Touted by Entertainment Weekly as "one to watch" and "uncommonly beautiful and infinitely expressive," Allison Janney impressed critics and won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of the Press Secretary during "The West Wing’s" first season.

The actress it the only daughter of a former actress and a jazz musician. Ironically, she was raised in Dayton, Ohio – the same hometown of her "West Wing" co-stars Martin Sheen and Rob Lowe.

It was Janney’s mother who encouraged her daughter to pursue her acting dream. "My mother had studied acting at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City (where she roomed with Eileen Brennan and Rue McClanahan), but decided against an acting career when she got married," said Janney. "She came from an era when you thought you could only do one thing. Sometimes I think she was right!"

During Janney’s freshman year at Kenyon College in Ohio, she was starring in the theater’s maiden production when Paul Newman, a school alum, came back to dedicate the school’s new theater. She was encouraged by Newman and his wife, Joanne Woodward, to come to New York after graduation and study at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She did as they suggested but found that, "It took me a while to get going, I’m 6-feet tall and not exactly the ingenue type."

Playing C.J. Cregg on "The West Wing" is Janney’s first television role since she starred in the short-lived television series "Morton and Hayes." "The script was really great, and I immediately responded to the character," she said. "When I found out who was involved creatively, I wanted to be a part of it."

On film, Janney recently co-starred in the Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning film "American Beauty" with Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening, which also earned her a Screen Actors Guild nomination. Critics praised her subtle performance of a catatonic mother. Additionally, she starred in the dark comedy "Nurse Betty" (with Renee Zellweger and Morgan Freeman), which won for Best Screenwriting at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Janney’s other film credits include "Drop Dead Gorgeous," "10 Things I Hate About You," "Six Days, Seven Nights," "Object of My Affection," "Primary Colors," "Celebrity," "The Imposters," "Private Parts," "The Ice Storm," "Walking and Talking" and "Big Night."

In 1998, Janney was 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 the summer of 1999, Janney starred in the New York Public Theater production of "Taming of the Shrew" in the Shakespeare-in-the-Park series.

In her free time, Janney likes to spend time relaxing in Vermont. She resides in New York City.