Allison Brooks Janney (born 19 November 1960) is an American actress, best known as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.

Janney was born in Dayton, Ohio and harbored dreams of becoming an Olympic figure skater before suffering a serious childhood injury. Janney attended Kenyon College, where she was first noticed by director Paul Newman. She went on to study drama at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Her first roles on television were as comedic foils on soap operas: she first played Vi Kaminski for a short time on As the World Turns, following up with a two-year stint as Spaulding maid Ginger on Guiding Light.

Janney has appeared in a number of films with roles of various sizes, including the 1990s films American Beauty, Drop Dead Gorgeous, The Ice Storm, Primary Colors, and Private Parts, and the 2000s films Nurse Betty, The Hours, How to Deal and the animated Finding Nemo.

In 1999 she was cast in the role of presidential press secretary C.J. Cregg on the television drama The West Wing, for which she has won four Emmy Awards. Janney has remained active in theatre; in 1998, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge."

On May 17, 2004, Janney's boyfriend of two years, Richard Jenik , proposed to her in San Francisco.

In 2004, Janney began lending her voice to television and radio spots created by Kaiser Permanente in the health maintenance organization's broad "Thrive" media campaign, and in a radio campaign for the American Institute of Architects.

She currently lives across the street from The West Wing co-star Janel Moloney.

External links

• Allison Janney at The Internet Movie Database
• Delightful and Delicious - Allison & CJ Cregg