Editing Allison Janney (section)

{{Short description|American actress (born 1959)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Allison Janney
| image              = Allison Janney4crop.jpg
| caption            = Janney in 2008
| birth_name         = Allison Brooks Janney
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1959|11|19}}
| birth_place        = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| education          = {{hlist|[[Kenyon College]]|[[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]}}
| occupation         = Actress
| partner            = Richard Jenik (2002–2006)
| years_active       = 1989–present
| awards             = [[List of awards and nominations received by Allison Janney|Full list]]
}}

'''Allison Brooks Janney''' (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. Known for her performances across the screen and stage, she has received [[List of awards and nominations received by Allison Janney|various accolades]], including an [[Academy Award]], a [[British Academy Film Award]], a [[Golden Globe Award]], and seven [[Primetime Emmy Awards]], in addition to nominations for two [[Tony Awards]].

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 [[Masters of Sex#Cast and characters|Margaret Scully]], a sexually repressed 1950s housewife on [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]'s period drama series ''[[Masters of Sex]]'', she won a fifth Emmy. For her portrayal of [[Mom (TV series)#Cast and characters|Bonnie Plunkett]], a cynical recovering addict on the [[CBS]] sitcom ''[[Mom (TV series)|Mom]]'' (2013–2021), Janney won two more Emmys. In 2024, she guest starred in the [[Netflix]] drama series ''[[The Diplomat (American TV series)|The Diplomat]]''.

Janney made her professional stage debut with the [[Off-Broadway]] production ''Ladies'' (1989), and followed with numerous bit parts in various similar productions, before making her [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut with the 1996 revival of ''[[Present Laughter]]''. She won two [[Drama Desk Award]]s and has been nominated for two [[Tony Awards]]: for [[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play|Best Actress in a Play]] for her performance in the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] revival of ''[[A View from the Bridge]]'' (1997), and for [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical|Best Actress in a Musical]] for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical ''[[9 to 5 (musical)|9 to 5]]'' (2009).

Janney has also played character roles in various films, including ''[[Primary Colors (film)|Primary Colors]]'' (1998), ''[[American Beauty (1999 film)|American Beauty]]'' (1999), ''[[10 Things I Hate About You (film)|10 Things I Hate About You]]'' (1999), ''[[The Hours (film)|The Hours]]'' (2002), ''[[Juno (film)|Juno]]'' (2007), ''[[Hairspray (2007 film)|Hairspray]]'' (2007), ''[[The Help (film)|The Help]]'' (2011), ''[[Spy (2015 film)|Spy]]'' (2015), ''[[Bad Education (2019 film)|Bad Education]]'' (2019), and ''[[Bombshell (2019 film)|Bombshell]]'' (2019). For her portrayal of [[LaVona Golden]] in the film ''[[I, Tonya]]'' (2017), Janney won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]].