Nancy McKeon | |
|---|---|
 McKeon in 1985 | |
| Born | Nancy Justine McKeon April 4, 1966 Westbury, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | Marc Andrus (m. 2003) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Philip McKeon (brother) |
Nancy Justine McKeon (born April 4, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life and Jinny Exstead on The Division .
Nancy Justine McKeon was born on April 4, 1966, in Westbury, New York, to Donald McKeon, a travel agent, [1] and Barbara McKeon. She began her entertainment career by modeling baby clothing for the Sears & Roebuck catalog when she was two. During some of her childhood, the family resided in Forest Hills, New York in Queens. [2]
Nancy McKeon appeared on the soap operas The Secret Storm and Another World . In 1979, she was discovered by a casting director for The Facts of Life on the basis of her performance in a Hallmark advertisement, in which she was able to cry on cue. [2] She was cast as tomboy Jo Polniaczek in the fall of 1980 during the show's second season after four of the first season's cast were dismissed from the show. [3] McKeon also provided the voice for many ABC Weekend Special cartoon characters, including the voice for Scruffy.
While she was working on The Facts of Life, McKeon attended school on-set with tutors, having attended Catholic school prior to that. In an interview with Tom Snyder in 1998, she joked that she "was given detention a few times" for not adhering to the strict rules of school, which included not wearing her favorite patent leather shoes. [4]
In 1990, McKeon was courted by NBC executives for the title role in the TV sitcom adaptation of the 1988 film Working Girl ; the role, played by Melanie Griffith in the movie, instead went to then unknown Sandra Bullock. In 1994, McKeon and Courteney Cox auditioned for the role of Monica Geller on the sitcom Friends . The role went to Cox. When asked in interviews about the audition, McKeon said, "I have no hard feelings. The role went to the right person. Courteney was brilliant. Now, I can't see anybody playing the role, not even myself." [5] In 1995, she starred in her own series, Can't Hurry Love , which lasted one season. In 1998, she starred with Jean Smart in the sitcom Style & Substance .
McKeon portrayed Inspector Jinny Exstead on the Lifetime police drama The Division from 2001 to 2004, with her pregnancy incorporated into the storyline of the last year of the series. From 2009 to 2010, she appeared in a recurring role in the Disney Channel Original Series Sonny with a Chance as Connie Munroe, the mother of Demi Lovato's title character. [6]
McKeon starred in numerous made-for-TV movies in the 1980s and 1990s, including A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story, in which she portrayed the title role of Tracey Thurman, and The Wrong Woman , portraying a woman framed for killing her boss. In Strange Voices , she portrayed a woman with schizophrenia. She produced many of these movies through her film company, Forest Hills Entertainment (named after her childhood neighborhood, Forest Hills). [2]
McKeon carefully researched roles and characters. For her role in The Division, she spent time with a police force, while for her role in Strange Voices, she spoke with patients about the condition to prepare for her role. In an interview with John Tesh, she said, "What's really interesting is that I find that people are very forthcoming to actors. I mean, almost more forthcoming than they are to priests or shrinks, because they somehow feel that their story is going to be out there in someway...But, once you get into talking with them and finding out about their world, it's fascinating and it's heartbreaking at the same time." [7]
In 1999, she wrote and directed her own short film, A Wakening. She explained on the TV show Biography that directing had always been a personal ambition, so she wrote the movie in order to direct. The film won two film festival awards. [8] She also directed two episodes of The Division.[ citation needed ]
In 2003, McKeon starred in the film Comfort and Joy . In 2018, McKeon was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on season 27 of Dancing with the Stars . She was partnered with professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy, [9] and was the third celebrity eliminated.
McKeon has narrated several audiobooks. [10]
She has a brief cameo appearance in 2019's You Light Up My Christmas, a movie starring her Facts of Life co-star Kim Fields. The movie includes other cast members from the show. McKeon was supposed to have a larger role in the movie, but was unable to film more due to a family emergency. [11] Also in 2019, McKeon announced on social media her involvement in a new, planned Amazon series based on the Lauren Oliver young adult novel Panic. [12] The first season premiered in 2021.
While McKeon was on The Facts of Life , she and her parents were granted a private audience with Pope John Paul II. [13] She described the experience to interviewer Tom Snyder in 1998 as "electric," explaining, "In every rendering of every artist, you see this aura that's painted around figures...He has that in life." [4]
McKeon dated actor Michael J. Fox for three years after they met on the set of High School U.S.A. (1983). "He and I were very private people," McKeon told Biography. "We didn't tell a lot of people, and we kind of kept to ourselves." [8] McKeon and Fox appeared together as a celebrity couple on the game show Tattletales .
