Jane Krakowski
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Jane Krakowski (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Nee; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress and singer.<ref name="StarLedger">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She starred as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series 30 Rock (2006–13, 2020), for which she received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Krakowski's other television roles have included Elaine Vassal in the Fox legal comedy-drama series Ally McBeal (1997–2002) and Jacqueline White in the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2020). For the latter, she received another Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series nomination.
A trained singer, Krakowski has also worked on the stage. At age 18, she was chosen for the role of Dinah the Dining Car in the Broadway production of Starlight Express (1987). She has since won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for the revival of Nine (2003). Other Tony-nominated roles include Grand Hotel (1989) and She Loves Me (2016). She received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in the West End revival of Guys and Dolls (2005).<ref>2006 Laurence Olivier Award Winners Announced Theater Mania, February 26, 2006</ref> In film role, she has appeared as Cousin Vicki Johnson in National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) and as Betty Rubble in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000).
Early life
Jane Krakowski was born and raised in Parsippany, New Jersey on October 11, 1968,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the daughter of Ed Krajkowski, a chemical engineer, and Barbara (Template:Nee), a college theater instructor and producing artistic director for the Women's Theater Company.<ref name="JerseyFoot">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"Obituaries - Beulah U. Dudley" Newsbank</ref> She has an older brother.<ref name="Telegraph"/> Krakowski's father's family is Polish,<ref>Cała rodzina po stronie mojego ojca jest polska ("All my family from my father's side is Polish") (Polish) January 5, 2006, Mojawyspa</ref> and while she speaks very little Polish, her father and paternal grandparents are fluent.<ref>Jane Krakowski: Z Krakowa do "Ally McBeal" Polish (...) mój tata rozmawiał po polsku. Moi dziadkowie rozmawiali na co dzień po angielsku, ale kłócili się tylko po polsku, żebyśmy ich nie zrozumieli! ("(...) my dad spoke Polish, and my grandparents spoke English at home, but they argued only in Polish, because they didn't want to be understood by us.") January 5, 2006, Mojayspa</ref>
Krakowski grew up immersed in the local theater scene as a result of her parents' involvement, saying in one interview: "Instead of hiring baby sitters, they brought me along with them."<ref name="JerseyFoot"/> She took ballet lessons at age four, but later stopped because she had the wrong body shape, instead moving more towards Broadway dancing.<ref name="Telegraph">Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> She attended Parsippany High School<ref>Filichia, Peter. "Leave It to Jane Jane Krakowski claims that, when she was a child, some people thought she looked like a boy!", TheaterMania, March 9, 2006. Accessed January 4, 2021. "She never did a show at Parsippany High School in New Jersey 'because I was working professionally on [the soap opera] Search for Tomorrow,' says the blonde honeybunch."</ref> and then the Professional Children's School in New York City and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
1983–2005: Early work and theater roles
Following a 1981 television commercial at age 12 for the video game Solar Fox, Krakowski's first major role and feature film debut came at the age of 14, when she played Cousin Vicki Johnson in the 1983 road comedy National Lampoon's Vacation. Krakowski was originally cast in the 1983 horror film Sleepaway Camp, but dropped out just before filming began because she felt her character Judy's death scene with a curling iron was too violent. In 1984, she began appearing as Theresa Rebecca "T.R." Kendall in the NBC soap opera Search for Tomorrow, part of the NBC Daytime programming block; she continued the role until the show ended in 1986 and was nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards in 1986 and 1987.Template:Citation needed She also appeared in several episodes of the soap opera Another World in 1989.
At age 18, Krakowski originated the role of Dinah the Dining Car in the 1987 Broadway production of Starlight Express. She appeared in the 1989 Broadway musical Grand Hotel as the typist and would-be film star Flaemmchen, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the 44th Tony Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her solo number, "I Want to Go to Hollywood," is included on the original cast recording. In 1995, she played the ditzy flight attendant April in the Roundabout Theater Company's revival of Company, followed by a starring role alongside Sarah Jessica Parker in the 1996 Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress.
