Award-winning actress and singer Jane Krakowski was born on October 11, 1968 in Parsippany, New Jersey. A student of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, she is known for her many credits in film, television and stage. She grew to prominence in 1984 when she was cast as Theresa Rebecca Kendall in the daytime soap Search for Tomorrow, a role she played until the show ended its run in 1986. Her performance in the soap earned her two consecutive Daytime Emmy nominations.
Krakowski’s biggest television role, however, came in 1997, when she joined the cast of Ally McBeal. Her portrayal of office assistant Elaine Vassal earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1999. Her next major starring role came in 2006, when she joined the sitcom 30 Rock, as Jenna Maroney, a cast member of the fictional late night show that the sitcom revolves in. Another one of her notable roles is a guest role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where she played Emma Spavek, the sister of a suspected murderer.
Krakowski also has a significant film career: her films include Fatal Attraction, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Alfie, Go, Dance with Me, Pretty Persuasion and Stepping Out.
However, Krakowski is most renowned for her stage career. A trained singer, she has made appearances on Broadway when she was as young as 18 years old. She won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in 2003 for her role in the Broadway revival of Nine. In 2005, her performance in the London production of Guys and Dolls earned her an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She has also released a hit song, “You,” a collaboration with Jim Brickman which became popular on adult contemporary radio stations.
-Because Jane is a skater, Tina Fey regularly writes skating scenes for her character on 30 Rock.
-While at school, Krakowski met fellow Ally McBeal co-star, Calista Flockhart.
-Krakowski began taking dance lessons when she was three years old.
-Jane was nominated, along with her 30 Rock castmates for a SAG Award in the category of Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2008. From 1998-2001 she was nominated for the same category for her work on Ally McBeal. She won in 1999.
- She earned two Emmy nominations for her work on the serial Search for Tomorrow.
-Krakowski earned a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Elaine Vassal on Ally McBeal
-In April 2003, Krakowski appeared in the Broadway musical Nine as Carla. She subsequently won a Tony Award for her performance.
-In 2006, Krakowski won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, in the role of Miss Adelaide in the play "Guys and Dolls".
-I love doing live theater more than anything: you get an immediate reaction, whether it's good or bad.
-I realised I should try harder to be an actress because I'd never make it as a waitress.
-On paper, Once Upon a Mattress looked good. Sarah Jessica Parker and the director and the designers -- everyone involved was reputable and had had huge successes in the past. What's odd to me is that I could tell from the first day of rehearsal that it was not going to be right; I hoped it would find its way, but I don't think it ever really did.