In 2003, McKeon married film technician Marc Andrus, after meeting eight years prior on the set of the Hallmark movie, A Mother’s Gift. [14] A private pair seeking to keep the event small, the two only had 20 guests at the wedding. [8] They moved to a ranch near Austin, Texas, to raise their two daughters, born in 2004 and 2006, out of the spotlight. [2]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Where the Day Takes You | Vikki | |
| 1994 | Teresa's Tattoo | Sara | |
| 1995 | The Wrong Woman | Melanie Brooke | |
| 1997 | Just Write | Bride | |
| 1999 | A Wakening | Short film; Director, writer |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Starsky & Hutch | Vikki Mayer | "The Crying Child" |
| 1978 | Return to Fantasy Island | Ann | TV film |
| 1978 | Alice | Girl Orphan | "Who Ordered the Hot Turkey?" |
| 1978 | A Question of Love | Susan Moreland | TV film |
| 1979 | The Love Boat | Penny Barrett | "Daddy's Pride" |
| 1979 | The Puppy's Great Adventure | Dolly (voice) | TV film |
| 1980 | Stone | Jill Stone | TV series (9 episodes) |
| 1980 | The Puppy's Amazing Rescue | Dolly (voice) | TV film |
| 1980 | The Trouble with Miss Switch | Amelia Daley (voice) | TV film |
| 1980 | Scruffy | Scruffy (voice) | TV film |
| 1980 | ABC Afterschool Special | Lucy Twining | "Schoolboy Father" |
| 1980–81 | Thundarr the Barbarian | Tye / Tai (voice) | "Harvest of Doom", "Last Train to Doomsday" |
| 1980–88 | The Facts of Life | Jo Polniaczek | TV series (189 episodes) |
| 1981 | ABC Afterschool Special | Nancy Parks | "Please Don't Hit Me, Mom" |
| 1981 | Alice | Kimberly | "Alice's Halloween Surprise" |
| 1981 | The Puppy Saves the Circus | Dolly (voice) | TV film |
| 1982 | Miss Switch to the Rescue | Amelia Daley (voice) | TV film |
| 1982–83 | The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour | Dolly (voice) | TV series (13 episodes) |
| 1982 | The Facts of Life Goes to Paris | Jo Polniaczek | TV film |
| 1983 | Dusty | Slugger | TV film |
| 1983–84 | The Puppy's Further Adventures | Dolly (voice) | TV series (8 episodes) |
| 1983 | High School U.S.A. | Beth Franklin | TV film |
| 1985 | Poison Ivy | Rhonda Malone | TV film |
| 1985 | This Child Is Mine | Kimberly Downs | TV film |
| 1986 | Firefighter | Cindy Fralick | TV film |
| 1987 | The Facts of Life Down Under | Jo Polniaczek | TV film |
| 1987 | Strange Voices | Nicole 'Nikki' Glover | TV film |
| 1989 | A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story | Tracey Thurman | TV film |
| 1990 | The Hitchhiker | Dawn Wilder | "New Dawn" |
| 1991 | Lightning Field | Martha Townsend | TV film |
| 1992 | Baby Snatcher | Karen Williams | TV film |
| 1993 | Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage | Rosalie Profaci Bonanno | TV film |
| 1995 | A Mother's Gift | Margaret Deal | TV film |
| 1995–96 | Can't Hurry Love | Annie O'Donnell | TV series (19 episodes) |
| 1998 | Style & Substance | Jane Sokol | TV series (13 episodes) |
| 1999 | In My Sister's Shadow | Joan Connor | TV film |
| 1999 | Touched by an Angel | Rachel Waters | "The Last Day of the Rest of Your Life" |
| 2001–04 | The Division | Inspector Jinny Exstead | TV series (88 episodes). Director: episodes "Full Moon" (S2), "The Cost of Freedom" (S3) |
| 2003 | Comfort and Joy | Jane Berry | TV film |
| 2004 | Category 6: Day of Destruction | Amy Harkin | TV miniseries |
| 2006 | Wild Hearts | Emily | Hallmark Movie |
| 2007 | Without a Trace | Gail Sweeney | "Absalom" |
| 2009–10 | Sonny with a Chance | Connie Munroe | TV series (5 episodes) |
| 2011 | Love Begins | Millie | TV film |
| 2018 | Dancing with the Stars | Contestant | TV series (5 episodes) |
| 2019 | You Light Up My Christmas | Kathy | TV film (Lifetime) |
| 2020 | Animaniacs | Additional voices | 13 episodes |
| 2021 | Panic | Jessica Mason | TV series (6 episodes) |
Marco Island Film Festival
Prism Awards
Allison Lee Hannigan, known professionally as Alyson Hannigan, is an American actress and television presenter.
Barbara Jane Horrocks is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in the stage play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, and received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for the role in the film version of Little Voice.
The Facts of Life is an American television sitcom created by Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon and a spin-off of Diff'rent Strokes that originally aired on NBC from August 24, 1979, to May 7, 1988, making it one of the longest-running sitcoms of the 1980s. The series focuses on Edna Garrett, as she becomes a housemother at the fictional Eastland School, an all-girls boarding school in Peekskill, New York.