From 1997 to 2002, Krakowski played office assistant Elaine Vassal in the Fox comedy-drama series Ally McBeal; she received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film at the 56th Golden Globe Awards in 1999.<ref name="30RockBio">Template:Cite web</ref> She portrayed Betty Rubble in the 2000 film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. She also appeared in the music video for The Chicks's song "Goodbye Earl" in 2000,<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and in a recurring role on the drama series Everwood in 2003.
At the 2000 American Comedy Awards, Krakowski won rave reviews when she performed a sexually charged musical tribute and love letter to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. The following year, Krakowski appeared on the album Broadway Cares: Home for the Holidays, singing the song "Santa Baby". She also collaborated with Jim Brickman on the song "You" for Brickman's 2002 album Love Songs & Lullabies;<ref name="30RockBio"/> the song became a hit on adult contemporary radio stations. Brickman and Krakowski later recorded a Christmas-themed alternate version of the song.
In 2003, she starred as Carla Albanese in the Broadway revival of Nine,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the 57th Tony Awards.<ref name="30RockBio"/> Krakowski's performance was noted for a "breathtaking" aerial stunt she performed during the number "A Call from the Vatican".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2005, Krakowski performed her own cabaret show, Better When It's Banned, at Lincoln Center,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and starred as Miss Adelaide in Michael Grandage's West End revival of Guys and Dolls at London's Piccadilly Theatre, for which she received the 2006 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.<ref name="30RockBio"/>
2006–2020: Breakthrough with 30 Rock
From 2006 to 2013, Krakowski played the role of Jenna Maroney, a clueless and narcissistic actress, on the Tina Fey-created NBC comedy series 30 Rock. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Between 2007 and 2009, Krakowski performed in a workshop production of the musical Xanadu;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a New York City Center production of Damn Yankees alongside Sean Hayes and Cheyenne Jackson;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a staged reading at Playwrights Horizons of the musical Mrs. Sharp.
Following 30 Rock's conclusion, Krakowski joined the cast of Fey's follow-up series, the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, in the role of the condescending socialite Jacqueline White. Schmidt ran from 2015 to 2020 and garnered Krakowski her fifth Primetime Emmy Award nomination at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Krakowski starred as Ilona Ritter in the Roundabout Theatre Company's 2016 Broadway revival of Jerry Bock's and Sheldon Harnick's She Loves Me.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For her performance, Krakowski won the 2016 Fred and Adele Astaire Award as Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show; the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical; and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. She was also nominated for the Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical at the 70th Tony Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2021–present
Since 2021, Krakowski has hosted a Fox reboot of the 1950s game show Name That Tune, with former American Idol judge Randy Jackson as bandleader.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> Krakowski has said, "One of the reasons I wanted to do Name That Tune was to perform again in front of a live audience."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="theatermania">Template:Cite web</ref>
From 2021 to 2023, Krakowski portrayed The Countess/Bobbie Flanagan in the musical comedy television series Schmigadoon!, created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio.
