Jane Leeves
Jane Leeves | |
---|---|
![]() Leeves in 2012 | |
Born | Jane Elizabeth Leeves 18 April 1961 |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1981–present |
Spouse |
Marshall Coben (m.1996) |
Children | 2 |
Jane Elizabeth Leeves(born 18 April 1961)[1]is an English actress, best known for her role asDaphne Moonon theNBCsitcomFrasier(1993–2004), for which she was nominated for anEmmy Awardand aGolden Globe Award.[2][3]She also playedJoy ScroggsonTV Land's sitcomHot in Cleveland.[4]
Leeves made her screen debut with a small role in 1983 on the British comedy television showThe Benny Hill Show,and appeared as a dancer inMonty Python's The Meaning of Life.[citation needed]She moved to the United States, where she performed in small roles. From 1986 to 1988, she had her first leading role in the short-lived sitcomThrob,[5]then secured brief recurring roles in the sitcomsSeinfeldandMurphy Brown.She received further recognition for roles in films such asMiracle on 34th Street(1994),James and the Giant Peach(1996),Music of the Heart(1999) andThe Event(2003). In 2018, she began appearing in the Fox medical dramaThe Resident.
Career[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Jane_Leeves_at_the_Emmys.jpg/170px-Jane_Leeves_at_the_Emmys.jpg)
The daughter of an engineer and a nurse, Jane Leeves was born inIlford, Essex,England. She was raised inEast Grinstead,Sussexalong with two sisters and a brother. She was a regular onThe Benny Hill Show(as one of "Hill's Angels" ). She made use of her experience as a dancer in a scene inMonty Python's The Meaning of Life.[6]In the US, she appeared as a tourist with a baby in the video forDavid Lee Roth's song "California Girls",[citation needed]but struggled for several years to establish an acting career. She became somewhat visible as the flighty record company employee Blue (née Prudence Anne Bartlett) on the syndicated sitcomThrob.[citation needed]
She had a recurring role in the television seriesMurphy Brownas Audrey, the smart but awkward girlfriend of producer Miles Silverberg (played byGrant Shaud). She also appeared as the troublesomeMarla the Virginin four episodes ofSeinfeld:"The Virgin","The Contest","The Pilot"and"The Finale – Part 2".During this period, Leeves was cast asHollyfor the pilot of the US version of the science-fiction comedyRed Dwarf.She also had a role as a lesbian avant-garde dancer, the girlfriend of the girlfriend ofWillem Dafoe's character, in the 1985 filmTo Live and Die in L.A..[citation needed]
In 1993, Leeves joined the cast of the television seriesFrasieras the eccentric, forthright and psychicMancunianDaphne Moon.By the start of the eighth season, Leeves was pregnant, and the writers incorporated her pregnancy into shows as weight gain due to her character's stress from her relationship with Niles (portrayed byDavid Hyde Pierce). By the conclusion ofFrasier,Leeves had been nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Seriesnomination (1998), and aGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film(1995).[7]
Appearing less frequently in cinema, Leeves lent her speaking and singing voice to the animated filmJames and the Giant Peach(1996) as Mrs. Ladybug, and appeared inMusic of the Heart(1999). In 2002, she appeared in the Broadway musicalCabaret.[8]In 2004, she hosted an episode of the television comedy quiz showHave I Got News for You.Her 2006 show,The WB's sitcomMisconceptions,went unaired.[9]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/JaneLeevesHWOFAug2012.jpg/170px-JaneLeevesHWOFAug2012.jpg)
Leeves provided guest vocals inThe Penguins of Madagascaras Lulu, a female chimp, with whom Phil fell in love. WithPeri Gilpin,Leeves also set up the production company Bristol Cities (cockney rhyming slangfor 'titties').[10]Their last project was in 2007, a pilot for a US remake of the British sitcomThe Vicar of Dibley,withKirstie Alleyin the title role.[11]In 2010, Leeves guest starred in two episodes inABC'sDesperate HousewivesasLynetteandTom's therapist, Dr. Graham.[citation needed]
From 2010 until 2015, Leeves played the 40-something ex 'eyebrow artist to the stars'Joy Scroggsin theTV Landcomedy,Hot in Cleveland,withValerie Bertinelli,Wendie Malick(also her co-star in the final season ofFrasier) andBetty White.In 2011, she was nominatedScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Seriesalong with the rest of the cast.[12]The series ended in 2015 after six seasons and 128 episodes. She returned to television in 2018, with her first series regular role in a dramatic series, theFoxmedical dramaThe Residentplaying orthopaedic surgeon Kit Voss.[13][14]
Personal life[edit]
Leeves is married to Marshall Coben, aCBS Studiosexecutive.Peri Gilpin,Leeves's co-star onFrasier,is her neighbor and close friend[15]and was in the delivery room when Leeves's first child was born.[16]In the season 8 episode 17 ofFrasier,"It Takes Two to Tangle", Niles tells Roz that Leeves's character Daphne has lost 9 lb 12 oz at the health spa: a reference to the actual weight of Leeves's baby girl.[17]
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | Nice to See You | Performer | Television film |
