy, the plight of the 'not really beautiful' |work=Toronto Star |first=Johanna |last=Schneller |date=September 29, 2016 |quote=Jane Adams, 51 |access-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228043856/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2016/09/29/on-easy-the-plight-of-the-not-really-beautiful.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/jane-adams-interview-she-dies-tomorrow-coronavirus-pandemic-a9693421.html |title=Jane Adams: 'This whole idea of stay safe – life's never been safe' |work=The Independent |first=Ashley |last=Boone |date=August 30, 2020 |quote=Adams, 55, has reaffirmed her indie cred with She Dies Tomorrow. |access-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228043855/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/jane-adams-interview-she-dies-tomorrow-coronavirus-pandemic-a9693421.html |url-status=live }} is an American actress and screenwriter. Known for her work in independent cinema, her acting credits include Light Sleeper (1992), Happiness (1998), Mumford (1999), Songcatcher (2000), The Anniversary Party (2001), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Little Children (2006), All the Light in the Sky (2012), and She Dies Tomorrow (2020).
On television, she appeared in the recurring role of Dr. Mel Karnofsky on the NBC sitcom Frasier (1999–2000) and co-starred as Nikki Katz on HBO's drama series The Idol (2023). For her role as Tanya Skagl on HBO's Hung (2009–2011) she received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award. She was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series – in 2021 and 2022 – for portraying Nina Daniels on the HBO series Hacks (2021).
Adams made her Broadway debut in the original production of Paul Rudnick's I Hate Hamlet in 1991 and won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Sheila Birling in the revival of J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls (1994).
Early life
Jane Adams was born in Washington, D.C. and was raised in Wheaton, Illinois, and Bellevue, Washington.{{Citation needed |date=September 2021}} She is the daughter of Janice, an administrative assistant, and William Adams, an engineer.{{Cite web |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obituary.aspx?n=janice-adams&pid=153063091 |title=Janice Adams Obituary - Seattle, WA | The Seattle Times |website=Legacy.com |access-date=Sep 23, 2019 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062127/http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obituary.aspx?n=janice-adams&pid=153063091 |url-status=live }} She has a younger brother named Jonathan.{{Citation needed |date=September 2021}}
Adams attended the University of Washington, where she studied political science, and the Cornish College of the Arts, where she took theater. She attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division (1985–1989, Group 18){{cite web |url=http://www.juilliard.edu/alumni/news/news_decades/2009-2010/1003/index.php |title=Alumni News |publisher=The Juilliard School |date=March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111122007/http://juilliard.edu/alumni/news/news_decades/2009-2010/1003/index.php |archive-date=2011-11-11}} where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1989.{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/530667/Jane-Adams/biography |title=Jane Adams biography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713001617/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/530667/Jane-Adams/biography |archive-date=July 13, 2012 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 2, 2012}}{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2019}}
Career
Adams performed theatre at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. She turned down the chance to work in Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg for the opportunity to work with Arthur Miller onstage.
She worked with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton in Father of the Bride Part II. She went back to the stage and won the 1994 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 debut performance in a play in the Broadway production of Paul Rudnick's I Hate Hamlet.{{cite web |title=Awards for 1990-1991 |url=https://outercritics.org/award-results/awards-for-1990-1991/ |website=Outer Critics Circle |access-date=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190629222850/https://outercritics.org/award-results/awards-for-1990-1991/ |archive-date=29 June 2019 |url-status=live}}
In 1996, Adams portrayed Karen Lukens in the ABC-TV drama series Relativity.{{r|etvs|page1=883-884}}
In 1998, she starred in the misanthropic dark comedy Happiness with 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 comedy series Frasier from 1999 to 2000. She played Dr. Mel Karnofsky, who became Niles Crane's second wife. She also had a role in the 1999 film Mumford.{{Cite web |title='Mumford' (R) |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/movies/reviews/mumfordhowe.htm |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=www.washingtonpost.com |archive-date=2000-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818011505/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/movies/reviews/mumfordhowe.htm |url-status=live }}
In 2001, she was in the independent film titled Songcatcher, with Janet McTeer. She and the cast won a Sundance Special Jury Prize.{{Citation needed |date=June 2019}} She also portrayed Reeva Baines Eidenberg in the CBS drama series Citizen Baines.{{cite book |last1=Terrace |first1=Vincent |title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 |date=2011 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers |location=Jefferson, N.C. |isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7 |page=189 |edition=2nd}} Adams has also appeared in mainstream films such as You've Got Mail (1998), Wonder Boys (2000), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), and Last Holiday (2006). In 2007, she appeared in The Sensation of Sight and The Brave One. In the latter film, she appeared opposite Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Mary Steenburgen and Naveen Andrews.