In November 2021, Krakowski contracted a breakthrough case of COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw from NBC's Annie Live!, where she was to play Lily St. Regis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
From October 2025 to January 2026, she is portraying the role of Mary Todd Lincoln in the historical farce Oh, Mary!, written and originated by Cole Escola.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal life
Krakowski became engaged to Robert Godley in 2009. They have a son,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> born in April 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The couple separated in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In January 2021, the Daily Mail alleged that Krakowski had a nine-month relationship with Mike Lindell, the inventor of My Pillow, between late 2019 and the summer of 2020. Both Krakowski and Lindell denied the allegation, and Lindell sued the Daily Mail for libel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Lindell's libel suit against Daily Mail Retrieved February 13, 2021</ref> The case was dismissed on the grounds that a "reasonable person" would not view anything in the Daily Mail article as defamatory.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | National Lampoon's Vacation | Cousin Vicki Johnson | |
| 1987 | Fatal Attraction | Christine | |
| 1991 | Stepping Out | Lynne | |
| 1996 | Mrs. Winterbourne | Christine | |
| 1997 | Hudson River Blues | Diane | |
| 1998 | Dance With Me | Patricia Black | |
| 1999 | Go | Irene Halverson | |
| 2000 | Template:Sortname | Betty O'Shale | |
| 2002 | Ice Age | Rachel the Sloth | Voice<ref name="btva">Template:Cite web A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref> |
| 2003 | Marci X | Lauren Farb | |
| When Zachary Beaver Came to Town | Heather Wilson | ||
| 2004 | Alfie | Dorie | |
| 2005 | Pretty Persuasion | Emily Klein | |
| 2006 | Open Season | Giselle | Voice<ref name="btva" /> |
| 2007 | Surf's Up | Sheila Limberfin | Voice, deleted scenesTemplate:Citation needed |
| 2008 | Template:Sortname | Carol | |
| Kit Kittredge: An American Girl | Miss May Dooley | ||
| Open Season 2 | Giselle | Voice<ref name="btva" /> | |
| 2009 | Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant | Corma Limbs | |
| 2014 | Adult Beginners | Miss Jenn | |
| Big Stone Gap | Sweet Sue Tinsley | ||
| 2015 | Pixels | First Lady Jane Cooper | |
| 2018 | Henchmen | Jane | Voice<ref name="btva" /> |
| 2020 | The Willoughbys | Mother Willoughby | Voice<ref name="btva" /> |
| 2021 | My Little Pony: A New Generation | Queen Haven | Voice<ref name="btva" /> |
| 2023 | Your Christmas or Mine 2 | Diane | |
| TBA | The Man with the Bag | Completed<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | ABC Weekend Special | Lizzie Dodge | Episode: "Horatio Alger Updated: Frank and Fearless" |
| 1984–1986 | Search for Tomorrow | Theresa Rebecca "T.R." Kendall | Main cast (107 episodes) |
| 1985 | No Big Deal | Margaret | Television film |
| 1989 | Another World | Tonya | 9 episodes |
| When We Were Young | Linda Rosen | Television film | |
| 1991 | Against the Law | Colleen Hanrahan | Episode: "Miss Mass" |
| Women and Men 2: In Love There Are No Rules | Melba | Television film | |
| 1993 | Alex Haley's Queen | Jane Jackson | 2 episodes |
| The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Dale Winter | Episode: "Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues" | |
| 1994 | Due South | Catherine Burns | Episode: "An Invitation to Romance" |
| 1996 | Early Edition | Dr. Handleman | Episode: "Baby" |
| 1997–2002 | Ally McBeal | Elaine Vassal | Main cast (112 episodes) |
| 1998–1999 | Mad TV | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Great Performances | Herself | Episode: "The Rodgers & Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty" |
| Snoops | Herself | Episode: "Higher Calling" | |
| 2000–2005 | CatDog | Sasquatch / Pussycat Catfield | Voice, 2 episodes<ref name="btva" /> |
| 2002 | Just a Walk in the Park | Rachel Morgan | Television film |
| 2002–2003 | Everwood | Dr. Gretchen Trott | 2 episodes |
| 2002–2004 | Rocket Power | Breezy | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Emma Spevak | Episode: "Bound" |
| Taste | Samantha Neal | Television pilot | |
| Hack | Mrs. Smith | Episode: "One for My Baby" | |
| Template:Sortname | Ghost of Christmas Past / Lamplighter | Television film | |
| 2005 | Mom at Sixteen | Donna Cooper | Television film |
| 2006 | Sex, Love, Power, and Politics | Sloan | Television pilot |
| 2006–2013 | 30 Rock | Jenna Maroney | Main cast (138 episodes) |
| 2008 | A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa | Claire's Mom | Television film |
| 2013 | The Simpsons | Zhenya | Voice, episode: "The Fabulous Faker Boy" |
| 2014 | American Dad! | Charlotte | Voice, episode: "Roger Passes the Bar" |
