JEAN SMART (Laura Brandston) has had leading roles in such films as "The Odd Couple II" with Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Christine Baranski, "The Brady Bunch" with Shelley Long, "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" and "Mistress" with Robert De Niro, Danny Aiello and Martin Landau. Her additional credits include "Flashpoint" with Kris Kristofferson and Treat Williams, and "Protocol" with Goldie Hawn, to name just a few. Most recently she has received critical acclaim and an Independent Spirit Award nomination (Best Supporting Actress) for her role in "Guinevere," opposite Stephen Rea and Sarah Polley. She will next be seen in the offbeat comedy "Tiara Tango" with Jennifer Cox and Robert Wagner.
For television, Smart has graced audiences with her star ring roles in such telefilms as "A Stranger in Town" with Gregory Hines, "The Yearling" with Peter Strauss and "The Yarn Princess" with Robert Pastorelli. She had great fun starring with Timothy Dalton, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and Esther Rolle in "Scarlett," the made-for-television sequel to "Gone With The Wind," and received rave reviews for her portrayal of Aileen Wournos in "Overkill." A series regular on the popular television sitcoms "Designing Women" and "High Society," Smart was most recently seen in the sitcom "Style and Substance" with Nancy McKeon.
Smart launched her professional career on the stage, performing in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival productions of "Much Ado About Nothing," "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "A Moon For The Misbegotten." Several years in regional theatre led to a starring role in the off-Broadway production of "Last Summer at Bluefish Cove," for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination, and to her Broadway debut in "Piaf." Smart's other stage credits include "Laughing Wild" at Los Angeles' Tiffany Theatre and "It Had To Be You," which garnered her the 1990 Bay Area Critics Award for Best Actress in a Touring Company. More recently, she co-starred with Mary Steenburgen in the Tiffany Theatre production of "Marvin's Room," and in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway productions of Nicky Silvers' "Fit To Be Tied" and "End of the Day," by Jon Robin Baitz.
A native of Seattle, Smart received her BA in Fine Arts from the University of Washington. She currently resides with her husband and son in Los Angeles.
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