Years active 1985–present Name Jane (actress) | Role Film actress Siblings Jonathan Adams | |
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Born April 1, 1965 (age 59) ( 1965-04-01 ) Washington, D.C., US Alma mater University of Washington, Seattle
Cornish College of the Arts
Juilliard School Parents William Adams, Janis Adams Education University of Washington, Juilliard School, Cornish College of the Arts Awards Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play Movies and TV shows Poltergeist, Hung, Eternal Sunshine, Happiness, Restless Similar People Saxon Sharbino, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Catlett, Jared Harris, Nicholas Braun |
Jane adams actress biography
Jane Adams (born April 1, 1965) is an American actress. She made her Broadway debut in the original production of I Hate Hamlet in 1991, and won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the 1994 revival of An Inspector Calls. Her film roles include Happiness (1998), Wonder Boys (2000), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), and Little Children (2006). She also had a recurring role on the NBC sitcom Frasier (1999–2000), and was nominated for the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television for the HBO series Hung (2009–11).
Contents
- Jane adams actress biography
- Late late show with craig ferguson 6 28 2010 howie mandel jane adams drew thomas
- Early life
- Career
- Filmography
- References

Late late show with craig ferguson 6 28 2010 howie mandel jane adams drew thomas
Early life

Jane Adams was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Janice, an administrative assistant, and William Adams, an engineer. She has a younger brother, Jonathan, and was raised in Wheaton, Illinois, and Bellevue, Washington. 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) where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1989.
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 featured actress in a play in the Broadway production of Paul Rudnick's I Hate Hamlet.

In 1998, she starred in 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 hit 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 film Mumford.
In 2001, she was in the independent film titled Songcatcher, with Janet McTeer. She and the cast won a Sundance Special Jury Prize.
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. She starred in and co-wrote the movie All the Light in the Sky.