| Dead Boss | Helen Stephens | Television pilot | |
| 2014–2017 | Modern Family | Dr. Donna Duncan | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Younger | Annabelle Bancroft | Episode: "Shedonism"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Saturday Night Live | Jenna Maroney | Episode: "Tracy Morgan/Demi Lovato" | |
| 2015–2019 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Jacqueline White | Main cast (51 episodes) |
| 2016 | Robot Chicken | Various | Episode: "Yogurt in a Bag" |
| She Loves Me | Ilona Ritter | Television film | |
| 2017 | Sofia the First | Sizzle | Voice, episode: "The Royal Dragon" |
| Difficult People | Lizzie McCormick | Episode: "Cindarestylox" | |
| BoJack Horseman | Honey Sugarman | Voice, episode: "The Old Sugarman Place" | |
| Tangled: The Series | Willow | Voice, episode: "The Way of the Willow"<ref name="btva" /> | |
| A Christmas Story Live! | Miss Shields | Television special | |
| 2017–2020 | At Home with Amy Sedaris | Herself / Beverly | 2 episodes |
| Match Game | Herself (panelist) | 11 episodes<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2018 | Drunk History | Sheralee | Episode: "Sex" |
| 2019 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Spokesperson | Episode: "June 2, 2019" |
| 2019–2021 | Dickinson | Emily Norcross Dickinson | Main cast (30 episodes) |
| 2020 | AJ and the Queen | Beth Barnes Beagle | Episode: "Fort Worth" |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Veronica | Episode: "The Ugly Section" | |
| Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend | Jacqueline White | Television film | |
| 30 Rock: A One-Time Special | Jenna Maroney | Television special | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars | Herself | Episode: "Stand-Up Smackdown" | |
| 2021–2022 | Ziwe | Mom / Jane | 2 episodes |
| 2021–2023 | Schmigadoon! | The Countess / Bobbie Flanagan | Main cast (10 episodes)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2021–present | Name That Tune | Herself | Host (49 episodes)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2024 | Elsbeth | Joann Lenox | Episode: "A Classic New York Character" |
| 2025 | Brilliant Minds | Arianna Burnett | Episode: "Lady Liberty" |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Goodbye Earl" | The Chicks | Wanda |
| 2019 | "Afterlife" (For Your Consideration Version) | Hailee Steinfeld | Herself |
| 2022 | "Surrender My Heart" | Carly Rae Jepsen | Herself |
Theater
Discography
Krakowski released her debut solo album on July 15, 2010. It is an album of cover versions called Laziest Gal in Town. It released on DRG Records.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Selected recordings include:
- 1992: Grand Hotel, Studio Cast Recording (mostly original Broadway cast)
- 1995: Company, Broadway revival cast recording
- 1997: Once Upon a Mattress, Broadway revival cast recording
- 1997: Sondheim at the Movies (singing the Academy Award-winning song "Sooner or Later" from Dick Tracy)
- 1998: The Burt Bacharach Album
- 2002: A Broadway Valentine
- 2003: Nine, Broadway revival cast recording
- 2004: A Christmas Carol, television cast recording
- 2010: The Laziest Gal in Town, solo album
- 2016: She Loves Me, Broadway revival cast recording
Awards and nominations
Template:BLP unreferenced section
Film and television
Theater
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Grand Hotel | Template:Nom |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Template:Nom | ||
| 2003 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Nine | Template:Won |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Template:Won | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Template:Won | ||
| 2006 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Musical | Guys and Dolls | Template:Won |
| 2016 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | She Loves Me | Template:Nom |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Template:Won | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Template:Won | ||
| Astaire Award | Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show | Template:Won |
References
External links
- 1968 births
- 20th-century American actresses
- Actresses from Morris County, New Jersey
- American child actresses
- American film actresses
- American game show hosts
- American musical theatre actresses
- American people of French-Canadian descent
- American people of Polish descent
- American people of Scottish descent
- American soap opera actresses
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- American voice actresses
- Drama Desk Award winners
- Laurence Olivier Award winners
- Living people
- Parsippany High School alumni
- People from Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey
- Rutgers University alumni
- Tony Award winners