2005

Allison Janney was a celebrated participant in the arts and theater at MVS before she departed for The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut.

Upon graduation, Janney returned to Ohio where she enrolled at Kenyon College. As a freshman, she auditioned for and earned a part in a play directed by Paul Newman, a Kenyon alum. Soon after, Newmand and his wife Joanne Woodward, suggested she study at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. There she made her Broadway debut in Noel Coward’s Present Laughter for which she earned the Outer Critics Circle Award and Clarence Derwent Award. She also appeared in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, receiving her first Tony award nomination and winning the Outer Critics Circle Award. In 2009, Janney starred in her first Broadway musical 9 to 5, for which she earned another Tony nomination and won the Drama Desk Award.

Janney has been very busy with film work, amassing credits that include American Beauty (SAG Award win for Outstanding Ensemble Cast), The Hours (SAG Award win for Outstanding Ensemble Cast), Life During Wartime (Independent Spirit Award nomination), Our Very Own (Independent Spirit Award nomination), Juno, Nurse Betty, Drop Dead Gorgeous, 10 Things I Hate About You, Primary Colors, The Ice Storm, Big Night, and the highly acclaimed film The Help. For their performances, the cast of The Help won ensemble awards from the Screen Actors Guild, national Board of Review, and the Broadcast Film Critics.

Additionally, Janney is remembered for her portrayal of White House Press Secretary CJ Cregg on the acclaimed NBC series The West Wing. She won four Emmy awards and four AG awards in her role alongside fellow Dayton native Martin Sheen.