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Displaying astonishing versatility with a wide range of roles in film, television and theater, Allison Janney has taken her place among a select group of actors who combine a leading lady's profile with a character actor's art of performance.

Currently Janney is in production on Jason Reitman's dramedy Juno alongside Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman. She also recently wrapped production on Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret opposite Matt Damon and Anna Paquin.

Janney received a 2006 Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Our Very Own, which debuted last year at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Additionally, she appeared in the independent films Winter Solstice, The Chumscrubber, which received its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and Picadilly Jim, which had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

She previously appeared in the comedy Strangers with Candy and was heard as the voice of 'Gladys' in Dreamworks' animated comedy Over the Hedge. Janney also starred opposite Meryl Streep in The Hours, which received a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture. Other feature credits include the Academy Award winning films American Beauty (for which she won a SAG Award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture) and Finding Nemo as well as Nurse Betty, How to Deal, Drop Dead Gorgeous, 10 Things I Hate About You, Primary Colors, The Ice Storm, Celebrity, Six Days Seven Nights, The Object of My Affection and Big Night.

Janney is probably best known for her starring role as CJ Cregg in the award-winning NBC series The West Wing. She won a remarkable four SAG Awards and four Emmys for her work on the series. She earned Golden Globe nominations four years in a row for her performance on the show as well.

Janney is also no stranger to the theatre. While a freshman studying acting at Kenyon College in Ohio she auditioned for Paul Newman and got the part. Soon after, Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward suggested she study at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. She followed their advice and was later nominated for a Tony Award and won the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Supporting Actress for her Broadway performance in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge. In addition she has starred in the New York Public Theater's production of Taming of the Shrew, which was part of the Shakespeare in the Park series.