Jane Adams (actress, born 1965)

Jane Adams (born 1965)^[1][2][3] is an American actress and screenwriter. Known for her work in independent cinema, her acting credits include Happiness (1998), Mumford (1999), Songcatcher (2000), The Anniversary Party (2001), Orange County (2002), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), and Little Children (2006). For her starring role in All the Light in the Sky (2012)—which she co-wrote with frequent collaborator Joe Swanberg—she was named Best Actress at the Nashville Film Festival. 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), Last Holiday (2006), and The Brave One (2007).

Outside of film, Adams made her Broadway debut in the original production of I Hate Hamlet in 1991, and won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Sheila Birling in the 1994 revival of An Inspector Calls. On television, she appeared in the recurring role of Dr. Karnofsky on Frasier (1999–2000) and starred as Reeva in the CBS drama Citizen Baines (2001). Adams received a Golden Globe nomination for co-starring as Tanya Skagl on HBO's Hung (2009–2011), and was nominated over two consecutive years for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress for playing Nina Daniels on Hacks (2021–2022).

Early life

Jane Adams was born in Washington, DC, the daughter of Janice, an administrative assistant, and William Adams, an engineer.^[4] She has a younger brother, Jonathan, and was raised in Wheaton, Illinois, and Bellevue, Washington.^{[citation needed]}

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)^[5] where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1989.^{[6][unreliable source?]}

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.^[7]

In 1996, Adams portrayed Karen Lukens in the ABC-TV drama series Relativity.^{[8]: 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.^[9]

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]} She also portrayed Reeva Baines Eidenberg in the CBS drama series Citizen Baines.^[8]

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 2009–2011, Adams co-starred in the HBO series Hung opposite Thomas Jane.^[8]: 487 She starred in and co-wrote the 2012 film All the Light in the Sky with director Joe Swanberg.^[10]

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

• Jane Adams at AllMovie
• Jane Adams at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jane Adams at IMDb

This page was last edited on 24 May 2023, at 20:44