A familiar face thanks to guest spots on a number of high-profile sitcoms (
Frasier,
The Practice,
Party of Five), Yale-trained Kaczmarek hit it big as the harried-yet-loving matriarch on
Malcolm in the Middle. Herself a mother of three, in 2009 Kaczmarek separated from actor Bradley Whitford, whom she married in 1992. Post
Malcolm, the Emmy-nominated actress has continued to make television appearances (a series regular in the 2008 legal drama
Raising the Bar) while also taking parts on stage (a 2010 Los Angeles production of the
Autumn Garden). In addition to acting, Kaczmarek is a philanthropist and cofounder (along with Whitford) of Clothes Off Our Back, a foundation that hosts celebrity auctions benefiting children's charities.
Jane Kaczmarek Fast Facts:
- In 1990, introduced to future husband Bradley Whitford by Kate Burton, a friend and classmate at the Yale School of Drama, when Whitford and Burton were in a Lincoln Center production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.
- Before daughter Mary Louisa was born in 2002, Malcolm in the Middle writers wrote Kaczmarek's pregnancy into the show, rather than hiding it with props and clothes as they did when she was carrying son George in 1999.
- In 2002, cofounded (with Whitford) the foundation Clothes Off Our Back, which auctions off celebrity apparel to benefit children's charities.
- Underwent hip-replacement surgery in April 2004.
- Competed in the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational in 2009, winning $50,000 for Clothes Off Our Back, the charity she cofounded.
- Jane Kaczmarek Relationships:
- Bill Kaczmarek - Brother
- Bradley Whitford - Ex-husband
- Edward Kaczmarek - Father
- Evelyn Kaczmarek - Mother
- Frances Genevieve Whitford - Daughter
- George Edward Whitford - Son
- Jim Kaczmarek - Brother
- Mary Kaczmarek - Brother
- Mary Louisa Whitford - Daughter
- Jane Kaczmarek Awards:
- 2002 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2000 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2001 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 2002 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 2003 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 2000 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2001 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2002 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2003 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2005 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- College:
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI (BA in Theatre and Drama, 1979); Yale University, New Haven, CT (MFA, 1982)