1983 | Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | Dancer | Uncredited[citation needed] |
The Hunger | |||
1985 | To Live and Die in L.A. | Serena | Credited as Jane Leaves |
1992 | Just Deserts | Amy Phillips | |
1994 | Mr. Write | Wylie | |
Miracle on 34th Street | Alberta Leonard | ||
1996 | James and the Giant Peach | Mrs. Ladybug | Voice |
Pandora's Clock | Rachel Sherwood | Television film | |
The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century | Caroline Webb | Voice | |
1999 | Don't Go Breaking My Heart | Juliet Gosling | |
Music of the Heart | Dorothea von Haeften | ||
2003 | The Event | Mona | |
2006 | Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties | Eenie | Voice |
2009 | Endless Bummer | Liv | |
2012 | What About Dick? | Emma Schlegel |
Television[edit]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983–1985 | The Benny Hill Show | Hill's Angel | 4 episodes |
1986–1988 | Throb | Prudence Anne "Blue" Bartlett | Main role |
1987 | Murder, She Wrote | Gwen Petrie | Episode: "It Runs in the Family" |
1989 | It's a Living | Terry Tedaldo | Episode: "I Never Sang for My Father" |
Mr. Belvedere | Professor Ann Burns | Episode: "The Professor" | |
Hooperman | Annie | Episode: "Stakeout" | |
1989–1993 | Murphy Brown | Audrey Cohen | 9 episodes |
1990 | My Two Dads | Harriet | Episode: "See You in September?" |
Room for Romance | Episode: "A Midsummer Night's Reality" | ||
Who's the Boss? | Ms. Adams | Episode: "Parental Guidance Suggested" | |
1991 | Blossom | Sheila | Episode: "Love Stinks" |
1992 | Red Dwarf USA | Holly | Unsold |
1992–1998 | Seinfeld | Marla Penny | 4 episodes |
1993–2004 | Frasier | Daphne Moon | Main role; 264 episodes |
1995 | Caroline in the City | Daphne Moon | Episode: "Caroline and the Bad Back" |
1998 | Hercules | Athena | 6 episodes |
2003 | The Simpsons | Edwina | Voice, episode: "The Regina Monologues" |
2004 | Have I Got News For You | Guest Presenter | 1 episode |
2006 | Misconceptions | Amanda Watson | 7 episodes |
Twenty Good Years | Mary Frances | Episode: "Big Love" | |
2008 | The Starter Wife | Ann Hefton | 2 episodes |
2009–2011 | The Penguins of Madagascar | Lulu | Voice, 2 episodes |
2009–2013 | Phineas and Ferb | Various Characters | |
2010 | Desperate Housewives | Dr. Graham | 2 episodes |
Notes from the Underbelly | Gracie | Episode: "Accidental Family Bed" | |
2010–2015 | Hot in Cleveland | Joy Scroggs | Main role |
2016 | Crowded | Gwen | Episode: "The Fixer" |
Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures | Lt. Estoc | Voice, 2 episodes | |
2017 | The Great Indoors | Cheryl | Episode: "Roland's Secret" |
2017–2019 | Mickey and the Roadster Racers | Queen of England, Babette Beagle | Voice, 4 episodes |
2018 | We Bare Bears | Ari Curd | Voice, episode: "Googs" |
2018–2023 | The Resident | Dr. Kitt Voss | Series regular |
Awards and nominations[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Jane Leeves's birthday is 18th April 1961".ancestry.co.uk.
- ^"Jane Leeves".Television Academy.
- ^"Jane Leeves".goldenglobes.
- ^Dawidziak, Mark (14 January 2010)."Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick will be 'Hot in Cleveland'".The Plain Dealer.Retrieved14 January2010.
- ^sschwart."Throb (TV Series 1986–1988)".Internet Movie Database.
- ^Brantley, Ben (7 October 2009)."And Now for Something Just a Little Bit Different".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved22 November2023.
- ^"Jane Leeves".TV. Archived fromthe originalon 15 September 2012.
- ^"Jane Leeves Sets Dates for B'way's Cabaret – Broadway Tickets".Broadway. 19 February 2002.Retrieved23 March2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^Dyess-Nugent, Harris, VanDerWerff, Phil, Will, Todd (20 February 2012)."The unseen: 24 TV shows produced but never properly aired".AV Club.Onion, Inc.Retrieved4 September2015.
{{cite web}}
:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^Janeleeves2 (12 October 2009)."Jane Leeves on Graham Norton".YouTube.
{{cite web}}
:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^Kirby, Terry (7 February 2007)."US version of 'Vicar of Dibley' to star Kirstie Alley – Media, News".The Independent.London.Retrieved23 March2009.
- ^"SAG's TV nominations: What did they miss?".Entertainment Weekly's EW.
- ^Andreeva, Nellie (19 June 2018)."'The Resident': Jane Leeves Joins Season 2 As New Series Regular As Trio Exits ".
- ^"Jane Leeves Talks Her New Role in 'The Resident' & a Possible 'Frasier' Revival".TV Insider.
- ^"Hot Shots: Jane Leeves".Cleveland Magazine.Retrieved21 September2022.
- ^"'FRASIER' STAR LEEVES GIVES BIRTH TO GIRL ".chicagotribune.Retrieved10 April2021.
- ^""Frasier" It Takes Two to Tangle (TV Episode 2001) - Trivia ".imdb.Retrieved27 January2023.
External links[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1961 births
- 20th-century English actresses
- 21st-century English actresses
- Actors from the London Borough of Redbridge
- Actresses from Essex
- English expatriate actresses in the United States
- English film actresses
- English LGBT rights activists
- English stage actresses
- English television actresses
- Living people
- People from East Grinstead
- People from Ilford