Cloris Leachman was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nominated and, along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, most awarded performer in Emmy history. Leachman also won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Stockard Channing is an American actress. She played Betty Rizzo in the film Grease (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing (1999–2006). She also originated the role of Ouisa Kittredge in the stage and film versions of Six Degrees of Separation; the 1993 film version earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She was also one of two comic foils of The Number Painter on Sesame Street.
Charlotte Rae Lubotsky was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned sixty-six years.
Lisa Diane Whelchel is an American actress, singer, songwriter, author, and life coach. She is known for her appearances as a Mouseketeer on The New Mickey Mouse Club and her nine-year role as the preppy and wealthy Blair Warner on The Facts of Life. In 1984, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance for her contemporary Christian album All Because of You. In 2012, Whelchel participated as a contestant on the CBS competitive reality series Survivor: Philippines and tied for second place. She was also voted fan favorite and was awarded $100,000.
Megan Mullally is an American actress, singer, and comedian. She is best known for playing Karen Walker in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, winning twice, in 2000 and 2006. She also received nominations for numerous other accolades for her portrayal, including seven consecutive Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, winning three times, in 2001, 2002, and 2003, as well as receiving four Golden Globe Award nominations.
Mindy Cohn is an American actress. She starred as Natalie Green in the sitcom The Facts of Life from 1979 to 1988, and is known for voicing Velma Dinkley in the Scooby-Doo franchise from 2002 to 2015, succeeding B. J. Ward, before being succeeded herself by Kate Micucci. Cohn appeared on VH1's List of "100 Greatest Kid Stars".
Jean Elizabeth Smart is an American actress. She has received numerous accolades including five Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, four Critics' Choice Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as a nomination for a Tony Award.
Elinor Donahue is a retired American actress, best known today for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson on the 1950s American sitcom Father Knows Best.
Rumer Glenn Willis is an American actress. The eldest daughter of actors Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, she made her acting debut opposite her mother in the coming-of-age drama Now and Then (1995). She subsequently appeared in films such as Striptease (1996), Hostage (2005), The House Bunny (2008), Sorority Row (2009) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). She portrayed Gia Mannetti on The CW teen drama series 90210 (2009–10) and Tory Ash on the FOX musical drama series Empire (2017–18).
Sara Rue is an American actress. She is best known for her performances as Carmen Ferrara on Popular, as Claude Casey on Less than Perfect, and as the Attorney General in Idiocracy. In 2011, she hosted The CW reality series Shedding for the Wedding. She had a recurring role in the comedy Rules of Engagement, as Brenda, the softball teammate and good friend of Jeff Bingham. She had a regular role as Kim on the short-lived ABC sitcom Malibu Country, and appeared in the main cast of the TV Land comedy series Impastor. She is also known for her role as Olivia Caliban in the second season of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
The Division is an American police procedural drama television series created by Deborah Joy LeVine starring Bonnie Bedelia. The series focuses on a team of female detectives and police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. The series premiered on Lifetime on January 7, 2001 and ended on June 28, 2004 after 88 episodes.
Lela Rochon Fuqua, is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Robin Stokes in the 1995 romantic drama film Waiting to Exhale. Rochon also had roles in the films Harlem Nights (1989), Boomerang (1992), The Chamber (1996), Gang Related (1997), Knock Off (1998), Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), and Any Given Sunday (1999).
Philip Anthony McKeon was an American child actor and radio personality, best known for his role as Tommy Hyatt, the son of the title character on the television sitcom Alice from 1976 to 1985.
The Facts of Life Reunion is a 2001 American made-for-television comedy-drama film based on the 1979–1988 NBC sitcom The Facts of Life which reunited original cast members Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn and Kim Fields. Nancy McKeon was unable to participate due to scheduling conflicts with her then-starring role in the television series The Division.
Valentin Aleksandrovich "Val" Chmerkovskiy is a Ukrainian-American professional dancer, best known for his appearances on the U.S. version of Dancing with the Stars, which he won three times. Chmerkovskiy is a two-time World Latin Dance Champion and a 14-time U.S. National Latin Dance champion.
The Facts of Life Goes to Paris is a 1982 American made-for-television comedy film based on the sitcom The Facts of Life which featured the main characters of that series. It originally aired on NBC on September 25, 1982, four nights before the start of season four. The film was later split into four individual half-hour episodes when the series entered syndication.
The Facts of Life Down Under is a 1987 American made-for-television comedy film based on the sitcom The Facts of Life which featured the main characters of that series. This is the second television film made for the series following The Facts of Life Goes to Paris (1982). It originally aired on NBC on February 15, 1987, between the 17th and 18th episodes of season eight. The film was later split into four individual half-hour episodes when the series entered syndication.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
