Who Is Jean Smart?
Jean Elizabeth Smart is an actress from the United States. She began her career in regional theater in the Pacific Northwest before making her Broadway debut as Marlene Dietrich in the biographical drama Piaf in 1981. Smart went on to play Charlene Frazier Stillfield in the CBS series Designing Women, which she appeared in from 1986 until 1991. The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), Sweet Home Alabama (2002), Garden State (2004), I Heart Huckabees (2004), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Accountant (2016), and A Simple Favor are among Smart’s cinematic credits (2018). Guinevere earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination (1999).
Smart has seen a resurgence in recent years, appearing in television series such as FX’s Fargo (2015) and Legion (2017-2019), both created by Noah Hawley, as well as HBO projects Watchmen (2019), Mare of Easttown, and Hacks (both 2021), the latter three earning her Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with Hacks winning her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical.
Who Is Jean Smart Married Too?
Richard Gilliland, Jean Smart’s husband, died on March 18, 2021, at the age of 71. Richard Gilliland was an American television and film actor best remembered for his portrayal of JD Shackleford in Designing Women (1986-1992). Gilliland’s career as an actor spans over 50 years and was mostly focused on television. According to Deadline, he had series regular parts in Thirtysomething, Just Our Luck, Operation Petticoat, and Heartland in the 1980s and 1990s. According to IMDb, he also played Laurie in the 1978 NBC miniseries Little Women.
Jean Smart’s Husband & Kids
Smart married actor Richard Gilliland, whom she met on the set of Designing Women (he portrayed J.D. Shackelford, Annie Potts’ character Mary Jo Shively’s lover). They have two boys, Connor Douglas (born 1989) and Forrest Douglas (born 1992). (adopted from China in May 2009). On 24, Gilliland portrayed Captain Stan Cotter, while Smart subsequently played First Lady Martha Logan on the same show. Gilliland died in March 2021 after a brief illness.
Jean Smart’s Wedding
Jean Smart said in 2017 that she met her husband Richard Gilliland in 1986 when he was smooching someone else. “I met him when he was kissing someone else,” Smart revealed in an interview with Northwest Prime Time, alluding to Annie Potts’ character, who was dating Gilliland’s character at the time. She questioned her other co-star Delta Burke at the time if the actor was single. “Naturally, Delta walked up to him and blurted, ‘Jean wants to know if you’re married,'” Smart explained. He was indeed accessible. According to Northwest Prime Time, the actress told designingwomenonline.com that she and Gilliland hit it off immediately away after she “lured” him into her dressing room by saying she “needed help with a crossword problem” — and the rest is history. Later, in June 1987, the pair married on another cast member’s property.
According to EW, the pair worked together on a variety of projects over their lengthy marriage, including the stage shows It Had to Be You and Love Letters, the TV drama 24, and the TV movies Just My Imagination and Audrey’s Rain. According to the site, Gilliland and Smart will also work together again in a Tate Taylor-directed picture in summer 2021 prior to his death.
Jean Smart’s Age
Jean Smart was born on September 13, 1951, and she will be 71 in 2024. She graduated from Ballard High School in Seattle in 1969, when she became interested in acting via the theatre program. She earned a BFA in acting from the University of Washington Professional Actors Training Program. Smart is a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority at the University of Washington.
Jean Smart’s Family
Smart was born and reared in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of teacher Douglas Alexander Smart and Kathleen Marie “Kay” (Sanders). She is the youngest of four children. Smart was 13 years old when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Her father was a Scottish-American of first generation. Smart found she is a maternal descendant of Dorcas Hoar, one of the final people convicted of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, during Season 10 of the television show Who Do You Think You Are?
Jean Smart’s Net Worth
Jean Smart is a $10 million dollar net worth American actress. She is best known for her portrayal as Charlene Frazier Stillfield in the CBS comedy “Designing Women” from 1986 to 1991. Smart later earned two Emmy Awards for her role in the successful television sitcom “Frasier.” Her film and television credits include “Undue Influence,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Bringing Down The House,” “Garden State,” and “The District.” She has been starring in the Emmy-nominated comedy “Hacks” on HBO Max since 2021.
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