Janel Moloney is an American actress. She is best known for her role as

Donna Moss Donnatella Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama ''The West Wing.'' During most of the series, Donna works for White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman as a senior assistant (or, as she jokingly c ...

on the television series ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

'', a role for which she received nominations for

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...

in 2002 and 2004. From 2014 to 2017, she starred on the HBO drama '' The Leftovers''.

Career

Television

Her early work included television guest roles on '' ER'', '' Sports Night'', ''

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. ''The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.'', often referred to as just ''Brisco'' or ''Brisco County'', is an American weird western television series created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse. It ran for 27 episodes on the Fox network starting i ...

'', and ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

''. Starting in 1999, Moloney had a recurring role on ''

'' as

, assistant and eventual love interest to Deputy

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

Chief of Staff

Josh Lyman Joshua Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama series ''The West Wing''. The role earned Whitford the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2001. For most of the se ...

(

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he w ...

). Moloney was originally credited only as a guest star, but she appeared in every episode of the first season. From the second season onward, Moloney was listed in the main credits. Moloney has received two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations, one in 2002 and one in 2004, for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama."2004 Emmy Nominated"

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

. Accessed November 28, 2011 Moloney appeared in the television film '' Bang Bang You're Dead'' with

Thomas Cavanagh Thomas Cavanagh (born October 26, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for a variety of roles on American television, including starring roles in '' Ed'' (2000–2004), ''Love Monkey'' (2006) and '' Trust Me'' (2009), and recurring roles on ...

and

Randy Harrison Randolph Clarke Harrison (born November 2, 1977) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Justin Taylor on the Showtime drama '' Queer as Folk''. Early life and college Harrison was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he starting ...

, which was first broadcast on October 13, 2002 on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

. She played the part of

Amber Frey Scott Lee Peterson (born October 24, 1972) is an American convicted murderer. In 2004, he was convicted of the first-degree murder of his wife, Laci, who was pregnant at the time, and the second-degree murder of their unborn son, Conner, in Mo ...

in the made-for-TV movie ''Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution'', broadcast May 25, 2005 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. In 2007, Moloney played Dana Chase, who has a relationship with Tommy Caffee (Jason Clarke) in six episodes of the second season of ''

Brotherhood Brotherhood or The Brotherhood may refer to: Family, relationships, and organizations * Fraternity (philosophy) or brotherhood, an ethical relationship between people, which is based on love and solidarity * Fraternity or brotherhood, a mal ...

''. In 2008, Moloney appeared in one episode ("It's a Wonderful Lie") of ''

House M.D. ''House'' (also called ''House, M.D.'') is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network for eight seasons, from November 16, 2004, to May 21, 2012. The series' main character is G ...

'' In 2008, she guest-starred in an episode of ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

''. Moloney appeared in the 3rd installment of the Lstudio.com web series ''Puppy Love''. In 2009, she appeared in the US series ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

'' as Professor Pat Olsen in the episode "Revenge of the Broken Jaw". She also appeared in the episode "Faithfully" of ''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

'' as Allison Wyler.

Theatre

In 2007, Moloney made her

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

stage debut as Theresa in the

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

production ''100 Saints You Should Know'', written by

Kate Fodor Kate Fodor is an American playwright and television writer. Her debut play, ''Hannah and Martin'', opened Off-Broadway on March 20, 2004 by the Epic Theatre Ensemble. The play, based on the relationship between political theorist Hannah Arendt and ...

and directed by

Ethan McSweeny Ethan McSweeny is an American theatre director. He served as artistic director of the American Shakespeare Center from 2018 to 2021. Early life and education McSweeny is a native of Washington, D.C., the son of political journalists Dorothy an ...

. She appeared in the Off-Broadway play ''

Love, Loss, and What I Wore ''Love, Loss, and What I Wore'' is a play written by Nora and Delia Ephron based on the 1995 book of the same name by Ilene Beckerman. It is organized as a series of monologues and uses a rotating cast of five principal women. The subject matter ...

'' in September through October 2, 2011.

Film

Moloney starred in the 2010 feature film ''

Armless ''Armless'' is a 2010 comedy film directed by Habib Azar and starring Daniel London, Janel Moloney, Matt Walton, Zoe Lister-Jones and Laurie Kennedy. It was written by Kyle Jarrow. It was an official selection of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, ...

'', as Anna. She made a brief appearance as Earlene in the 1995 Walter Hill directed western ''Wild Bill'', and appears in the 2013 film ''

Concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

''.

Personal life

Born in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, Moloney is the niece through marriage of actress

Christine Ebersole Christine Ebersole (born February 21, 1953) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She starred in the Broadway musicals '' 42nd Street'' and ''Grey Gardens'', winning two Tony Awards. She has co- ...

, and attended the acting conservatory at

SUNY Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges ...

. During the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign, she was an active supporter of

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

's campaign and made public appearances on its behalf. Moloney has a son, Julius, with composer

Marcelo Zarvos Marcelo Uchoa Zarvos is a Brazilian pianist and composer. Life and career Zarvos was born in São Paulo. He began in classical music in his teens and studied at the Berklee College of Music. He is more known for jazz and had success with the al ...

."Births and Hitched"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', May 3, 2010. Archived fro
the original
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Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Janel Moloney Listing, Internet Off-Broadway Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moloney, Janel American film actresses American television actresses Living people State University of New York at Purchase alumni People from Woodland Hills, Los Angeles 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles American stage actresses Year of birth missing (living people)