From 2009 to 2011, Adams co-starred in the HBO series Hung opposite Thomas Jane.{{r|etvs|page1=487}} She starred in and co-wrote the 2012 film All the Light in the Sky with director Joe Swanberg for which she was named Best Actress at the Nashville Film Festival.{{Cite news |last=Arnold |first=Joel |date=2013-12-20 |title=For An Actress In Eclipse, 'All The Light' She Can Grasp |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/12/20/251722204/for-an-actress-in-eclipse-all-the-light-she-can-grasp |access-date=2022-04-11 |archive-date=2022-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411223714/https://www.npr.org/2013/12/20/251722204/for-an-actress-in-eclipse-all-the-light-she-can-grasp |url-status=live }}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1985
|Bombs Away |Greeting Girl | |
| 1990
|Suzanne Maloney | |
| 1992
|Randi Jost | |
| 1994
|Evans | |
| 1994
|Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle |Ruth Hale | |
| 1995
|Dr. Megan Eisenberg | |
| 1996
|Nettie Bolt | |
| 1998
|Irene | |
| 1998
|Happiness{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Luaine |title='I got lucky,' says Jane Adams |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33372438/jane_adams/ |access-date=29 June 2019 |work=The Evening Sun |agency=McClatchy-Tribune News Service |date=September 26, 2011 |location=Pennsylvania, Hanover |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629225258/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33372438/jane_adams/ |url-status=live }} |Joy Jordan |
| 1998
|Day at the Beach |Marie | |
| 1998
|Sydney Anne |Uncredited |
| 1999
|{{sortname|A|Fish in the Bathtub}} |Ruthie | |
| 1999
|Mary Joan | |
| 1999
|Dr. Phyllis Sheeler | |
| 2000
|Eleanor 'Elna' Penleric |Sundance Film Festival: Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Cast |
| 2000
|Oola | |
| 2001
|{{sortname|The|Anniversary Party}} |Clair Forsyth | |
| 2002
|Mona | |
| 2004
|Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind |Carrie | |
| 2004
|Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events |White-Faced Woman | |
| 2006
|Rochelle | |
| 2006
|Sheila | |
| 2006
|{{sortname|The|Sensation of Sight}} |Alice | |
| 2007
|{{sortname|The|Brave One|The Brave One (2007 film)}} |Nicole | |
| 2008
|{{sortname|The|Wackness}} |Eleanor | |
| 2008
|Nancy Bernstein | |
| 2009
|Director | |
| 2009
|June Marshall | |
| 2011
|Dr. Bentel | |
| 2011
|June | |
| 2011
|Mabel | |
| 2012
|Marie |Also writer |
| 2015
|Woman on beach | |
| 2015
|Dr. Brooke Powell | |
| 2016
|Summer | |
| 2017
|April | |
| 2018
|Intervene |Gwendolyn |Short film |
| 2020
|Jane |Nominated—Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2020
| Sarah | |
| 2022
| Dog | Tamara | |
| 2022
| Sick |Pamela | |
| 2023
|Year of the Fox |Paulene | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1986
|Charlotte Rose Cantrell |Episode: "Deliver Us from Goodness" |
| 1987, 1989
|First Love / Marty Brodie |3 episodes |
| 1989, 1995
|Elly Robinson / Michelle |2 episodes |
| 1990
|Meg Bradley |Television film |
| 1993
|Lifestories: Families in Crisis |Beth |Episode: "Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story" |
| 1996
|Karen Lukens |7 episodes |
| 1997
|Sara Scott |6 episodes |
| 1999
|{{sortname|The|Outer Limits|The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)}} |Mona Bailey |Episode: "What Will The Neighbors Think" |
| 1999–2000
|Dr. Mel Karnofsky |11 episodes |
| 2000
|Reeva Eidenberg |9 episodes |
| 2000
|From Where I Sit |Ruth |Pilot |
| 2001
|Amanda |Episode: "The Doghouse" |
| 2003
|Mother of Dead Baby |Uncredited |
| 2003
|Sylvia Campbell |Episode: "The Gift" |
| 2005
|Brianna Lincoln |Television film |
| 2007
|Bonnie |Episode: "House Training" |
| 2008
|Ruth Ferguson / Ruth Fraser |Episode: "Don of the Dead" |
| 2009–2011
|Hung |30 episodes |
| 2012
|Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |Joanne Parsons |Episode: "Learning Curve" |
| 2013
|Red Headed Women |Voice |
| 2014
|CSI: Crime Scene Investigation |Belinda Goff |Episode: "Rubbery Homicide" |
| 2016–2019
|Easy |Annabelle Jones |5 episodes |
| 2016
|Janice |Episode: "Nobody Beats the Biebs" |
| 2017
|Constance Talbot |6 episodes |
| 2017
|Gladys Coleman Pirette |4 episodes |
| 2018–2019
|Maggie Murphy |8 episodes |
| 2020
|Miriam Keneally |10 episodes |
| 2021–present
|Nina |6 episodes |
| 2023
|Nikki Katz |5 episodes |
Theatre
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1991
|Deirdre McDavey |
| 1992
|{{sortname|The|Crucible}} | |
| 1994
|{{sortname|An|Inspector Calls}} |Sheila Birling |{{unbulleted list |Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play |Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41634924/aids_play_and_passion_win_big_tonys/ |title=AIDS play and 'Passion' win big Tonys |last=Kuchwara |first=Michael |date=13 June 1994 |work=The Honolulu Advertiser |publisher=Gannett Pacific |agency=Associated Press |issue=48,120 |location=Honolulu, Hawaii |edition=Final |page=B3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-date=4 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104030841/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41634924/aids_play_and_passion_win_big_tonys/ |url-status=live }} }} |
| 2003
|Rose Arnott |Replacement |
| 2004
|Lisa | |
| 2006
|Emily Shapiro | |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Award ! Category ! Nominated work ! class="wikitable unsortable" | Result |
| 1991
| Best Supporting Female | | {{won}} |
| 1998
| National Board of Review Award for Best Cast | {{won}} |
| 2000
| Special Jury Prize | {{won}} |
| rowspan="2" | 2010
| Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film | rowspan="2" | Hung | {{nom}} |
| Women's Image Network Awards
| Actress Comedy Series | {{nom}} |
| 2013
| Best Actress in a Narrative Feature | {{won}} |
| 2020
| Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress | {{nom}} |
| 2021
| rowspan="2" | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | rowspan="2" | Hacks | {{nom}} |
| 2022
| {{nom}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name}}
- {{IBDB name}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Jane Adams
|list =
{{DramaDesk PlayOutstandingFeaturedActress 1975-1999}}
{{TonyAward PlayFeaturedActress 1976-2000}}
}}
{{Portal bar|Biography}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Jane}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Washington, D.C.
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:Cornish College of the Arts alumni
Category:Juilliard School alumni
Category:Actors from Wheaton, Illinois
Category:University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Category:Drama Desk Award winners